Code of Common Procedures (page 173 Non-Contentious Acts)

The Executive Branch is authorized to issue the Codes and Laws determined in Decree No. 65, in order for them to begin to take effect on the first of March of the current year.

The Political Constitution shall begin to take effect from that date on which the citizen elected for such office, General Manuel Bonilla, shall take possession of the Presidency of the Republic. Given in Tegucigalpa, on the nineteenth day of the month of January of nineteen hundred six. F. Dávila, President. J. Bustillo Rivera, Pilar M. Martínez, Secretary Vice-Secretary To the Executive Branch. Therefore: Let it be published. Tegucigalpa, January 22, 1906. MANUEL BONILLA. The Secretary of State in the Office of Governance. SALOMON ORDOÑEZ. MANUEL BONILLA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS, Making use of the faculties delegated to the Executive Branch by Decree number 76 of the National Constituent Assembly, issued on January 19 of the current year, decrees the following. CODE OF PROCEDURE -- FIRST PART CIVIL PROCEEDINGS BOOK I COMMON PROVISIONS FOR CONTENTIOUS AND VOLUNTARY JURISDICTION TITLE I ON APPEARANCE IN COURT

Every complaint shall be filed before a competent Judge. If the residence of the defendant is known, he shall be cited personally; and if it is not known, or his whereabouts are unknown, by concealment or by absence, and he lacks a representative, citation shall be made to a special curator, who shall represent the defendant until he appears personally or through the Procurator. The appointment of special curator shall be made at the request of the plaintiff, following summary investigation, with the intervention of the Fiscal. CHAPTER I ON LITIGANTS, PROCURATORS AND ATTORNEYS

Only those who are in the exercise of their civil rights may appear personally in court. Those who are not in this situation shall appear through their legal representatives, or those who must remedy their incapacity in accordance with law. Corporations, partnerships and other legal entities shall appear through the persons who legally represent them.

If during the course of the litigation the incapacity of any of the parties ceases and the legal representative continues, notwithstanding, in the exercise of his office, the acts of such representative prior to the appearance of the party shall be valid.

Appearance in court may be made through a legally appointed Procurator. The power of attorney shall necessarily be attached to the first written submission, to which no further action shall be taken without this requirement, even though it contains the protest to represent the party. However, in grave and urgent cases as determined by the Judge or Court, the representation of an officious agent may be admitted, provided that he gives a guarantee, likewise determined, to respond to the results of the litigation if the interested party does not approve of what was done in his name.

The intervention of the Procurator or Attorney shall be necessary when required by the regular and expeditious conduct of the pending matter.

If the interested parties have identical claims or defenses, they shall litigate together and under the same direction; and if they do not agree on the appointment of a representative, the Judge or Court shall appoint one ex officio. The common Procurator shall adjust his procedures as much as possible to the instructions and will of the parties he represents; and in cases where these parties are not in agreement, he may proceed on his own and as prudence advises him, always keeping in view the most faithful and expeditious execution of the mandate. Any of the parties represented by the common Procurator appointed ex officio may separately make such arguments and present such evidence as he considers conducive to the better success of the matter; but he may not for this reason prolong or obstruct in any way the course of the litigation nor increase its procedures, and shall make arguments and present evidence within the same time periods as the common Procurator.

Acceptance of the power of attorney is presumed by the fact of the Procurator exercising it. Once the power is accepted, the Procurator is obligated to fulfill the duties imposed by the Law of Organization and Attributes of the Courts, as well as to collect from the Attorney who ceases directing the matter the copies of the written submissions and documents and other antecedents that are in his possession, in order to deliver them to the one who is to continue with it.

The power to litigate shall be understood to be conferred for the entire litigation in which it is presented, and even though it does not express the faculties that are granted, it shall authorize the Procurator to take part, in the same manner as the principal could, in all proceedings and incidents of the litigation and in all questions that are raised by way of counterclaim, until the complete execution of the final judgment, except where the law requires personal intervention of the party itself. Clauses that deny or limit the faculties expressed are void. The Procurator may likewise delegate the power, binding the principal, unless this faculty has been denied to him. However, the following faculties shall not be understood to be granted to the Procurator without express mention: to withdraw in the first instance from the action brought, to accept the opposing claim, to defer the decisive oath, to accept its taking, to answer interrogatories, to waive remedies or legal time periods, to settle, to arbitrate, to grant arbitrators their faculties, to approve agreements and to collect.

If after a matter is initiated the principal does not furnish his Procurator with the necessary funds to continue it, the latter may request that the former be compelled to do so. This claim shall be brought before the Court or Tribunal that knows of the case, which shall grant it without further proceedings, fixing the amount it considers necessary and the time period within which it must be delivered, under penalty of attachment.

When a Procurator has to demand from his delinquent principal the sums that the latter owes him for his fees and for the expenses he has advanced for the litigation, he shall present before the Court or Tribunal where the matter is pending a detailed and justified account, and this claim shall be processed in the manner established for the taxation of costs. The heirs of Procurators shall have the same right with respect to credits of this nature that those left to them.

The Procurator shall cease his representation for the causes determined by the Law of Organization and Attributes of the Courts. When the Procurator dies, the Judge or Court, ex officio or at the instance of a party, and upon proof of death being properly established, shall order that the interested party be cited to appear in the record. When the interested party who litigated personally dies, the litigation shall be suspended by that very fact, and notice of its status shall be given to the heir or heirs of the deceased so that they appear to exercise their right within a period equal to that for answering the complaint.

Attorneys may demand payment from the Procurator, and if the latter does not intervene, from the party whom they defend, for the fees they have earned in the litigation, presenting a detailed bill and protesting that they have not been satisfied. If this claim is made in time, the Judge or Court shall grant it in the manner provided in Article 10. CHAPTER II ON DEFENSE BY POVERTY

The declaration of poverty shall be requested at any stage in which the principal litigation may be found, and even before it begins, before the Court or Tribunal that knows or is competent to know of the case or matter in which it is sought to use such benefit.

Anyone who requests to be declared indigent shall be defended immediately as a poor person, with an Attorney and Prosecutor appointed ex officio, should they lose, without prejudice to what is ultimately decided. An Attorney and Prosecutor shall also be appointed ex officio to those who request it in order to bring an action for declaration of indigency.

Actions for declaration of indigency shall be conducted in a separate proceeding and shall be decided by the procedures established for incidental matters, with a hearing of the opposing litigant or litigants and of the State Prosecutor representing the State. When this action is filed before the suit is brought, those who must answer it shall be served with summons to appear within three days for this purpose. If the opposing litigant does not appear, the proceeding shall be conducted only with the State Prosecutor.

The circumstances that the Court must consider in order to grant or deny the declaration of indigency, and upon which the burden of proof shall rest, are: the financial resources of the applicant, their profession or trade, their income, their debts, the personal or family obligations that burden them, their intellectual or physical abilities to earn their subsistence, or any other matters that the Court deems fit to investigate in order to form a judgment regarding the basis of the benefit requested.

Whenever the defense as a poor person is denied, the party who requested it shall be condemned to pay the costs of the first instance. In case of appeal, the costs of the second instance shall be imposed on whoever corresponds in accordance with law.

The judgment granting or denying the defense as a poor person does not produce the effects of res judicata.

Those declared to be poor shall enjoy the following benefits:

• 1)

  To use their defense on common paper or ex officio.

• 2)

  To have an Attorney and Prosecutor appointed, without obligation to pay their fees.

• 3)

  Exemption from payment of all kinds of fees to the auxiliaries and subordinate officers of the Courts and Tribunals.

• 4)

  To have dispatches and other writs that are issued at their request to be sent and executed ex officio, if they so request.

The declaration of indigency made in one suit cannot be used in another if the co-litigant opposes it. Upon opposition, the proceeding on the incidental matter shall be repeated with summons and a hearing of the co-litigant until a new judgment on the indigency is rendered.

The declaration of indigency made in favor of any litigant shall not relieve them of the obligation to pay the costs to which they have been condemned, if property is found whereby to satisfy them.

If the party declared poor prevails in the suit they have brought, they shall pay the costs incurred in their defense, provided they do not exceed one-third of what they have obtained by virtue of the action or counterclaim. If they exceed that amount, they shall be reduced to what amounts to one-third.

When there are not sufficient assets to cover all costs, the interested parties shall receive pro rata the portion that corresponds to them.

In appeals and cassation proceedings, when the litigant is qualified to defend themselves as a poor person, they shall be deemed to have appeared on time before the superior Court, if within the summons period they appear before it, personally or through another person, requesting that an Attorney and Prosecutor be appointed ex officio to take charge of their defense. The same request may be made when being served with the summons, in which case the Secretary shall note it in the proceeding. In these cases, the Court shall order the appointment if the qualification is proven and all subsequent actions shall be conducted with the ex officio Prosecutor in representation of the litigant.

Questions of jurisdiction may be raised by motion to inhibit or by plea to jurisdiction.

The litigant who has chosen one of these means cannot subsequently abandon it to resort to the other. Neither may they use both simultaneously nor successively.

