Judgment Reviews Law at Uruguay
In Uruguay, the review of judgments is governed by its Code of Civil Procedure and is also influenced by its constitutional and administrative law. The system provides for a number of remedies to challenge judicial decisions, both in civil and administrative matters.
Civil and Commercial Judgments
The primary legal text governing civil and commercial disputes is the Código General del Proceso (General Code of Procedure). This code establishes the procedural mechanisms for challenging judgments. Key remedies include:
Recurso de Apelación (Appeal): This is the most common remedy for challenging a first-instance judgment. An appeal is filed with a higher court, the Court of Appeals, which reviews the lower court's decision on both factual and legal grounds. The appellate court can either confirm, modify, or revoke the original judgment.
Recurso de Casación (Cassation Appeal): This is an extraordinary remedy available only for specific, high-value cases. It is filed with the Supreme Court of Justice and is generally limited to reviewing errors of law or procedural violations. The Supreme Court's role is not to re-examine the facts of the case but to ensure the correct application of the law.
Recurso de Nulidad (Nullity Appeal): This remedy is used to challenge a judgment on the basis of a fundamental procedural defect that renders the decision invalid.
Recurso de Revisión (Review Appeal): This is another extraordinary remedy used to challenge a final judgment under specific circumstances, such as when new evidence is discovered that was unavailable at the time of the original trial.
Administrative Judgments
For matters involving the state or public administration, a separate jurisdictional body, the Tribunal de lo Contencioso Administrativo (TCA) or Contentious Administrative Court, is in charge. The TCA's main function is to review and annul administrative acts that are deemed illegal or in violation of the constitution.
Action for Annulment: A citizen or entity can file an action with the TCA to have an administrative act annulled. The TCA will then review the legality of the act. If it finds the act to be illegal, it will annul it, but it cannot order the administration to take a specific action.
Constitutional Review
The Supreme Court of Justice also has the exclusive power of constitutional review in Uruguay.
Action of Unconstitutionality: A party in a legal proceeding can challenge the constitutionality of a law, decree, or administrative act that is being applied to their case. If the Supreme Court declares the law or act unconstitutional, it is only for that specific case (known as inter partes effect). This is a crucial mechanism to ensure that the laws of Uruguay conform to the Constitution.
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