Investment Justice has a direct impact on the economy and on the competitiveness of companies. This is one of the central theses in the book The Law of Injustice by jurist and economist Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti, presented at a conference held this Thursday. The event took place at Torre Juana within the Seedling Foundation and was organized under an agreement between both parties. The proceedings featured sessions and discussion forums that explored ideas for the future. The author shared data illustrating how courts affect citizens’ finances and the overall economy, even when most people have never gone to court.
Reduction of court congestion by a small margin can free up thousands of housing and rental decisions. In Madrid the impact would be around 3,400 cases, in Barcelona about 3,100, and in Valencia some 2,100. The approach works and carries social implications. Lower congestion allows for greater corporate expansion, potentially increasing employment and funding for research and development. Major Spanish companies could face up to 12,000 million in potential future lawsuits, a figure comparable to the General Government Budget allocated to infrastructure in a recent year. This is why legal certainty is considered a foundation for sustained growth in a country.
In the middle
Despite ongoing issues in Spanish justice, the data show that Spain sits in the mid to upper tier of major European countries in both speed and cost. There is room for improvement, yet the situation is not as dire as it may appear. Even the world’s finest legal systems would struggle under excessive workloads. Spain faced severe strain during the last major recession, but it was not the only country to feel that pressure. That perspective frames the need for reform rather than a belief that everything is doomed.
Among the central challenges facing Spanish courts are uneven workloads across provinces. Justice requires more tools, but tools must be deployed wisely. It is not about spending a little, but spending smarter. A key element identified is digitization paired with better use of forensic statistics. The author favors systems such as mediation to promote agreement and to relieve the courts, and emphasizes education as a tool to reduce social conflict.
In parallel action, a magistrate from the Móstoles Seventh Circuit Court of First Instance spoke at length about similar findings and highlighted a related work that echoes these results, underscoring the shared concerns about how justice operates in practice.
Another observer noted that the current model is outdated and that investment in justice has often been misdirected. Some professionals have defended positions without fully embracing the need for system-wide reform. The discussion identified a lack of robust criteria for measuring court workloads, a slow pace of civil service recruitment, and a shortage of expert witnesses whose reports influence decisions within specific cases.