The motion to inhibit shall be presented to the Court believed to be competent, requesting it to direct the one hearing the matter to inhibit itself and remit the record. If the party making the motion intends to prove their right with documents, they shall attach them to the motion to inhibit or request the corresponding certified copies in the motion.

Based on what the party has alleged and the documents presented or those the Court orders to be added ex officio, if it deems fit, it shall grant the motion or declare that there is no basis for it.

The order denying the request for inhibition is subject to appeal.

If the tribunal accedes, it shall direct to the tribunal that is hearing the matter the corresponding communication with the insertion of the request of the party and of the other documents that it deems necessary to support its jurisdiction.

Upon receipt of the communication, the Tribunal so required shall hear within the third day the party that is litigating before it, and with the merit that the documents presented shall show or that the tribunal may order to be added ex officio, shall accede to the inhibition or shall deny it.

The order in which the Tribunal so required accedes to the inhibition is subject to appeal.

If the Tribunal so required accedes to the inhibition, and this sentence becomes final, it shall remit the case file to the requiring tribunal.

If it denies it, it shall communicate this to the same Tribunal accompanying it with a certified copy of the sentence, of what the party shall have alleged and of the other matters that it deems necessary in support of its jurisdiction.

Upon receipt of this communication, the requiring Tribunal shall resolve what it deems just.

If the requiring Tribunal insists on the inhibition, it shall communicate this to the required tribunal, inviting it to remit the case file prepared by that Tribunal to the one who, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Organization of the Tribunals, is responsible for resolving the conflict of jurisdiction, and it shall send the same the proceedings before it. Both Tribunals shall make the remission of the case file with notification of the parties.

The order in which the requiring Tribunal conforms to what was resolved by the required Tribunal is subject to appeal.

If the requiring Tribunal conforms to what was resolved by the required tribunal and this sentence becomes final, it shall communicate this to such Tribunal so that it may continue in the hearing of the matter.

The appeals referred to in this Title shall be brought before the Tribunal to whom, in accordance with the Law of organization and powers of the Tribunals, it corresponds to hear the conflict of jurisdiction.

This Tribunal shall declare which of the Judges is competent and which one, whether the proceeding shall have reached it by virtue of the appeals filed in accordance with Articles 29, 32 and 37, or whether it shall have been remitted by both Tribunals in the case of Article 36. To pronounce this resolution it shall cite both litigants; and it may, in the case of

request a report from the Tribunal that is hearing the matter. It may also receive the evidence that it deems convenient, including witness testimony, if the nature of the principal matter consents to it.

Once the resolution is issued, the proceeding shall be returned to the Tribunal that has been declared competent, which shall begin to hear or shall continue hearing the matter.

The declinatory objection shall be raised before the Tribunal that is deemed incompetent and that is hearing the matter, indicating to it the Tribunal that is deemed competent, and requesting that it abstain from such hearing. In all other respects, the declinatory objection shall be processed and resolved in accordance with the provisions of Articles 40, 41 and 42.

While the incident of jurisdiction remains pending, the course of the principal case shall be suspended; however, the Court that is hearing it may issue those measures that have the character of urgent.

In the matters referred to in this Title, the Courts and Tribunals shall hear the respective District Attorney. TITLE III OF ACCUMULATIONS CHAPTER I OF THE ACCUMULATION OF ACTIONS

The plaintiff may accumulate in his complaint as many actions as he has against the defendant, although they proceed from different titles, provided that such actions are not incompatible with each other.

The simultaneous exercise of two or more actions in the same case shall be incompatible, and therefore cannot be accumulated: 1st.- When they mutually exclude each other or are contrary to each other, such that the exercise of one prevents or makes ineffective the exercise of the other. 2nd.- When the Judge who must hear the principal action is incompetent, by reason of subject matter or the amount in controversy, to hear the accumulated action. 3rd.- When, in accordance with the law, the actions must be tried and decided in cases of different nature.

Actions that, by reason of the amount in controversy, must be brought in summary proceedings may be accumulated with those of greater amount. In these cases, the jurisdiction of the Judge and the class of declarative proceeding to be followed shall be determined by the cumulative value of all that is the subject of the complaint.

May be accumulated and exercised simultaneously the actions that one person has against several individuals, or several against one, provided that they arise from the same title or are based on the same cause of action.

The accumulation of actions shall not be permitted after the complaint has been answered, the right of the plaintiff being preserved to exercise it in the corresponding proceeding.

If before the answer the complaint is amended to accumulate new actions to those already exercised, the term to answer shall be counted anew from the service of the amendment brief.

If the action exercised by one person should also correspond to one or more other identified persons, the defendants may request that the complaint be brought to the knowledge of those who have not instituted it, who shall express within the term of summons whether they adhere to it. If said persons adhere to the complaint, the provisions in

shall be applied. If they declare their resolution not to adhere, their right shall lapse; and if they say nothing within the legal term, they shall be bound by the outcome of the proceedings, without new notice. In the latter case they may appear at any stage of the case, but respecting all that was carried out previously.

The accumulation of actions when it is proper and is used timely by the plaintiff, shall produce the effect that all are discussed in the same case and resolved in a single judgment. CHAPTER II OF THE ACCUMULATION OF CASES

The accumulation of cases shall take place whenever two or more separate proceedings are transmitted that must constitute a single case and be determined by a single judgment, to maintain the continuity or unity of the cause. There shall therefore be ground for it: 1st.- When the action or actions instituted in one case are identical to those deduced in another, or when some and others emanate directly and immediately from the same facts. 2nd.- When the persons and the subject matter of the cases are identical, although the actions are different: and 3rd.- In general whenever the judgment to be pronounced in one case must produce the exception of res judicata in another.

There shall also be ground for the accumulation of cases in cases of bankruptcy and when the assets against which an action has been or shall be brought are subject to receivership. This accumulation shall be dealt with in the Title "Of the concourse of creditors".

The accumulation of cases shall be ordered at the request of a party; however, if the proceedings are in the same Court, the Court may order it ex officio. Any person who has been admitted as a litigant in any of the cases whose accumulation is sought is considered to be a legitimate party to request it.

For the accumulation to take place, it is required that the cases be subject to the same class of procedure and that the handling of all of them be at analogous stages.

If the lawsuits are pending before Courts of equal hierarchy, the more recent one shall be consolidated with the older one; but in the opposite case, consolidation shall be made to the one that is under the jurisdiction of the superior Court.

Whenever consolidation takes place, the course of the lawsuits that are more advanced shall be suspended until all reach the same stage.

Consolidation may be requested at any stage of the lawsuit before the citation for final judgment; and if it concerns executive suits, before payment of the obligation. It must be requested before the Court that is competent to continue proceedings in accordance with Article 57.

Once consolidation is requested, a period of three days shall be granted to the co-litigant to state what is appropriate regarding it. After this term has passed, whether or not there is a response, the Court shall resolve, having all processes whose consolidation is requested previously brought to its attention, if all are pending before it. Otherwise, it may request that those pending before other Courts be remitted to it.

Appeals shall only be granted in the devolutive effect against resolutions that deny consolidation or approve it.

Judges and Magistrates and the auxiliaries of the Courts and Tribunals may only be recused for legitimate cause.

The legitimate causes for recusal are those determined by the Law of Organization and Jurisdiction of the Courts. To avoid recusal, Judges of First Instance and Judges of the Peace must reject the Attorneys and Procurators with whom they have family relations.

Magistrates and Judges in whom any of the causes for recusal concur shall abstain from hearing the matter without waiting to be recused. The same shall be done by the auxiliaries of the Courts and Juzgados in like case. Against these resolutions there shall be no appeal whatsoever, without prejudice to what is provided in the

Only those who are a legitimate party or have the right to be one, and appear in the matter to which the recusal refers, may recuse.

Recusal shall be proposed in the first written pleading presented by the recusing party in suits of greater amount, and at the First appearance in Oral Proceedings, when the cause on which it is based is prior to the dispute and the recusing party has knowledge of it. When it is subsequent, or, although prior, the recusing party had not had prior knowledge of it, they must propose it as soon as it comes to their attention. Failing to justify this requirement, the recusal shall be rejected.

In no case may recusal be made after the parties are cited for judgment in the Courts, nor after the hearing of the dispute begins in the Tribunals. Neither may it be proposed in proceedings for the execution of the judgment, unless it is based on legitimate causes that have notoriously arisen after the judgment is rendered.

Recusal of Judges and Magistrates and of Auxiliaries of Courts and Tribunals must be made, in all cases, expressing concretely and clearly the cause of the recusal.

When the recused Judge considers the alleged cause to be proper, being true and legitimate, whatever form the recusing party may have employed, if the procedure is written, a resolution shall be issued, and if it is oral, a record shall be made, the judge shall forthwith declare themselves recused and order that the case file be transferred to whoever must replace them. When the recusal is of a Magistrate, if they recognize the alleged cause as true and the Court considers it proper, the Court shall issue a resolution declaring them recused. When the recusal is of an auxiliary, if they acknowledge the cause, the Court or Tribunal shall resolve on its validity. Against these resolutions there shall be no appeal whatsoever, without prejudice to what is provided in Article 78.

