Legal Definitions - acto

In Spanish law, acto refers to a formal legal action, a specific legal proceeding, or a lawsuit. It encompasses both the entire legal process initiated to resolve a dispute and significant individual steps taken within such a process.

• Example 1 (Lawsuit): Imagine a Spanish company discovers that a competitor has illegally copied its product design. The company decides to file a lawsuit to stop the infringement and seek damages. This entire legal proceeding, from filing the initial complaint to the final judgment, would be referred to as an acto.

  Explanation: Here, "acto" describes the comprehensive legal action initiated by one party against another to resolve a dispute, functioning as a complete lawsuit.

• Example 2 (Formal Legal Step): Consider a situation where a property owner in Spain wants to challenge a local government's decision to expropriate a portion of their land for a public project. The formal appeal or administrative challenge they initiate against the government's decision constitutes an acto within the legal framework.

  Explanation: In this context, "acto" refers to a specific, formal legal step or proceeding taken to contest an administrative decision, highlighting a particular action within a broader legal system.

• Example 3 (Specific Court Action): During a criminal trial in a Spanish-speaking country, the prosecutor presents a formal request to the judge for a specific witness to be compelled to testify. This formal request and the subsequent judicial decision regarding the witness would be considered an acto.

  Explanation: This example illustrates "acto" as a distinct, formal action or step taken by a party within ongoing legal proceedings, rather than the entire lawsuit itself.