1. Electronic communication
The Special Act of 4 April 2014 amending the Special Act of 6 January 1989 on the Constitutional Court makes it possible to introduce electronic litigation, allowing the communications required in the proceedings before the Constitutional Court (the filing of petitions and the sending of procedural documents by the parties, and the sending of notices, communications and summonses by the Registry) to take place via an electronic platform (article 78bis of the Special Act of 6 January 1989). For this purpose, the Court will use the electronic system of the Department of Justice, which offers an equivalent to the traditional paper-based registered mail.
2. The entry into force
On 12 September 2024, the King adopted a Royal Decree ‘on the electronic procedure for the Constitutional Court’. Two phases are planned for the implementation of the electronic procedure; the Royal Decree of 12 September 2024 regulates the first phase. During this first phase, the Court will provide a platform, accessible on its website, enabling the parties or their lawyers to institute an action or file procedural documents. On the other hand, communications from the Court to the parties or their lawyers, as well as communications between the Court and the courts a quo, including the transmission of referral decisions, will always take place exclusively by registered post. The Royal Decree of 12 September 2024 will come into force on a date to be determined by the King, but no later than 1 September 2025. In the meantime, it is not yet possible to file documents with the Court electronically.