If the recused does not consider themselves included in the cause alleged for the recusal, and the suit is written, it shall be denied, and an order shall be made to form a separate case to substantiate it in the manner prescribed for incidental matters. Said case shall contain the original recusal pleading with the proceedings conducted in its virtue, a notation being left in the principal case. If the suit is oral, the denial shall be recorded in the minute and the incidental matter shall be substantiated by whoever corresponds, in the form of oral procedure.

During the substantiation of the recusal incident, the recused shall not be able to intervene in the incident, nor in the suit, and shall be replaced by the one to whom it corresponds in accordance with the Law.

The filing of a recusation motion shall not stay the proceedings, which shall continue to be processed until the citation for final judgment, at which point it shall be suspended until the recusation incident is decided. If such incident is not concluded, the recusation of auxiliaries shall not stay the proceedings or the judgment of the case.

Recusation incidents shall be decided as follows: When the recused party is a Magistrate, by the Court to which he belongs. When he is a Judge, by the Judge who knows of the recusation matter. When he is an auxiliary, by the Court or Tribunal to which he belongs.

Against the resolutions that the Supreme Court shall issue declaring whether or not there is cause for recusation, there shall be no remedy whatsoever. Against those issued by the Courts of Appeals, there shall be only cassation remedy, where applicable. The resolutions issued by Judges of the First Instance or Justices of the Peace granting the recusation shall not be appealable. The resolutions denying it shall be appealable in both effects.

When the recusation is denied, the party who filed it shall always be condemned to pay costs.

In addition to the condemnation in costs expressed in the preceding article, a fine shall be imposed on the party filing the recusation not exceeding three pesos* when the recused party is a Justice of the Peace; ten pesos* when he is a Judge of the First Instance; twenty pesos* when he is a Magistrate of the Court of Appeals, and thirty pesos* when he is a Magistrate of the Supreme Court. * The current monetary unit of Honduras is the Lempira, according to Legislative Decree number 102 of April 3, 1926.

When the recusation is denied, the recused party shall continue to know of the case, and when it is granted, he shall be removed from the knowledge of the same.

When a Judge of the First Instance or Justice of the Peace voluntarily abstains, or at the request of a legitimate party, from the knowledge of a case, in accordance with what is established in Articles 64 and 69, he shall give justified notice to the Supreme Court; and if the latter considers the abstention improper, it may impose a disciplinary correction on the Judge.

When the recusation refers to a delegated Judge, the delegating Judge shall know of it and shall resolve it without further proceedings. When it refers to an auxiliary of the delegated Judge, the delegated Judge shall resolve it in the same manner. When the delegated Judge abstains, he shall promptly return the case to the office of the delegating Judge. Notice of these recusations and abstentions shall be given to the Supreme Court for the purposes of the preceding article.

The case shall be formed with the briefs, documents, and proceedings of all kinds that are presented or executed in the action. No piece of the case file may be withdrawn without a prior order from the Court that knows of the case.

Every brief shall be presented to the Court of the case through the respective Secretary and shall be headed with a summary indicating its content or the procedural matter in question.

Together with each brief, as many copies on plain paper shall be attached as there are parties to whom the ruling that issues thereon must be served, and once said copies are examined by the Secretary, they shall be delivered to the other party or parties, or shall be left at the Secretary's office at their disposal when service is not made in person or by citation. The following are excepted from this provision: briefs intended to enter an appearance in the action, briefs asserting default, requesting enforcement, extension of terms, joinder of evidence, setting of hearings, suspension thereof, and any other mere procedural matters. If substantial discrepancy results between the copies and the original brief, the Court may impose a fine of three to thirty pesos, according to its rank.

Once a brief is delivered to the Secretary, he shall, on the same day, affix the date and his half-signature on each page. He shall also give a receipt for the documents delivered to him whenever the party presenting them so requests.

Every brief shall be presented by the Secretary to the Judge or Court for dispatch on the same day it is delivered to him, or on the next business day if delivery is made after the designated hour. In urgent cases, the interested party may request immediate dispatch even after the designated hour.

All pieces that must form the case file, in accordance with Article 80, shall be successively aggregated according to the order of their presentation. At the time of aggregating them, the Secretary shall number each page in numerals and in letters. Excepted are pieces that, by their nature, cannot be aggregated or that for well-founded reasons are ordered to be reserved outside the case file.

Whenever one or more pages are removed from the case file, a new page shall be placed in its place with an indication of the decree that ordered the removal and the number and nature of the pieces removed. However, the numbering of the pieces that remain in the case file shall not be altered, and the numbering of those that have been separated shall also be preserved in the new file of which they become part, adding to it the number that corresponds to them therein.

The case file shall be kept in the office of the Secretary, under his custody and responsibility. None of the parties may remove it except for the sole purpose of preparing the brief of well-proven facts, the statement of grievances, the petition on which the motion for cassation on the merits is based, and the responses to the aforementioned written submissions, when these proceedings are applicable in accordance with the law.

In the cases of the second paragraph of the preceding article, the case file shall be delivered to the party who litigates personally or to his attorney, leaving the corresponding receipt.

Once the term for which the case file was removed has expired, it shall be returned to the office of the Secretary, observing the provisions of Article 126.

Whenever the Courts request or must hear a written opinion from the respective District Attorney or from special guardians, the Secretary shall deliver the case file, requiring the corresponding receipt. The same shall be observed when the case file must be sent to an office other than that in which it was formed. If the officials to whom the opinion is requested delay the return of the case file, the Court may set them a reasonable term to effect it, and order at its expiration that the records be collected.

Judicial proceedings shall be conducted on business days and during business hours. Business days are non-holiday days. Business hours are those between sunrise and sunset.

The Courts may, at the request of a party, authorize the conduct of judicial proceedings on non-business days or hours, when urgent necessity requires it.

All orders and judgments shall be served on the same day of their issuance, and if this is not possible, on the following day, to all parties to the suit. They shall also be served, when so ordered, to the persons to whom they refer or who may be harmed by them.

Service shall be made by the Secretary or Court Officer, reading in full the order or judgment to the person upon whom service is made, and giving him, at the time, if requested, a certified copy of the order or of the operative part of the judgment, signed by the person making service, indicating the matter to which it refers. Both shall be noted in the official record, as well as the place, date, and time of service.

Service shall be signed by the person making service and by the person upon whom service is made, if the latter wishes and is able to sign, with notation of these circumstances in the official record.

Service shall be made at the office of each Court or Tribunal, if the interested parties appear there. If they do not appear in a timely manner, service shall be made at the home of the person who must be served, when such person has designated it for this purpose. Service upon attorneys shall be made at the office of the Court or Tribunal.

When the person who must be served has designated a home and is not found there, service shall be made by service paper without the necessity of a court order.

The service paper for notifications shall contain: 1st.- The name and surname of the person upon whom service must be made. 2nd.- A statement of the nature and object of the suit or matter, and the names and surnames of the litigants. 3rd.- A certified copy of the order or of the operative part of the judgment to be served. 4th.- A statement of the place, date, and time of service. 5th.- The signature of the person making service with indication of his office.

Said service paper shall be delivered to any person over fourteen years of age residing in the home of the person who must be served, or shall be posted on the door of the same house, if no one is found there, or if they refuse to receive it. This action shall be evidenced in the records and shall be signed by the person making service and by the person who receives the service paper, as applicable. The person who refuses to receive the service paper, or fails to deliver it timely, or refuses to sign the official record, shall incur a fine of three to ten pesos.

When the person who must be served has not designated a home, service shall be made by service paper, which shall be posted on the notice board of the Court or Tribunal.

The preceding provisions relating to service of process shall be applicable to citations, summonses, and demands, with the modifications expressed in the following articles.

The summonses and citations of those who are or should be parties to the lawsuit shall be made by written notice, which shall be delivered by the Court Officer to the person to be summoned, making note of this in the court record. Witnesses, expert witnesses, and other persons who are not parties to the lawsuit shall be summoned in the same manner.

The summons notice shall contain: 1st.- The Judge or Court that issued the order, the date thereof, and the matter in which it was issued. -------------- The current monetary unit of Honduras is the Lempira, according to Legislative Decree number 102 of April 3, 1928. 2nd.- The name and surname of the person being summoned. 3rd.- The purpose of the summons and the party that requested it. 4th.- The place, day, and time in which the summoned person must appear. 5th.- The warning that if he does not appear, he shall suffer the prejudice to which he may be liable under law; ending with the date and the signature of the Court Clerk. When appearance is to be obligatory, this warning shall be given to him; and if a second summons becomes necessary due to his failure to appear, he shall be warned that if he does not appear and does not allege just cause that prevents him from doing so, he shall be prosecuted for disobedience to authority.

The citation notice shall contain the requirements 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th of the preceding article, expressing therein the term within which the cited person must appear, and the Court or Tribunal before which the appearance must take place.

