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Impact of COVID-19 on Court Operations & Litigation Practice

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Impact of COVID-19 on Court Operations & Litigation Practice International Bar Association Covid-19 pandemic Impact of COVID-19 on Court Operations & Litigation Practice IBA Litigation Committee 22 June 2020 Disclaimer: Please be advised that the information set forth in this report is intended only as a general overview of the impact of COVID-19 on court operations and litigation practice. This report is not intended to constitute legal advice, and no conclusions should be inferred from or implied by the statements or discussions contained herein. Readers requiring legal advice should not rely on this report as an alternative to the engagement of local counsel in the relevant jurisdictions. Please note that this report refers to laws and regulations in force on or before 8 June 2020 and is subject to change. Introduction The spread of the coronavirus or COVID-19 has prompted governmental, judicial, and adminis- trative bodies around the globe to adopt measures that respond not only to local safety direc- tives, but to a generalized need for greater flexibility and remote connectivity. In light of the magnitude of COVID-19, the IBA’s Litigation Committee has prepared the en- closed Special Report that addresses the impact of the pandemic on the operation of courts and litigation practice in jurisdictions around the world. The contributors to this report were asked to address the following four questions: 1. What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the operation of courts and court hearings in your jurisdiction? 2. Has your government passed legislation or issued orders suspending the operation of substantive deadlines such as limitation periods? Have there been changes to procedural time limits which have either suspend or extended relevant time periods or otherwise permitted parties to agree to extensions of time without resort to the courts? 3. What has been the impact of COVID-19 in terms of the enforcement of judgments, including foreign judgments? 4. Outside of the court system, are litigators conducting their practices (examination of witnesses, mediations, etc.) virtually through video-conference platforms? Please note that the information contained in this report is current to June 8, 2020. The IBA Litigation Committee would like to extend a sincere thanks to the many contributors who have made this publication possible. Angelo Anglani and Tim Strong Co-Chairs IBA Litigation Committee Editors-In-Chief Jeff Galway Dr. Urs Hoffmann-Nowotny Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Schellenberg Wittmer +1-416-863-3859 +41 44 215 3442 [email protected] [email protected] Special thank you to Natalie Cammarasana, Maia Jorgensen, Robert Nanni, and Brittany Town of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP for their assistance. Table of Contents Argentina ......................................................................1 Republic of Korea ................................................62 Australia .......................................................................5 Luxembourg ............................................................65 Austria ..........................................................................8 Malta ............................................................................69 Belgium ........................................................................11 México .........................................................................71 Brazil ............................................................................17 The Netherlands .................................................... 74 Canada ........................................................................21 New Zealand ...........................................................76 People’s Republic of China ............................24 Peru..............................................................................79 Cyprus ........................................................................26 Poland .........................................................................81 Denmark ....................................................................30 Portugal .....................................................................84 England and Wales ..............................................32 Romania .................................................................... 87 Finland .......................................................................36 Russia ......................................................................... 90 France .........................................................................39 Serbia ..........................................................................93 Germany ....................................................................43 Spain ...........................................................................96 Hong Kong ..............................................................47 Sweden ................................................................... 100 India .............................................................................50 Switzerland ............................................................102 Israel ............................................................................ 52 Turkey .......................................................................105 Ireland ........................................................................54 Ukraine .....................................................................107 Italy ..............................................................................56 United States .........................................................110 Japan ......................................................................... 60 Argentina Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal Rodrigo F. García [email protected] Buenos Aires 1. What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the operation of courts and court hearings in your jurisdiction? The Argentine judicial system is divided into federal and local courts. Federal courts are organized by the Federal Government and are composed of first-instance courts, appellate courts and the Argentina Supreme Court of Justice (hereinafter, “SCJ”). Local courts are organized by each province and the City of Buenos Aires. These courts are also integrated with lower courts, courts of appeal and local supreme courts. Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases in which the dispute concerns an issue ruled by the National Constitution, national law, federal law or an international treaty. Local courts enforce local laws and ordinary or non-federal laws. Amid the outbreak of COVID-19 and in line with the measures of social isolation established by the Argentine Executive, the Argentine Courts have adopted regulations which temporarily suspend normal operations until further notice. In this regard, public audiences as well as in-person hearings have been suspended, and a series of measures have been adopted to enable a minimum indispensable provision of justice in order to deal with urgent matters, which admit no delay. This includes those related to criminal matters, urgent family issues, matters involving the protection of minors, gender violence matters and Amparo proceedings, especially those related to health issues (the Amparo proceeding is a special type of summary proceedings to guarantee constitutional rights). The latest Agreement issued by the SCJ entrusted the National and Federal Courts to appoint the necessary judicial employees to deal with as many matters as possible. In this regard, it allows the court authorities of each jurisdiction to extend the matters to be considered to the following: Amparo proceedings and Amparo proceedings against particulars; labor claims; habeas data proceedings; tort proceedings; social security proceedings; proceedings for the regulation of professional fees; universal proceedings, such as inheritance or bankruptcy proceedings; preliminary injunctions and voluntary proceedings. The SCJ has enabled the remote filing of briefs through electronic signature and developed a mechanism which allows the electronic filing of claims, appeals and complaints before all national and federal courts. Furthermore, the SCJ has regulated the electronic filing of written communications, reports or judicial files addressed to public offices, public notaries and private entities in the framework of requests for information ordered in judicial proceedings. 1 The provinces themselves have also ruled upon the activities of their own local courts. For instance, the Supreme Court of the Province of Buenos Aires (hereinafter, “SCBA”) has enabled the courts to consider urgent matters. It has also enabled the electronic submission of briefs aimed at initiating proceedings that require urgent dispatch or in which the statute of limitation of the action is imminent before Peace Courts and civil, commercial, family, contentious-administrative and labor first instance courts. Additionally, complaints against the Courts of Appeal’s resolutions, which deny or improperly grant appeals, can also be electronically filed. It is not certain when all Argentine courts will resume their normal activities, especially Courts located in the City of Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, where the majority of the COVID-19 cases are concentrated. However, the implementation of new technological mechanisms for the remote access to justice leads to the gradual functioning of courts through these means. 2. Has your government passed legislation or issued orders suspending the operation of substantive deadlines such as limitation periods? Have there been changes
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