Bill 606.

Summary.

The bill amends Article 290 of the Civil Procedure Code (Código Procesal Civil) to provide that every final judicial decision constitutes an enforceable order. Private persons and officials of public entities to which a decision is submitted for registration would have to comply with it. If the party ordered to pay has not done so after the ten-day period following a final order or judgment, or the five-day period following a final decision on liquidation or a subsequent calculation, the successful party could identify assets to the judge overseeing enforcement. Those assets would be attached and sold in the same proceeding under the rules for enforcement proceedings. Attachment would be ordered without first hearing the debtor, and notice would follow once the assets have been secured. The party ordered to pay could claim only that the decision has been invalidated or complied with.

For the registration of judgments and orders, the Registrar General could inform the judge of errors that the issuing court must correct on its own initiative to complete the registration particulars. The Registrar General could not demand additional requirements or clearance certificates for public utilities or from the Revenue Directorate General (Dirección General de Ingresos). This provision refers to the review power in Article 1795 of the Civil Code (Código Civil).

The bill replaces Article 1778 of the Civil Code to list the documents and judicial acts eligible for provisional entry in the relevant sections of the Public Registry. They include claims concerning ownership and other rights in rem over immovable property; claims to cancel or correct registry entries; proceedings affecting a person's civil capacity to manage property; orders for sequestration and attachments of immovable property; and instruments whose final registration is prevented by correctable defects. Provisional registration of such instruments would have the effect of final registration for six months and would be canceled if the defect is not corrected. Correctable defects include certain defects in an instrument, missing prior registration, and omissions involving Law N°13 of 1913 (Ley N°13 de 1913), the Judicial Code (Código Judicial), and the Civil Procedure Code.

The amendment to Article 1779 would make certain provisional entries final upon submission of a final judgment or order. For instruments with correctable defects, conversion would depend on correction within six months or removal of the obstacle to registration. Under the proposed Article 1795, the Registrar General could refuse registration of instruments that are absolutely invalid or suspend it where defects can be corrected. For registrable decisions of the Courts of the Judicial Branch (Tribunales del Órgano Judicial) and other courts, the Registrar General would immediately notify the issuer of correctable errors and keep registration suspended until the corrected document is resubmitted. Judicial decisions would be complied with without requiring the specified clearance certificates. The final article provides that the proposed law would take effect on the day following its promulgation.

The bill concerns the courts, registry administration, and the Revenue Directorate General. It could affect litigants, holders of immovable property and other rights in rem, and people submitting judicial decisions or instruments for registration.