Requirements shall be made by notifying the party required of the order in which it is mandated, with the notifying officer noting in the court record that he has made the required requisition.

In notifications, summonses, and citations, no response from the interested party shall be admitted or recorded, unless it has been ordered in the decree. In requirements, the response given by the party required shall be admitted, being recorded succinctly in the court record.

Electronic Center of Documentation and Judicial Information Judicial Branch of Honduras

When the summons or citation is to be made by means of letters rogatory or dispatch, the corresponding written notice shall be attached to the letters rogatory.

The notices for notifications, summonses, and citations shall be prepared on common paper.

When a litigant is declared in default, all orders and sentences that are rendered in the lawsuit, and all citations and summonses that should be made to him, shall be notified on the bulletin board.

Notifications, summonses, and citations that are not conducted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall be null. However, when the person notified, summoned, or cited has acknowledged receipt in the lawsuit of the decree or resolution without challenging its nullity, the diligence shall have all its effects from that moment as if it had been made in accordance with the provisions of the law. The provision of the preceding paragraph shall also apply in the case where the notification has not been made in any manner whatsoever. This shall not relieve the notifying officer from the disciplinary correction he may deserve. CHAPTER IV OF JUDICIAL COMMUNICATIONS

All proceedings necessary for the formation of the case shall be carried out by the Court that has jurisdiction over the matter, except in cases where they are expressly assigned by law to the Court Clerks or other officers of the court, or where the Court is permitted to delegate its functions, or where proceedings must be carried out outside the place where the lawsuit is pending.

Every Court is obliged to carry out or give orders to carry out in its territory the proceedings that must be executed therein and that another Court entrusts to it. The Court that has jurisdiction over the matter shall direct to the Court of the place where the proceeding must be carried out the corresponding communication, inserting the documents, decrees, and necessary explanations.

Electronic Center of Documentation and Judicial Information Judicial Branch of Honduras The Court to which the communication is directed shall order its compliance in the manner indicated therein, and may not decree any actions other than those necessary in order to process it and enable the Judge of the cause to resolve what is appropriate.

Communications shall be signed by the Judge in all cases; and if the Court is collegial, by its President. Communications that emanate from other Courts or officials shall be directed to those same persons.

In the proceedings that may be necessary to conduct before the Court from which assistance is requested, the person designated may intervene, or he may indicate who can execute it and who presents it, or any other person.

The same communication may be directed to various Courts so that proceedings are carried out in different locations successively. The first proceedings carried out, together with the communication that gave rise to them, shall be sent by the Court that intervened in them to the Court that must continue them in another territory.

Every communication to carry out proceedings outside the place of the lawsuit shall be directed, without any intermediary, to the Court or official to whom it corresponds to execute it, even if it does not depend on the one requesting its intervention.

When proceedings are to be conducted in a foreign country, the respective communication shall be directed to the official who must intervene, through the Supreme Court, which, through the Ministry of Justice, shall send it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order that the latter in turn give it the course as may be determined by the treaties in force, or by the general rules adopted by the Government. In the communication shall be expressed the name of the person or persons to whom the interested party appoints to conduct the requested proceedings, or it shall be indicated that it may be done by the person who presents it, or any other. By this same channel, and in the same manner, communications from foreign Courts shall be received for conducting proceedings in Honduras.

Every communication directed by a Court to another shall be conducted to its destination by the State mail, being able in special cases qualified by the Court, to be delivered to the party who requested it, so that it may secure its fulfillment. CHAPTER V OF JUDICIAL TERMS, ENFORCEMENT AND DEFAULT

Judicial proceedings and actions shall be conducted within the terms set for each of them. When no term is set, it shall be understood that they are to be conducted without delay.

Judicial terms shall begin to run from the day following that on which the summons, citation or notification was made, and the day of expiration shall be counted in them.

In no term fixed by days shall those days be counted in which judicial proceedings may not take place.

Terms fixed by months shall be counted by natural months, without excluding non-working days. In these cases, if the term ends on Sunday or another non-working day, it shall be understood as extended to the following working day.

Terms set by the Court are extendable. In order for the extension to be granted, it is necessary: 1st.- That it be requested before the expiration of the term; and 2nd.- That just cause be alleged, which shall be appreciated by the Court, prudentially.

In no case may the extension extend the term beyond the days assigned by Law.

Whenever a proceeding with citation is ordered or authorized, it shall be understood that it cannot be carried out except after three days following the notification of the opposing party, who shall have the right to object or make observations within said term, the proceeding being suspended, in such case, until the incident is resolved. When ordered to proceed with knowledge, or using other analogous expressions, the proceeding may be carried out from the moment what has been resolved is brought to the notice of the defendant.

After judicial terms have elapsed, if the case files are found in the Secretary's office, at the instance of a party, they shall be given the course that corresponds. If the case files are in the possession of any of the parties, at the request of the opposing party, an order shall be issued to that party to return them within twenty-four hours, under penalty of a fine of one to three pesos for each day that passes without returning them. This fine shall be exacted personally from the Attorney. If three days pass without the case files being returned, the Officer shall proceed to collect them from whoever has them, under his responsibility and without need of a new order; and in the event that they are not delivered to him at the time of the requirement, he shall report to the Judge or Court, so that it may order that what is appropriate be done regarding the concealment of the proceedings.

The costs of enforcement shall be, in all cases, at the expense of the party against whom enforcement is directed.

Judicial terms may not be suspended or reopened after they have been completed, by way of restitution, nor for any other reason. Only by force majeure that prevents their use may they be suspended during their course.

Once judicial terms have elapsed, the term or remedy that has not been used shall be considered forfeited by operation of law and irretrievably lost. Except for a claim of nullity, no written submission shall be admitted that is opposed to this provision; and if it is necessary to collect the case files to give them the corresponding course, the procedure established in article 126 shall be employed. TITLE VI OF INCIDENTS

Incidental questions of preliminary and special pronouncement that are raised in all classes of proceedings, excluding oral proceedings, and do not have special procedure set out in this Code, shall be heard by the procedures established in the present Title.

Said questions, in order to be classified as incidents, must have immediate relation with the principal matter that is the object of the dispute in which they are raised, or with the validity of the Procedure, and must be proposed in the first written submission presented by the party, when the cause on which it is based occurred prior to the dispute and the party had knowledge of it. When the cause occurred later, or even if prior, the party had no knowledge of it, the party must propose the incidents as soon as they come to its notice; and if this is not proven, they shall be dismissed.

The judges shall dismiss ex officio the incidents that are not found in any of the cases of the preceding article, without prejudice to the right of the parties that have raised them to pursue the same claim in the corresponding manner. Against said ruling, the remedy of reconsideration shall be available; and if not granted, appeal in a single effect.

The incidents that, by requiring a prior ruling, serve as an obstacle to the continuation of the suit, shall be processed in the same case file, remaining meanwhile the course of the principal claim in suspension.

In addition to those expressly determined in this Code, the incidents referred to in the preceding article shall be considered those that relate to: 1st.- The nullity of proceedings or of any ruling. 2nd.- The standing of any of the litigants or their representative, for facts occurring after the defendant's answer. 3rd.- Any other incident that occurs during the suit, and without whose prior resolution it would be absolutely impossible, in fact or in law, for the principal claim to continue.

The incidents that do not present an obstacle to the continuation of the principal claim shall be processed in a separate file without suspending its course. A note shall be made in the principal case file of the formation of the separate file, and in this, that the litigants have accredited their representation.

Once the incident is raised, and the separate file formed if necessary, notice shall be given to the opposing party for a period of three days, so that it may answer concretely on the incidental matter. If there are several litigating parties, such period shall be granted to each of them in turn.

In the written petition raising the incident and in the response, the parties must request that it be admitted for proof, if they deem it necessary.

If neither of the parties has requested admission for proof, or if the Judge deems it unnecessary, without further proceedings, he shall set the case for judgment.

The period for proof in incidents shall be ten days. This period shall be common for proposing and executing proof. The remaining provisions of ordinary proceedings relating to it shall be observed.

An extraordinary period for proof may only be granted in incidents that are processed in a separate file, and in those of number 2nd of article 134.

After the proof period has elapsed, without need for the interested parties to request it, the Judge shall order that the evidence produced be attached to the case file, and shall set the case for judgment.

The Judge shall render judgment within the three days following notification.

Before a claim is notified to the defendant, the claimant may withdraw it without any formality, and it shall be considered as not presented. After notification, he may at any stage of the suit withdraw it before the Judge or Court having knowledge of the matter, and this petition shall be subject to the formalities established for incidents.

If opposition is made to the withdrawal or it is only accepted conditionally, the Court shall resolve whether the suit continues or not, or the manner in which the claimant shall be considered as having withdrawn.

The judgment accepting the withdrawal, whether or not there has been opposition, shall extinguish the actions to which it refers, with respect to the litigating parties and to all persons who would have been affected by the judgment of the suit that is terminated.

The withdrawal of petitions formulated by way of counterclaim shall be understood as accepted, without express declaration, by the fact of being raised; except that the opposing party raises opposition within three days after notification. In this case the opposition shall be processed as an incident and its resolution may be reserved for the final judgment.

