Litigation

Administrative litigation

Litigating against the public administration is by no means simple. The forum is different, the rules governing the process are different, and even the procedural language has its own nuances.

Challenging administrative self-enforcement, the presumption of correctness and veracity, and administrative discretion requires understanding how these public law concepts operate in practice and how they can be contested, taking into account the standards applied by the administrative courts when assessing the unlawfulness of administrative conduct and the evidentiary basis of claims.

At rēgula, we regularly defend our clients’ interests before the administrative courts in all types of disputes, particularly in appeals concerning competition law, public procurement, and sanctioning law, as well as in matters of sector-specific regulation in areas such as agri-food, energy, and insurance, among others. We also have extensive experience in claims for state liability.

We are well-versed in the intricacies of special administrative litigation procedures, particularly appeals for the protection of fundamental rights, interim relief applications, direct and indirect challenges to general administrative provisions, and actions against administrative inaction, especially in cases of public sector default in meeting contractual obligations.

We are litigators specialized in administrative litigation, and we apply to these proceedings the same approach we take in all litigation: tailored strategy design, careful selection of the issues to be argued, tenacious defense of our clients’ interests, and constant attention to the economic dimension of disputes.

Cassation appeals (civil and administrative)

Cassation appeals require highly specific procedural skills in both civil and administrative litigation. At rēgula, we handle these matters with the same methodology we apply to strategic litigation: we examine the challenged judgment in depth, identify potential legal errors, and assess their alignment with the limited statutory grounds for cassation. We understand that cassation is not a third instance or a new trial, but a legality review confined to legal issues, which demands precision in argument and a thorough command of Supreme Court jurisprudence.

In administrative litigation, we regularly appear before the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court in cases involving regulated sectors, competition law, and public procurement. We have filed cassation appeals against rulings confirming or annulling sanctions imposed by the Spanish competition authority (CNMC), decisions on State aid, exclusion and award of contracts, as well as sectoral licenses, subsidies, and authorizations, and in matters of sanctioning law. We are fully familiar with the system and requirements of the cassation process and work to build strong cases based on rigorous interpretation of the substantive and procedural rules at issue, always guided by the most recent case law of the Third Chamber on admissibility requirements.

In civil litigation, we have extensive experience drafting cassation appeals in complex matters, particularly those involving civil liability, commercial contracts, and damages arising from antitrust infringements. We are also retained specifically to assume defense at the cassation stage without prior involvement in earlier phases, which requires a fresh and objective reading of the case. These assignments highlight our ability to engage with highly complex matters at an advanced procedural stage and to construct well-founded legal challenges from that position.

Our approach is always based on a careful selection of grounds for appeal, a clear articulation of the objective cassation interest, and drafting that meets the Court’s highest standards. We work with the conviction that cassation must raise a legal issue of wider significance beyond the specific case, as only then can it pass the Supreme Court’s demanding admissibility threshold.

We are also experienced in defending judgments challenged by cassation, with strategies designed to maximize the chances that appeals threatening our clients’ interests are declared inadmissible or, if admitted, dismissed.

We draft with the most demanding reader in mind: a Supreme Court justice with limited time, who expects maximum rigor, clarity, and solid reasoning.

Cassation appeals often arise in the context of matters managed by other areas of the firm, from sanctioning proceedings and public procurement disputes to damages claims and class action litigation. This cross-disciplinary approach allows us to integrate substantive and procedural expertise from different fields and to strengthen our clients’ position in the final instance. At rēgula, cassation is never a mere formality: it is an opportunity to recalibrate litigation strategy and consolidate a legal position with jurisprudential impact.

Public contract award litigation

Challenging decisions on the preparation and award of public contracts, or defending against such challenges, has developed into a specialized practice area, due to the particular nature of the procedure (the special appeal in public procurement and other similar claims, characterized by extremely short deadlines and narrowly defined issues) and the bodies before which these disputes are heard (the procurement review tribunals), which often apply divergent criteria on key matters.

At rēgula, we have extensive experience in these proceedings, having been involved since the very inception of the procurement appeals system introduced by the Public Sector Contracts Act of 2007. We know the language of the procurement tribunals, we understand how to frame the arguments, we master the procedure, and we are prepared to assist clients in proceedings where the award of a contract is at stake, with all the financial implications that entails.

We provide ongoing advice in this field to several of the country’s leading bidders, across industries such as construction, environmental services, waste management, integrated water cycle management, pharmaceuticals, railway components, and more.

