Settle or Face the Consequences – Cost Penalties in Common Law Jurisdictions and its Implication in the Spanish Civil Law

Abstract

The resolution of civil disputes is expensive and slow; in addition, the majority of courts are overloaded with pending cases. Common law jurisdictions promote the settlement between the parties with the aim of speeding up the resolution of disputes. This paper analyzes the concept of offers to settle in England, Ireland and United States. Offers to settle are confidential settlement proposals made by one of the parties to the other in the courts of the common law tradition. These offers have automatic consequences over the allocation of legal costs. The paper explores the reasons behind the lack of implementation of this important procedural feature in the courts of Roman law tradition, in particular in the context of Spanish procedural law.

Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.

Keywords: civil procedure, legal costs, offers to settle, part 36, negotiation, litigation, ADR