Instances shall be considered abandoned in all classes of lawsuits, and shall lapse by operation of law if their course is not pursued: Within three years, when the suit is in first instance. Two years, if it is in second instance. One year, if it is pending a cassation appeal. These periods shall be counted from the last notification made to the parties.

The lapse of the instance shall not take place by the passage of the periods set forth in the preceding article, when the suit has come to a standstill due to force majeure or any other cause independent of the will of the litigants. In these cases, said periods shall be counted from when the litigants would have been able to pursue the course of the proceedings.

It shall be the obligation of the Secretary in whose office the case files are lodged to report to the Judge or Court respectively, as soon as the periods set forth in Article 147 have elapsed, so that he or it may issue the corresponding order ex officio.

, so that he or it may issue the corresponding order ex officio.

If the case files are in first instance and it appears from them that three years have elapsed without any of the parties having pursued their course, being able to do so, the instance shall be considered abandoned, and the Judge shall order them archived without further progress. In this case, the costs incurred in connection with each party's instance shall be the responsibility of each party.

The lapse of the first instance does not extinguish the action, which may be exercised anew in the corresponding lawsuit by filing a new complaint, if it has not prescribed in accordance with law.

When the case files are in second instance or in cassation appeal, as soon as the respective periods elapse, the appeal shall be considered abandoned and the appealed or challenged sentence shall be deemed final, ordering the return of the case files to the lower Court or Judge, with certification of the resolution in which the abandonment shall have been declared for the consequent purposes. In these cases, the costs of the lapsed instance shall be the responsibility of the appellant or party filing the appeal.

From the resolutions referred to in Articles 150 and 152, the defendant, appellant, or party filing the appeal may request reconsideration if they believe that there has been an error in declaring that the legal period has elapsed by virtue of which the instance has been considered lapsed, or if they are in the case of Article 148.

The lapse of the instance shall not take place by the passage of the periods set forth in the preceding article, when the suit has come to a standstill due to force majeure or any other cause independent of the will of the litigants. In these cases, said periods shall be counted from when the litigants would have been able to pursue the course of the proceedings.

It shall be the obligation of the Secretary in whose office the case files are lodged to report to the Judge or Court respectively, as soon as the periods set forth in Article 147 have elapsed, so that he or it may issue the corresponding order ex officio.

, so that he or it may issue the corresponding order ex officio.

If the case files are in first instance and it appears from them that three years have elapsed without any of the parties having pursued their course, being able to do so, the instance shall be considered abandoned, and the Judge shall order them archived without further progress. In this case, the costs incurred in connection with each party's instance shall be the responsibility of each party.

The lapse of the first instance does not extinguish the action, which may be exercised anew in the corresponding lawsuit by filing a new complaint, if it has not prescribed in accordance with law.

When the case files are in second instance or in cassation appeal, as soon as the respective periods elapse, the appeal shall be considered abandoned and the appealed or challenged sentence shall be deemed final, ordering the return of the case files to the lower Court or Judge with certification of the resolution in which the abandonment shall have been declared for the consequent purposes. In these cases, the costs of the lapsed instance shall be the responsibility of the appellant or party filing the appeal.

From the resolutions referred to in Articles 150 and 152, the defendant, appellant, or party filing the appeal may request reconsideration if they believe that there has been an error in declaring that the legal period has elapsed by virtue of which the instance has been considered lapsed, or if they are in the case of Article 148. The claim cannot be based on any other ground. This appeal shall be processed in accordance with the provisions for incidents.

The provisions of the preceding articles shall not be applicable in suits for division or liquidation of estates, partnerships or communities, nor in bankruptcy or composition of creditors proceedings, nor in proceedings for execution of final judgments. TITLE IX OF THE DISPATCH, HEARING, VOTING AND JUDGMENT OF JUDICIAL MATTERS CHAPTER I OF ORDINARY DISPATCH AND HEARINGS

The evidence proceedings and hearings of litigations and other judicial matters shall be conducted in public hearing. In the same manner shall be conducted the ordinary dispatch of substantiation of judicial matters.

Notwithstanding what is provided in the preceding article, Judges and Courts may order, ex officio or at the instance of a party, that the dispatch and hearings of those matters in which morality or decorum requires it be conducted in closed session. When this claim is raised at the moment proceedings begin, and after the parties have been heard verbally, the Court shall decide in the same act what it deems appropriate. No further appeal shall be available against what is decided on this point.

Substantiation orders shall be issued at the time the Secretary renders account, or at most within the three following days.

Judges and Magistrates shall examine the pleadings themselves to issue orders and judgments.

In Courts, the hearings of litigations shall be scheduled in the order of their conclusion and without necessity of what the parties request. With the exception of hearings which in accordance with Law must have preference. The President of the Court shall be responsible for making the schedules.

Litigations shall be heard on the scheduled day. If at the conclusion of the hearing hours a litigation has not been completed, the hearing may be suspended to continue on the following day or days, unless the President extends the session.

The hearing of litigations may only be suspended by agreement of the Court, or at the instance of a party, for just cause.

In case of suspension of the hearing, the day on which it is to be continued shall be scheduled as soon as the reason for suspension has disappeared, without altering the order of the schedules already made.

The hearings shall begin with the reading of the pleadings and thereafter the Lawyers of the parties present at the session shall present their arguments orally or in writing, in their turn. They may speak a second time, with the permission of the President to clarify facts or legal concepts. The session shall be concluded with the President pronouncing the formula 'Noted and Understood.'

The parties and their attorneys may, with the permission of the President, present orally what they deem appropriate for their defense, at the conclusion of the hearing, before it is concluded when any request concerning them is brought up. The President shall grant them the floor as long as they use it confining themselves to the facts and observing proper decorum.

The President shall call the lawyer to the question when he notoriously departs from it in his argument, or when he wastes time with impertinent or unnecessary digressions: and if he persists after being warned twice, the President may withdraw his right to speak.

The President has the duty to maintain order and to require that respect and consideration due to the Court be observed.

The hearing shall be recorded in the pleadings by a certificate to be executed by the Secretary. CHAPTER II OF VOTING AND JUDGMENT OF LITIGATIONS

After the hearing of the litigation is concluded, any of the Magistrates may request the pleadings to examine them privately. When several request them, the President shall set the time that each is to have them, in such manner that judgment may be issued within the term set for it.

Outside the case referred to in the preceding article, sentences shall be discussed and voted upon immediately after the hearing; and if not possible, within the term established by law.

After the hearing or citation for judgment, and before pronouncing their ruling, Judges and Courts may agree, for better determination: 1st.- That any document be brought to the hearing that they deem convenient to clarify the rights of the litigants. 2nd.- To require judicial confession from any of the litigants concerning facts that they consider relevant to the matter and that are not evidenced. 3rd.- That any inspection or appraisal be conducted that they deem necessary, or that those already made be amplified. 4th.- To bring to the hearing any case files that have relation to the dispute. Against this class of orders no appeal shall be admitted, except for liability, and the parties shall have in the execution of what has been agreed no intervention other than that which the Judge or Court grants them.

In the same order, the term within which what has been agreed for better determination must be executed shall be established; and if it is not possible to determine it, the Judge or Court shall ensure that it is executed without delay, issuing ex officio such enforcement measures as may be necessary.

In these cases the term for issuing judgment shall remain suspended from the day in which the order for better determination is agreed upon, until it is executed; and as soon as it is executed, within the remaining term the appropriate judgment shall be pronounced, without a new hearing.

The discussion and voting of sentences shall always be held in closed session; and once voting has begun, it may not be interrupted except by some insurmountable impediment.

The President shall submit to the deliberation of the Court the points of fact, the legal questions or grounds and the decision that the sentence must comprise; and after the necessary discussion, successive voting shall take place.

When in the voting of a sentence or order no majority of votes results on any of the pronouncements of fact or law that must be made, or on the decision that must be issued, the points in which the voters have disagreed shall be discussed and voted again. When no majority results from the second count, an order shall be issued declaring the disagreement and ordering a new hearing with additional Magistrates.

The new hearing shall be held with the Magistrates who attended the first one, with two more added, whatever the number of those in disagreement may have been.

Those who shall attend to resolve disagreements shall be, in order: 1st.- The substitute Magistrates. 2nd.- The attorney integrants who are called for such purpose.

The President of the Court shall set the date for the hearings on disagreement after designating the Magistrates or attorneys to whom it corresponds to resolve it.

The names of the Magistrates or attorneys who are to resolve the disagreements shall be made known in a timely manner to the litigants, so that they may exercise the right of challenge, if it is appropriate.

The disagreeing Magistrates shall record with complete clarity, in the order declaring the disagreement, the points on which they agree and those on which they disagree, and shall limit themselves to deciding with the deciding magistrates only those points on which there was no agreement.

Before beginning to hear a case in disagreement, the President of the Court shall ask the disagreeing Magistrates whether they insist on their opinions, and only in the event of an affirmative answer shall the hearing proceed. If upon verification of the voting of the judgment in disagreement, the disagreeing magistrates reach agreement in sufficient numbers to form a majority, the proceeding shall not continue further.