We have acted in challenges to decisions concerning some of the highest-value contracts tendered in Spain in recent years, including major infrastructure projects and concessions for the construction and operation of waste management facilities and the provision of public services.

We are also experts in judicial challenges to decisions of the procurement tribunals, which raise complex issues relating to the configuration of the procedural relationship, the review of the administrative tribunal’s criteria, and the enforcement of rulings annulling contract awards that are already being performed when the judgment is handed down.

Administrative sanctions litigation

Litigation against administrative sanctions requires highly specialized knowledge of the applicable procedural framework (from the outset, when it is possible to choose between ordinary proceedings or the procedure for the protection of fundamental rights) and of the general and sector-specific rules governing the administrative sanctioning power.

At rēgula, we bring this expertise at both the general and sectoral levels. We regularly defend our clients’ interests in the exercise of disciplinary authority in complex matters subject to detailed regulation, including competition law, the electricity sector, insurance, the food chain, data protection, environmental law, and water regulation. This applies both to administrative sanctioning proceedings, covering preliminary stages (such as prior actions and confidential inquiries) and subsequent stages (monitoring files, enforcement, and compliance incidents), as well as to administrative litigation.

We also act in challenges to administrative sanctions before the Constitutional Court (we secured admission of the first constitutional appeal to address the application of the Saquetti Iglesias doctrine to Spanish administrative litigation) and before the European Court of Human Rights.

We have also handled cases where sectoral regulation intersects with criminal proceedings, providing specialized regulatory advice in criminal investigations and trials concerning offences related to the environment, public health, and public procurement. We work closely and effectively with criminal defense counsel to clarify the regulatory context of the case and to prepare optimal defense strategies against charges of regulatory breaches with criminal implications.

Class action litigation

Class action litigation has grown steadily and significantly in Europe in recent years, and Spain has been no exception. This development has been driven by the evolution of procedural mechanisms for aggregating claims, through assignment of credit rights, voluntary representation, joinder of proceedings, and the new representative actions introduced by Directive 2020/1828, as well as by the professionalization of the actors in this field, including law firms, claims vehicles, funders, and specialized experts. At rēgula, we have been closely involved in this evolution from its earliest stages and have developed a dedicated practice in class action litigation, marked by a demanding procedural approach, deep technical knowledge of affected markets, and extensive experience in structuring and executing complex claims. We combine experience representing claimants with defending corporate defendants.

Our practice covers the full range of collective litigation structures. We advise claims vehicles aggregating credit rights from multiple claimants, as well as associations and sectoral organizations channeling class actions on behalf of businesses and consumers. We also represent major companies facing large-scale collective claims. Our work spans every stage of the process: from preliminary viability assessments (substantive, economic, and procedural) through to enforcement of favorable judgments. We manage the pre-trial phase required by Organic Act 1/2025, draft pleadings, oversee the submission of expert and documentary evidence, conduct pre-trial hearings, and assume full technical direction of proceedings.

We have acted in some of the most significant class actions and collective claims brought in Spain in recent years, across sectors such as energy, transport, pharmaceuticals, retail distribution, payment systems, and public procurement. We have advised groups of companies seeking recovery of overcharges caused by anticompetitive practices or annulled regulations, representative entities filing actions for injunctions against abusive clauses, and companies defending themselves against mass claims brought by consumers and competitors. This experience allows us to anticipate opposing strategies and identify structural weaknesses in the configuration of class actions that can prove decisive to the outcome.

Our comparative advantage lies in combining procedural expertise, economic analysis, and sector-specific knowledge. We apply rigorous selection criteria and clear legal strategies, enabling us to litigate effectively in cases involving multiple parties, complex economic evidence, and, at times, intense media and reputational scrutiny. As a boutique, we offer agile, direct service and adapt swiftly to the specific demands of each project, whether representing claimants or defending companies. We are particularly effective in cases where the procedural framework of a class action must be designed from the ground up, or defended against objections of inadmissibility, lack of standing, or defects in claim aggregation.

This practice connects naturally with other core areas of the firm. In competition law, many class actions arise from infringement decisions of the Spanish competition authority (CNMC) and the European Commission, which require close knowledge of administrative proceedings and the binding scope of such decisions. From a regulatory perspective, these claims often challenge or seek enforcement of decisions adopted by public authorities and sector regulators. Procedurally, our expertise integrates with our experience in civil and administrative litigation, as well as in pursuing cassation appeals in both jurisdictions.

At rēgula, we are fully prepared to handle complex and high-value class actions. We know the risks inherent in these proceedings, but also the opportunities they present for well-advised companies and claimant groups.