Denuncia - court appearance

[hillybilly]

Help please!
A friend has been (wrongly) denounced. The Policia Local turned up on his doorstep at 5pm today with a summons to appear in Antequera Court tomorrow morning (less then 24 hrs notice!) for a preliminary oral hearing.
I am going to go with him to translate but am not 100% fluent nor am I up on legalese. Is the court obliged to provide an interpreter? I'm assuming that they will have clocked a British name on their list for tomorrow. If not, is he expected to provide his own interpreter at his cost? And, as I shall request if none is there tomorrow, are they likely to grant an adjournment until such time as he can obtain one?

[sassy]

hi hillybilly

I strongly suggest your friend takes a lawyer with him to court and another person who can translate for them as the lawyer is not allowed to do this. I really don't know if the courts are obliged to provide someone to translate but to my knowledge this service is not offered in the courts in Malaga. Seems a bit rough having less than 24 hours notice.

Good luck

Sassy

[hillybilly]

Yes, ideally he would have got a lawyer or interpreter to accompany him but hasn't had the time to arrange anything at this short notice. The denuncia was apparently made last Dec, was issued in Jan and the summons has a date in March on it - so why they left it till the v last minute to notify him of a court appearance god only knows. 18hrs notice is ridiculous!
Another friend had to go to court in Archidona last year and, without requesting one, found an interpreter already there. So, I was hoping!
Otherwise it's going to be a long night for me poring over the dictionary to gen up on my Spanish legalese!
How do you address a Spanish judge?

[detourer]

Some months ago my daughter found herself called to court with just overnight notice. Although she speaks fluent Spanish we found that there were permanent staff on call to help. In fact it was all delt with in a side room. Bad experience because it happened, but I was very impressed at the assistance, understanding and speed....Distressing and all over in a day!

PS......she was the "plaintive" and the court was in Coin

[mijas-lady]

I read on another site that a deneucia is just a complaint at the police station!- so does this mean if someone makes one for whatever reason you will end up in court I was also told they can be made anonymously?

[patricia]

Yes the courts will provide a translater if you request one. They should have asked you at the time, but they are obliged to

[hillybilly]

Thanks all! Am off now to wing it today, will let you know what happens! x

[hillybilly]

Well, that was a complete farce, and not in a good way
There was no interpreter available (he having not had time to request one). They insisted on the hearing going ahead and, having established that I understood and spoke good enough Spanish, insisted on me translating even though I made it clear I wasn't happy doing so.
The denunciante produced two "witnesses". They asked my friend where his witnesses were but of course he'd had no time to contact anyone!
I maybe shouldn't post on here what it was all about but am going to because it's so ludicrous.
Last Dec my friend was out with his girlfriend and her dog. The dog was off the lead, spotted another dog, ran off to it and, in doing so, knocked over the owner of the other dog. That's it - everyone in the vicinity was laughing because it was so comical and an apology was given. End of story? No! The owner of the other dog has denounced my friend (who is not even the owner of the dog), took the number plate of his vehicle when they put the dog in it and so started the ball rolling. She is claiming 650€ in damages! What these "damages" are weren't specified in court.
Unbelievable that something so trivial could be allowed to get this far. Also unbelievable that, having got this far, my friend was not permitted time to obtain any help (legal, witnesses or for translation). Surely this can't be right?
The court's decision will apparently be sent by mail within the next few days. They said if he doesn't agree with the ruling he can appeal. Super!
Have some Spaniards got nothing better to do than make daft denuncias in the hope of making a few bucks?
Myself, I feel a denuncia coming on - the Spanish legal system!

[curatokid]

If your friend is found not guilty , can they then denounce the original denouncer for time wasting and claim costs for attending court and hiring of an interpreter.

[Faire d'Income]

There are two issues here:

1. Your friend needs to get a good lawyer. This whole process needs looking at from a due diligence perspective and with the best will in the world neither of you are qualified to do so.

2. If Spanish law is similar to the UK as it pertains to dogs, then you could be in trouble. Irrespective of whether the dog is owned by your friend or not, he/she was in charge of it at the time of the incident. Once a dog is off the lead, then it is deemed to 'out of control' and you're responsibility lies with it.

You may be simply better off simply paying the costs and move on but only a decent lawyer can advise you.

[hillybilly]

Yes, if the ruling finds against him he will of course get a lawyer involved.

Re the dog - the owner of the dog was there and therefore was the person responsible at the time for the dog. She let the dog off the lead. Her dog, microchipped to her, her responsibility. How could my friend be deemed to be responsible for it just because he happened to be there? If a group of people are out hiking and one of them has a dog, are they all responsible for the dog?! That's like saying the passenger in a car is responsible for the driver's actions.

[Nicks]

If he is not the owner of the dog and did not let the dog off the lead, then I simply cannot see how he could be responsible. But then I know nothing about law....esp Spanish law!!

[sassy]

hillybilly

I am sorry you both had a bad experience in court today. Unfortunately with this "denuncia" system in place here in Spain it does often seem that many people make denuncias without any good grounds whatsoever and unfortunately it does not matter to the court, you are called on someone elses say so and you have to prove yourself innocent, ridiculous.

It would appear that the person who denounced was well aware that the court date was today and came ready with "2 witnesses" it is extremely unfair that your friend was given less than 24hrs notice to attend.

I would still recommend that your friend employs the service of a reliable and known lawyer to assist them with this case, the sooner they get onto this the better.

Please do let us know how you get on.

Good luck

Sassy

[Faire d'Income]

Then if Spanish law follows UK law then it is the dog owner who will be held responsible.

[Babby]

Have I got this right - the dog belongs to your friend´s girlfriend - so in effect if they are a couple it is sort of his dog as well, or no? What I mean to say is, it is not as if the dog did not belong to just anyone.

I also think they have been unfairly treated - but is it worth getting a lawyer, the collar might cost more than the dog (sorry)

[peteroldracer]

My cynical mind keeps coming up with the theory that the denouncer has a good idea what a lawyer would charge for defending this, and by pure co-incidence has pitched the amount of the claim at just a bit less.......
You may be better off accepting the unfairness, and just keep an eye on the denouncer in the future to ensure they do not commit minor traffic offences, let an uninsured under-25 drive the car or something, and then happen to mention this to a nearby Guardi......but then again, I am a Scorpio!

[julian]

don´t you think that he should talk to a lawyer now, rather than waiting any longer and getting into more problems instead of relying on the the advice of those in an english speaking internet forum where at best we are giving opinions rather than talking from knowledage of the spanish legal system?

[hillybilly]

Have I got this right - the dog belongs to your friend´s girlfriend - so in effect if they are a couple it is sort of his dog as well, or no? What I mean to say is, it is not as if the dog did not belong to just anyone.(

Well yes, they are boyfriend/girlfriend (I use the terms loosely as they are in their mid-late 40's!) as in they "go out" together but they don't live together or even in the same town! So I wouldn't say that it was in any way "his" dog just because he happens to be going out with someone who owns one - he doesn't even like dogs!

At this point there is no more to be done - he will wait for the verdict to arrive before deciding what is the next move, if any. Maybe it will need the owner of the dog to come forward to take the "blame".

Peteroldracer I suspect you are right and I don't expect that this is the first time they've done it either.

Thanks all - stay out of trouble for gawds sake!

[annie_d]

...and keep dogs on a lead.

[hillybilly]

...and never volunteer to translate for anyone in court!