By means of Royal Decree 463/2020, published in the State's Official Gazette before the midnight of Saturday 14 March 2020, the Spanish Government declared the state of alarm (the first of its three state of emergency levels) aimed at facing the health emergency caused by the coronavirus COVID-19. The state of alarm has been declared for a period of 15 calendar days from the publication of the Royal decree (i.e. until 29 March) that can (and will likely) be extended.

The Royal Decree includes the implementation of a number of measures under the Central Government's authority, in place from the publication thereof, and orders a lockdown of the country. The key measures adopted by the Government include, amongst others:

• The limitation of freedom of movement of people (that will only be entitled to leave their homes for the acquisition of food and pharmaceuticals, travel to workplace, assistance to health centres, financial and insurance entities and other force majeure issues);
• The suspension of face-to-face educational activities;
• The suspension of the opening to the public of commercial establishments (with some exceptions like those for food and beverages, pharmaceutical and medical establishments, automotive fuel, tobacco, and technological and telecommunications equipment);
• The management of privately owned health centres, services and establishments;
• The possibility of intervention and temporary occupation of, amongst others, industries, factories, privately owned health centres and premises of the pharmaceutical industry and to carry out temporary seizures of goods where it is necessary for the adequate protection of public health, and
• The limitation of passengers' transport services.

In the legal and judicial fields, the Royal Decree provides in its Second Additional provision for the suspension, during the term of the state of alarm, of the courts' deadlines provided for in the procedural laws applicable to all jurisdictional orders (i.e. civil-commercial, administrative, criminal and labour-law judicial proceedings). The suspension will be lifted once the Royal Decree (and, if applicable, its extensions) ceases to be in force. The Royal Decree also provides for a number of exceptions (relating to urgent proceedings) to the suspension, including (a) proceedings for the protection of the fundamental rights of people; (b) proceedings for collective conflict and for the protection of fundamental rights in the field of labour-law; (c) the judicial authorization for non-voluntary internment due to a mental disorder, and (d) the adoption of measures or provisions for the protection of minors. In the case of criminal proceedings, the suspension shall not apply to habeas corpus procedures or proceedings with arrested people, to protection orders, urgent actions in the field of prison surveillance and any precautionary measures regarding violence against women or minors. Likewise, in the investigation phase of the criminal proceedings, the competent judge or court may agree to the practice of those actions that, due to their urgent nature, cannot be postponed.

In any event, under the above Additional Provision of the Royal Decree, the judge or court may carry out any judicial action that is necessary to avoid irreparable damages to the legitimate rights and interests of the parties to the proceedings.

In line with the declaration of the state of alarm, the General Council of the Judiciary agreed, in its extraordinary meeting held on 14 March, to the suspension throughout the national territory of the scheduled procedural acts, hearings and procedural deadlines while the state of alarm is in place, guaranteeing the following essential services of the Administration of Justice that would not be affected by the suspension:

• Any judicial procedure that could cause irreparable damage if not held;
• Urgent non-voluntary internments due to mental disorders (Article 763 of the Civil Procedure Law) ;
• Preliminary injunctions and other unavoidable actions, such as the measures for the protection of minors under Article 158 of the Civil Code;
• Guard services, protection orders and any precautionary measures that shall be taken by the courts dealing with cases of violence against women and minors;
• Burial licenses, birth registrations and celebration of marriages by the Civil Registry;
• Proceedings with arrested people and others that cannot be postponed, such as the adoption of urgent precautionary measures, removal of bodies or registrations orders;
• Any action to be taken in cases with prisoners or arrested people;
• Urgent actions in the field of prison surveillance;
• In the contentious-administrative jurisdiction, the sanitary, urgent and unavoidable entry authorizations, urgent proceedings regarding fundamental rights, urgent precautionary measures and remedies in the electoral field;
• In the labour-law jurisdiction, urgent trials and precautionary measures, and proceedings for (temporary) collective dismissals, and
• In general, urgent proceedings for the violation of fundamental rights whose postponement would prevent or make the claimed judicial protection very burdensome.

The courts' governing bodies in the different regions are issuing their own guidelines for the practical application of the suspension measures.

Finally, the suspension of deadlines in administrative proceedings is also provided by the Royal Decree (Third Additional Provision), jointly with the suspension of the time periods for the application of the statute of limitations and expiration of actions and rights (Fourth Additional Provision).

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