Types of trials of mercantile nature
Trials of mercantile nature are legal acts that produce effects in the commercial field and are governed by current mercantile laws.
The Commercial Code refers to the concept of mercantile judgment in Article 1049, defining it as: “Mercantile judgments are those that aim to ventilate and decide disputes that, according to Articles 4, 75, and 76 of the Commercial Code, derive from commercial acts.”1
There are two types of mercantile trials:
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Ordinary mercantile trial
The Commercial Code establishes in Article 1377 that “all disputes that have no special processing in the commercial laws will be ventilated in an ordinary trial.” And according to Article 1378, “it is necessary to hold a written request.”
The ordinary mercantile trial comprises that in which the judge knows of a situation related to commercial business between two parties on which a disagreement must be resolved and a judgment passed.
The ordinary mercantile trial regards issues related by controversies or affectations originated by some type of commerce.
This trial is divided into four stages:
- Postulation
Both parties must present their statements before the jury, from their perspectives. This should be done through written requests and responses. The requirements for the requests are the following:
- Name of the court before which the parties present.
- Names of the complainant and respondent.
- Case subject of litigation.
- Legal basis.
- Detailed claim, specifying the terms.
- Probation
The probative period should not exceed a total of 40 days. The jury orders the trial to be open to probation.
- Allegations
The jury should be able to examine the facts that endorse each party’s claims and the evidence of their rights orderly and in a summarized manner. 10 days are allowed for each of the parties.
- Sentencing
According to Article 1324 of the Commercial Code “Any sentence shall be founded on the law, and if neither due to the natural sense or the spirit of this can the controversy be decided, the general principles of the law will be met, taking into account all circumstances of the case.”
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Executive mercantile trial
The executive mercantile trial aims to obtain the immediate payment of the claimed credit, or to solicit a sentence of condemnation of the goods that may ensure the payment of the aforesaid credit.
Article 1391 of the Commercial Code establishes that “The executive mercantile process takes place when the claim is founded on a document that brings rigged execution and adds that the following does so as well:
- Executed or passed judgment in the authority of res juricata.
- Public instruments.
- Judicial confession of the debtor.
- Insurance policies.
- Decision of the experts appointed regarding the insurances to fix the amount of the sinister.
- Invoices, current accounts, and other signed and judicially recognized business contracts by the debtor.
- Other documents of executive nature provided by the law.”2