When in the voting of a sentence by the Disagreement Court no majority is reached either on the disputed points, there shall be a new count, placing in voting only the two opinions that obtained the greatest number of votes in the preceding one.

The resolutions of Courts and Judges, in matters of a judicial nature, shall be denominated: Orders or decisions, when they concern matters of procedure. Interlocutory judgments, when they decide incidents. Definitive sentences, when they decide the dispute in one instance, or in an extraordinary appeal, or when they fall upon an incident terminating the dispute and making its continuation impossible.

Court orders and sentences shall be headed with the designation of the Court or Tribunal issuing them, and their date; they shall contain citations of the laws on which they are based, and shall end with the corresponding signatures.

Court orders shall be limited to the decision of the Judge or Tribunal issuing them, with only the citation of the laws applicable to the case as their basis.

Interlocutory sentences shall be based on concrete and limited factual recitals and legal considerations, both restricted to the incidental matter being decided.

Final sentences shall contain, with all possible clarity and conciseness: 1st.- In the preamble, the names and surnames of the litigating parties, their domicile and profession, their Lawyers and Attorneys and the object of the lawsuit. 2nd.- In the factual recitals, the claims of the parties and the facts on which they base them, which shall have been properly alleged and which are connected with the questions to be decided. 3rd.- In the legal considerations, the assessment of the points of law raised by the parties, providing the reasons and legal grounds deemed appropriate for the ruling to be issued. 4th.- In the final section, the ruling in the terms provided for in Articles 191 and 192, also making, where appropriate, the necessary provisions to correct any defects that may have been committed in the procedure. Mention shall also be made, where applicable, of the opinion of the Public Prosecutor and the name of the Magistrate drafting it, who shall be the one designated by the President.

Sentences are final or enforceable when no ordinary or extraordinary remedy lies against them, either by their nature or because they have been accepted by the parties.

Court orders and sentences must necessarily be issued within the term established by law for each one of them. The Judge or Tribunal that fails to do so shall be subject to disciplinary correction, unless there is just cause, which must be placed on the record.

Sentences must be clear, precise, and consistent with the claims and other demands properly raised in the lawsuit, making the declarations that these require, condemning or absolving the defendant, and deciding all disputed points that have been the subject of debate. When there have been several, the ruling corresponding to each one shall be pronounced with proper separation.

When there is a condemnation for fruits, interests, damages or losses, their amount shall be fixed in a specific sum, or at least the bases shall be established according to which the calculation must be made. Only in the case where neither one nor the other is possible shall the condemnation be made with the reservation of fixing its amount and making it effective in the execution of the sentence.

The party that is completely defeated in a lawsuit or in an incidental matter shall be condemned to pay costs. However, the Judge or Tribunal may exempt it from them when it appears that it has had rational motives for litigating, regarding which an express declaration shall be made in the sentence. The provisions of this article are understood without prejudice to what is specially provided for in this Code.

Judges and Tribunals may not, under any pretext, postpone, delay, or deny the resolution of questions that have been discussed in the lawsuit.

Notwithstanding what is provided in the preceding article, Judges and Tribunals, when they must base the sentence exclusively on the assumption of the existence of a crime, shall suspend the ruling of the lawsuit until the termination of the criminal procedure, if after hearing the Public Prosecutor, they deem it appropriate to initiate criminal proceedings.

Neither may Judges and Tribunals vary or modify their sentences after they have been signed; but they may clarify any obscure concept, or supply any omission it may contain regarding a matter discussed in the litigation. These clarifications or additions may be made ex officio within the business day following the date of the sentence, or at the request of a party, presented within the business day following notification. In the latter case, the Judge or Tribunal shall resolve what it deems appropriate within the day following the presentation of the written request for clarification.

Everyone who takes part in the voting of a sentence shall sign it, even if they have disagreed with the majority; but in this case they may save their vote, stating the reasons and setting it forth following the sentence within the twenty-four hours thereafter, with their signature and that of the Secretary. In the certifications of sentences, separate opinions shall not be included.

From all court orders and interlocutory sentences issued in the first instance, a motion for reconsideration may be requested at the time of notification or at the next hearing.

A motion for reconsideration may likewise be requested in the terms of the preceding article for court orders and interlocutory sentences rendered in the processing of appeals or cassation remedies.

The Court before which reconsideration is requested shall, without further proceedings, deny it or amend the order or judgment, as it deems appropriate under law. The dismissal order shall be non-appealable; without prejudice to the appeal of the order or judgment appealed, if it is admissible. CHAPTER II OF APPEAL

The appeal has as its purpose to obtain from the respective superior Court that it amend, in accordance with law, the ruling of the lower court.

Every final or interlocutory judgment of the first instance pronounced in a lawsuit which, considering its amount, admits, according to law, the appeal is appealable. The rulings pronounced in non-contentious matters are equally appealable. Excepted are those cases in which the law expressly denies such remedy.

Orders or decrees are not appealable when they order steps necessary for the regular processing of the lawsuit; but they are appealable when they alter such regular processing of the lawsuit; but they are appealable when they alter such processing or fall upon steps that are not expressly ordered by law.

Appeal of a final judgment must be filed within three days. Appeal of an interlocutory judgment and of the orders, decisions or decrees that are appealable, in accordance with law, must be filed at the time of notification or by separate written motion at the following hearing.

The period for filing an appeal is not suspended by a request for reconsideration. Nor is it suspended by a request for clarification of the final or interlocutory judgment. The ruling in which such request is granted or in which corrections are made ex officio shall be appealable in all cases in which the judgment to which it refers would be appealable.

Appeal may be granted in both the suspensive and devolutive effects at the same time, or only in the devolutive effect. When granted in both effects, the jurisdiction of the lower Court remains suspended to continue knowing the cause. When granted only in the devolutive effect, the lower Court shall continue to know the cause, and may proceed to the execution of the judgment.

When appeal is granted freely or without any restriction, it is understood that it is granted in both effects.

Appeals are admissible only in the devolutive effect: 1st.- Judgments pronounced against the defendant in summary execution proceedings, in possessory actions and in maintenance proceedings. 2nd.- Interlocutory rulings, provided that, considering the nature of the incident, they would be evaded in their execution and effects, if appeal were granted freely. 3rd.- Interlocutory rulings pronounced in the incident on execution of a final judgment. 4th.- In general, all those with respect to which it is expressly ordered by law that appeal be granted only in the devolutive effect.

Outside of the cases determined in the preceding article, appeal shall be granted in both effects.

If the lower Court grants appeal only in the devolutive effect, when it should also grant it in the suspensive effect, the aggrieved party may request the superior Court that it forthwith declare the appeal admitted in both effects; without prejudice to being able to request the same declaration, by way of reconsideration, from the Court that granted the remedy. The same shall be observed when appeal is granted in both effects, when it should be granted only in the devolutive effect, and when the appeal granted is improper. In the latter case the superior Court may also ex officio declare the remedy without merit. The declarations made by the superior Court in conformity with the two preceding paragraphs shall be communicated to the lower Court so that it abstains from, or continues to know the matter, according to the circumstances.

Once appeal is granted, the case file shall be remitted, at the cost of the appellant, to the superior Court that shall know of it.

If appeal has been granted only in the devolutive effect, the lower Court shall cause to be left, at the cost of the appellant, a copy of the judgment and of the documents of the case file that it deems necessary for the proceedings.

The remission of the case file shall be made by the lower Court on the day following the last notification. In the case of the preceding article, this period may be extended for all the days that, considering the extension of the copies to be made, the said Court deems necessary.

If the appellant does not pay the cost of remission of the case file, or if he does not cause the copies to be made within the period set forth in the second paragraph of the preceding article and is required to do so, it may be requested of the Court that granted the remedy that it declare it not filed.

The parties shall appear before the superior Court for the purpose of continuing the trial in the second instance, within the period that the inferior Court shall designate, in accordance with the following rules: 1st.- If the inferior Court were located in the place where the superior Court has its seat, three days shall be allowed to improve the remedy. 2nd.- If the Courts have their seat in different places, one additional day shall be allowed for every twenty kilometers of distance.

If the appellant does not appear or does not express grievances in a timely manner, the appellee may request that the appeal be declared dismissed. The Court, in the first case, shall resolve based only on the merit of the certificate of the Secretary; the reversal of the judgment rendered may be requested if it was based on an error of fact.

If the appellee does not appear, the trial shall proceed in his default.

If the inferior Court denies an appeal that should have been granted, the aggrieved party may resort to the respective superior Court within the period granted by Article 214, counted from the notification of the denial, so that it declares said remedy admissible.

The superior Court shall request a report from the inferior Court concerning the matter in which the denial occurred, and in view of it, shall resolve whether or not the remedy is admissible. The superior Court may order the inferior Court to remit the case file, whenever in its judgment it is necessary to examine it in order to render a correct resolution.

