The autonomous community of Canary Islands It was again in the second quarter of 2021 – it had already been in the first and throughout the past year. the territory with the highest rate of litigation in Spain (46.6 per 1,000 inhabitants; 11 points above the national average), but the Las Palmas province (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Graciosa) stood out in the reference period as the province where the most litigation was done with a wide difference: 50.93 judicial cases per 1,000 inhabitants, 16.7 points above the national average (34 , 14) and 12.8 above that of the other Canarian province, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (38.07), which brings together the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro, reports the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC).
According to data on judicial activity during the second quarter of 2021 released today by the Statistics Service of the General Council of the Judiciary, the province of Las Palmas was the first in Spain in the total litigation rate and in the civil litigation rate (21.59 lawsuits per 1,000 inhabitants), the third in the criminal litigation rate (25.56 cases, only surpassed by Madrid and Ceuta) and the third in Social (3.16, on a par with Asturias and below Orense and Vizcaya). In the area of contentious-administrative order, the litigating spirit of the Canaries adjusted more to normality, with the rate in Las Palmas 0.2 points lower than the Spanish one and that of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 0.41 points higher.
Data on the activity of judicial bodies during the second quarter of 2021 highlight the effects that the health crisis had on their functioning. Always according to official data, the 208 judicial bodies that operate in the Canary Islands in the four jurisdictions (Civil, Criminal, Contentious-Administrative and Social) began the second quarter of 2021 with 156,147 pending issues of resolution (12.6 more than in the same 2020 period), 101,142 were admitted (50% more than in the spring of 2020), solved during the quarter 107,205 cases (94.9% more) and left 150,352 pending resolution on June 30, a 0, 5% less than in the same period of the previous year.
By jurisdictions, the Civil, which has 112 bodies, began April of this year with 88,607 pending issues of resolution (11.5% more than in the second quarter of 2020), entered 42,229 (59.7% more), resolved 43,798 (+ 139.3%) and left 86,791 cases (-1%) for the third quarter.
In the criminal order, the 105 bodies of this order that exist in the islands began the period with 39,766 cases in process (15% more than in the same period of 2020), they registered 49,520 cases (+ 42.5%), they resolved 51,552 (+ 61.2%) and 38,181 cases were pending (+ 2.5%).
In the jurisdiction that resolves lawsuits against and between administrations, the contentious-administrative order, the 12 specialized bodies in the Archipelago began the period with 7,031 pending cases (+ 10.2%), 2,716 (+ 116.9%) entered, They responded to 2,907 cases (+ 100.8%) and left 6,888 processes pending (+ 11.3%).
In the area that resolves labor disputes, the social jurisdiction, the 26 competent bodies began the second quarter of 2021 with 20,743 lawsuits pending (12.6% more than in the second quarter of 2020), 6,677 cases were admitted (33 , 9%), resolved 8,948 cases (+ 173.2%) and left 18,492 pending (-7.7%).
Other data in reference to Canary archipelago point out that the islands had during the second quarter of 2021 a pendency rate (quotient between pending issues at the end of the period and those resolved in that period; the lower the better) of 1.40, in the lower part of the table in comparison with other communities, the Spanish average being 1.72; a resolution rate (ratio between matters resolved and admitted, the higher the better) of 1.06, among the best in the country (the average was 1.05); a sentence rate (quotient between the number of sentences and the number of resolved cases) of 0.26, one tenth below the Spanish average and a congestion rate (quotient where the numerator is formed by the sum of the pending cases at the beginning of the period and those registered in that period and where the denominator is the issues resolved in that period, the better the lower) of 2.40, 32 tenths below the national average.
National data
With regard to global data for the entire Spanish State, and as a consequence of the aforementioned effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, in all jurisdictions significant year-on-year increases have been observed in the entry of cases, which have been located in 62.5 percent in the Civil order; in 50.1 percent in the criminal order; in the Contentious-Administrative it has been 109.6 percent and in the Social, 63.9 percent.
Regarding the resolution of matters, with the exception of the contentious-administrative jurisdiction, the interannual increases have been greater than in the income: 145.7% in the Civil jurisdiction; 72.2% in the Penal; 78.3% in the Contentious-Administrative and 181.9% percent in the Social.
In Spain, during the second quarter of 2021, a total of 1,674,147 cases were entered in the judicial bodies as a whole. This figure represents an increase of 57.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the same period, Spanish courts resolved 1,762,128 cases, 104.4% more than a year earlier; A total of 3,036,407 cases remained in process at the end of the quarter, with a decrease of 0.9% compared to the same quarter of 2020.
In the Civil jurisdiction, 710,083 cases were entered, which has meant an increase of 62.5 percent. 746,525 cases were resolved, 145.7 & more than a year before, and 1,692,765 cases were pending, 0.5% less than at the end of the same quarter of 2020. Of the cases pending in this jurisdiction, the 13.4% refer to individual actions on general conditions included in financing contracts with real estate collateral whose borrower is a natural person.
In Criminal jurisdiction, 785,908 cases had been entered, with a year-on-year increase of 50.1%, with 816,896 cases having been resolved, 72.2% more. 774,263 cases were pending, 4% less than a year earlier.
The Contentious-Administrative jurisdiction registered 60,514 cases, 109.6 percent more than the previous year, and resolved 64,452, 78.3 percent more. 214,828 cases were pending, 4% more. The Social jurisdiction entered 117,590 cases, 63.9 more than in the same quarter of 2020. 134,210 cases were resolved, 181.9 percent more, and 354,443 cases were pending, 1.6% more.
Canary Islands and Andalusia and Madrid, the territories with the highest litigation
The litigation rate in Spain as a whole was 35.4 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. The communities that have shown a rate of litigation higher than the national one have been Canarias (46.6), Andalucía (39), Madrid (38.4), Asturias (36.2), Murcia (35.7) and Cantabria ( 35.5). The communities with the lowest litigation rate were La Rioja (24.5), Navarra (26) and the Basque Country (26.8).
Based on the available quarterly historical series, in this case reaching the second quarter of 2021, the CGPJ has made a forecast for the year as a whole. The forecast is subject to great uncertainty due to the effects of COVID-19 on society and the functioning of judicial bodies.