If the superior Court deems the remedy inadmissible, it shall declare it as such, and shall return the case file, if appropriate, to the inferior Court. If the remedy is declared admissible, the superior Court shall order the inferior Court to remit the case file, or shall retain it if it is in its possession, and shall give it the processing that corresponds.

Receipt for trial may only be granted in the second instance: 1st.- When for any cause not attributable to the party requesting the trial, it could not have been conducted in the first instance. 2nd.- When some new fact of influence in the decision of the case has occurred after the period granted to propose trial in the first instance. 3rd.- When after said period the party has come to knowledge of some fact of notorious influence in the case, unknown to it, and concerning which, consequently, neither allegations nor trial could have been made.

The litigant who has filed an appeal or any other remedy may withdraw from it before the same Judge or Court that rendered the contested resolution, if done before the case file has been remitted to the superior Court, or before the certificate or transcript has been delivered to file or improve the remedy. It may also be done after having received this document, if the original is returned as proof of not having made use of it before the superior Court. In other cases, the withdrawal must be made before the Judge or Court that must know of the remedy.

The Judge or Court shall consider the appellant as having withdrawn without further proceedings, and shall condemn him in the costs occasioned by the filing of the remedy.

The execution of judgments corresponds to the Courts that rendered them in the first instance. The Courts of second instance, after rendering their judgment in a case, shall retain it for the entire period that the law provides for filing the remedy of cassation; and if it is not filed, the case file shall be returned to the Court of first instance with the certification of the judgment.

If the judgment contains an obligation to pay a liquid and determined amount, it shall be executed in accordance with the procedures established for the enforcement procedure. For the purposes of this article, a liquid amount means not only one that is currently liquid, but also one that can be liquidated by means of simple arithmetic operations, based strictly on the bases that the judgment has established.

If the judgment contains an obligation to pay an illiquid or undetermined amount, it shall be liquidated.

If the amount is partly liquid and partly illiquid, enforcement proceedings may be conducted with respect to the first part while the second is being liquidated.

If the judgment contains a condemnation to comply with an obligation to perform an act that does not have a matured deadline, it shall proceed to compel the debtor to execute the act to which he is obligated.

If the debtor of an obligation to perform incurs in default, and the creditor requests that he be compelled to execute the act, the Court may compel him with fines proportionate to the importance of the act owed and to the debtor's means.

If the debtor performs the act, but in a manner different from the one required, the Court may order that what has been done be destroyed if necessary, and that execution proceed in the proper form.

If the creditor requests authorization to have the act executed by a third party at the debtor's expense, the provisions of Articles 515 through 520 shall be observed.

If the creditor requests compensation for damages resulting from non-performance of the act, he shall establish them, and their value shall be paid to him by assessment of the Judge or by experts.

If the party condemned to refrain from doing something violates the judgment, it shall be understood that such party opts for compensation for damages; and the demolition of what has been done shall proceed, if applicable.

When by virtue of the judgment some property must be delivered to the prevailing party, he shall be immediately placed in possession thereof, implementing for this purpose the necessary proceedings that the interested party requests. The same shall be done if the property is movable and can be obtained.

The costs incurred in the proceedings for the fulfillment of final judgments shall be charged to the party that has been condemned in the judgment whose execution is in question. Those of the incidents that are raised therein shall be charged to the party or parties to whom they are imposed, regarding which the Judges and Courts must make an express declaration when resolving the incident. If they fail to do so, each party shall pay the costs incurred at its instance.

Judgments pronounced in a foreign country shall have force in Honduras to the extent granted by the respective Treaties; and for their execution, the procedures established by Honduran law shall be followed, insofar as they do not appear to be modified by such Treaties.

If there are no Treaties relating to this matter with the nation from which the judgments proceed, they shall be given the same force as that given in such nation to judgments pronounced by Honduran Courts.

If the resolution comes from a country in which judgments of Honduran Courts are not enforced, it shall have no force in Honduras.

If it is not in any of the cases of which the three preceding articles speak, final judgments shall have force in Honduras if they meet the following circumstances: 1st.- That the final judgment has been rendered as a consequence of the exercise of a personal action. 2nd.- That it has not been rendered in default. 3rd.- That the obligation for whose fulfillment the proceedings have been taken is lawful in Honduras. 4th.- That the final judgment meet the necessary requirements in the nation in which it was rendered to be considered authentic, and those that Honduran laws require for it to have effect in Honduras.

The execution of judgments pronounced in foreign nations shall be requested before the Supreme Court.

Notice shall be given of the petition to the party against whom execution is requested, which party shall have, to set forth what it deems appropriate, a period of three days. With the reply of the party or in its default, and with prior hearing of the Public Ministry, the Court shall declare whether or not the resolution should be enforced.

If enforcement is denied, the final judgment shall be returned to the party that presented it. If it is granted, an order shall be issued to the Judge of the territory in which the party condemned in the judgment to be executed is domiciled, so that the order contained therein may take effect, employing the means of execution established in the preceding Chapter.

When there is a condemnation of costs, once it becomes final, the collection thereof shall proceed by means of compulsion, after prior assessment.

The assessment of costs shall be conducted in the Courts and Tribunals by the Secretary, including in it all those comprised in the condemnation and that are shown to have accrued until the date of the assessment.

Personal costs, such as attorney's fees, procurator fees, etc., shall be proven by means of the respective detailed and signed fee statements, which shall be submitted when requesting the taxation. Procedural costs, such as witness expenses, postage, etc., shall be proven by means of the corresponding receipts, which shall also be submitted when requesting the taxation.

Costs corresponding to written submissions, proceedings and other actions that are useless, superfluous or not authorized by law shall not be included in the taxation, nor shall the items in the fee statements that are not expressed in detail or that refer to fees that have not been earned in the litigation. Likewise, costs of proceedings or incidents in which the party that obtained the final judgment was expressly condemned shall not be included, the payment of which shall always be the responsibility of that same party.

Once the request for taxation of costs has been submitted, the inclusion or addition of any item shall not be admitted.

Notice of the request for costs shall be given in the Secretariat, for a period of three days, to the party condemned to payment.

When the request for costs is not contested, if the party condemned to payment expressly conforms, the Judge or Court shall perform the taxation in accordance with said request and without further recourse. In the absence of express conformity, the taxation shall be performed, making such alterations as are deemed just, and with the corresponding remedies.

When the request for costs is contested, either because such costs are excessive, or because it has been included therein items of fees or expenses whose payment does not correspond to the condemned party, or because they have been satisfied, this claim shall be substantiated and decided by the proceedings and with the remedies established for incidents.

Any litigation may be prepared: 1st.- By requesting sworn statement from the party whom the prospective plaintiff intends to sue, regarding some fact related to the personality of that party, the knowledge of which is necessary to proceed with the litigation. 2nd.- By requesting the exhibition of the movable property which, in the case, shall be the object of the real or mixed action that is sought to be brought against the party in possession of the property. 3rd.- By requesting the party who believes themselves to be an heir or legatee the exhibition of the will of the deceased from whom the inheritance or legacy proceeds. 4th.- By requesting the buyer from the seller, or the seller from the buyer in case of eviction, the exhibition of titles or other documents that refer to the thing sold. 5th.- By requesting a partner or co-owner the presentation of the documents and accounts of the partnership or co-ownership, from the partner or co-owner who has them in their possession, in the cases where it shall proceed in accordance with law. The Judge shall grant the request in any of these cases if they deem the cause upon which it is founded to be just. If not comprised in them, the Judge shall reject it ex officio. The ruling denying the request shall be appealable with both effects.

In case 1st of the preceding article, the procedure shall be that provided for judicial confession, until obtaining, if applicable, the declaration of confessed.

In case 2nd of Article 250, if the movable property is exhibited and the plaintiff states it to be the same property that is sought to be sued, it shall be described in the proceedings by diligence of the Secretary, and shall be left in the possession of the party exhibiting it, with notice to conserve it in the same state until the resolution of the litigation. A deposit of said movable property may also be ordered, at the request of the plaintiff, in the same cases in which according to Article 280 a precautionary attachment may be ordered. This deposit shall be at the account and risk of the party requesting it; and shall of right be without effect, with indemnification for damages, if that party does not file their demand within the thirty days following. The notice ordered in the first paragraph of this article shall likewise be without effect, if the demand is not filed within said period. In case 3rd of Article 250, the party is not obliged to exhibit the document if they designate in the act of being required the protocol or archive where the original is found.

The party who refuses without just cause the exhibition referred to in items 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th of Article 250, shall be responsible for the damages and losses that arise to the plaintiff, who may claim them together with the principal demand. If the required party opposes the exhibition, their opposition shall be substantiated and decided by the proceedings established for incidents.

Precautionary measures referred to in Title III of this Book may be requested as prejudicial measures, with grave and qualified reasons, and concurring the following circumstances: First, that the amount of assets on which the precautionary measures shall fall be determined; and second, that a bond or other sufficient guarantee be provided to the satisfaction of the Court, to respond for the damages that shall arise and fines that shall be imposed.

Also, a personal inspection of the Court, recognition by expert witnesses appointed by the same Court, or certificate of public faith may be requested prejudicially, when there exists imminent danger of damage or loss, or it concerns facts that may easily disappear. For the execution of these measures, prior notice shall be given to the person against whom the action is sought to be brought, if they are found in the place of the seat of the Court that decrees them, or where they must be executed.

If the party against whom a real action is sought to be brought states that they are the holder of the property from which the action that is the subject matter thereof proceeds, they may also be obliged: 1st. To declare, under oath, the name and residence of the person in whose name they hold it. 2nd. To exhibit the title of their judgment; and if they state that they do not have a written title, to declare, under oath, that they lack it. The practice of any one of these proceedings does not exclude the others.

The party who is about to leave the country may be required to answer interrogatories, on facts that the Court shall previously determine to be relevant. If they leave without answering them, or without leaving an authorized and instructed attorney-in-fact, they shall be deemed confessed. They may also be required to appoint, in the place where they must be sued, an attorney-in-fact to represent them in the litigation sought to be brought against them, and who shall respond for the costs and fines in which they shall be condemned. If the person against whom this right is exercised leaves the country after notification without leaving a Procurator, there shall be grounds for the appointment of a curator of property.

The examination of those witnesses may likewise be requested before the demand for declarations, on account of grave impediments, there being founded reason to fear that they may not be received in a timely manner. The declarations shall concern the points indicated by the plaintiff, determined to be relevant by the Court. To practice this proceeding, prior notice shall be given to the person against whom the action is sought to be brought, only when they are found in the place where the order was issued or where the declaration is to be taken; and in other cases the proceeding shall be done with the intervention of the Fiscal.

In order to decree the measures referred to in the preceding articles, the party requesting them must state the action it proposes to bring, expressing its legal grounds.

The proceedings set forth in this Title may be decreed without a hearing of the person against whom they are requested. TITLE II OF THE COMPLAINT AND SERVICE OF PROCESS

The complaint must contain: 1st.- The precise designation of the Court before which it is filed. 2nd.- The name and legal status or representation of the plaintiff or of his Attorney. 3rd.- The name and legal status or representation of the defendant or of his Attorney. 4th.- The facts and legal grounds upon which it is based. 5th.- A clear statement of what the plaintiff asks that the Court resolve.

The plaintiff must attach to the complaint the documents on which it is based. If he does not have them at his disposal, he shall designate the place where they are located or the person in whose possession they are. Once the complaint is answered, the plaintiff shall not be permitted to present other documents than those mentioned in the preceding paragraph, those relating to new facts, and those whose whereabouts he swears he did not know before. The Judge may reject ex officio the complaint that does not conform to the provisions of this and the preceding article, expressing in the order the defect which it contains.

Once the complaint is admitted, a copy thereof shall be served on the defendant so that he may answer it within the legal time period.

The time period for service of process to answer the complaint is six days, if the defendant is located in the place where the Court sits.

If the defendant is located outside the place where the Court sits, the time period to answer the complaint is six days, plus one additional day for each twenty kilometers of distance between the place of residence of the defendant and the seat of the Court.

If the defendant is located outside the territory of the Republic, the time period to answer the complaint shall be that which the Court prudentially fixes, taking into account the distance and the ease or difficulty of communications.

If there are several defendants and they are all located in the place where the action has been brought, and they are to answer jointly, the time period for service of process shall begin to run from the day of the last notification. If some are located outside the place of the action, each of these shall be given the time period from their respective notification, and the others shall be counted from when there is evidence in the record of the notification made to all the absent parties.

If the defendants are several and are to answer separately, each one of them shall be granted, successively, the time period indicated in

, without prejudice to any additional time to which they are entitled if they fall within the cases of Articles 265 and 266.

Once the defendant is notified of the service of the complaint, he shall have the right to take the case file from the office of the Secretary. In the case of the preceding article, each of the defendants may take the record as his time period begins to run. TITLE III OF PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

To secure the result of the action, the plaintiff may, at any stage of the proceedings, even when the complaint has not been answered, request one or more of the following measures: 1st.- The sequestration of the thing that is the object of the complaint. 2nd.- The appointment of one or more receivers. 3rd.- The attachment or retention of specific property; and 4th.- The prohibition on executing acts or contracts concerning specific property.

Judicial sequestration shall apply in the case of Article 880 of the Civil Code, or when other actions are brought concerning a specific movable thing and there is reason to fear that it will be lost or damaged in the hands of the person who, without being the possessor of such thing, has it in his possession.

The provisions established by the Title "Of the Execution Proceedings" are applicable to sequestration with respect to the depositary of the attached property.

Appointment of an intervener is warranted: 1st.- In the case of the 2nd paragraph of Article 881 of the Civil Code. 2nd.- In the case of one who claims an inheritance occupied by another, if there exists just cause for fear that the aforementioned paragraph expresses. 3rd.- In the case of a co-owner or partner who demands the common thing or property of the partnership which he does not possess, or who demands accounts from the co-owner or partner who administers. 4th.- In other cases expressly designated by the laws.

The powers of the judicial intervener shall be limited to keeping account of the receipts and expenses of the property subject to intervention, being able to perform this duty by inspecting the books, papers and operations of the defendant. The intervener shall further be obliged to notify the interested party and the Court of all misappropriation or abuse that he may notice in the administration of said property; and in this case the Court may decree the deposit and retention of the net proceeds in a credit institution or in the custody of the person designated by the Court, without prejudice to other more stringent measures that the Court deems necessary to adopt.

Seizure or retention is warranted: 1st.- When civil liability arising from a crime or quasi-delict declared by final judgment is pursued, or that which arises from the exercise of an office that carries with it the administration of third-party property. 2nd.- Whenever the powers of the defendant do not offer sufficient guarantee or there is reason to believe that he will attempt to conceal his property.

Seizure shall be limited to the property necessary to cover the credit claimed and costs; and shall be effected in the manner provided in the Title <<On the Executive Judgment>>.

The prohibition on entering into contracts regarding determined property is limited to those that are the subject matter of the litigation.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding article, those who can request seizure or retention in accordance with the provisions of Article 275 may request prohibition of entering into contracts regarding certain property, or with the exception of non-seizable property, regarding all property of the defendant, enumerating them: 1st.- Those who can request seizure or retention in accordance with the provisions of Article

275: 2nd.- The married woman who sues her husband regarding divorce or separation of bodies when there is community of property. 3rd.- The ward in litigation with his guardian or curator by reason of guardianship or curatorship. 4th.- The State, municipalities and charitable institutions, which sue the administrators or collectors of their property by reason of this same administration.

If the prohibition on contracting falls upon real property, preventive notation shall be made in the Property Registry.

Courts shall not grant any of the precautionary measures established by this Title unless the plaintiff produces, at least, semi-full proof of the right he claims. In grave and urgent cases, however, they may decree them for a brief term while such proof is presented to them.

The general rule established in the first paragraph of the preceding Article does not apply to the persons mentioned in numbers 2nd, 3rd and 4th of Article

278:, in favor of whom, in their case, the prohibition authorized by said article shall always be granted.

To decree these measures, the Courts shall take into account the responsibility of the litigants, as well as the comparative importance of the rights claimed with the property upon which said measures are intended to fall.

These measures do not exclude the others that the laws authorize.

All these measures are essentially provisional. Consequently, they must be discontinued when the danger sought to be avoided disappears or sufficient bonds are provided.

Sequestration, retention and notation dealt with in Articles 271, 275 and 279 may be effected even before notification to the person against whom they were decreed.

Only the following are admissible as dilatory exceptions: 1st.- The incompetence of the Court before which the complaint was filed. 2nd.- The lack of legal personality or representation of the plaintiff or of his Attorney. 3rd.- The lack of legal personality or representation of the defendant or of his Attorney. 4th.- The lis-pendens in a competent Court. 5th.- The ineptitude of the pleading by reason of some legal defect in the manner of presenting the complaint; and 6th.- The benefit of excussion.

The exceptions of res judicata and compromise may also be raised as dilatory exceptions; but if they require extensive examination, the defendant shall be ordered to answer the complaint, and they shall be reserved for resolution in the final judgment.

Dilatory exceptions must be raised all in the same written statement and within the term of the summons. If this is not done, they may be raised during the course of the trial only by way of allegation or defense, or the provisions of Articles 131 and 132 shall apply. The exceptions of incompetence and lis-pendens may be deduced separately, provided that they proceed before the other dilatory exceptions. TITLE V OF THE ANSWER

If the defendant does not raise any dilatory exception, he shall answer the complaint within the legal term.

Once the resolution rejecting the dilatory exceptions is consented to or becomes final, at the instance of the plaintiff, the defendant shall be notified to answer the complaint within three days following the notification of this order.

The answer shall be formulated with the requirements enumerated in the

and the defendant shall comply with what Article 262 provides with respect to the plaintiff.

If the defendant plainly accepts the claim of the plaintiff, or if he does not contradict in substantive and relevant matters the facts on which the trial is based, the Court shall order the parties to be cited to hear the final judgment. The same citation shall be made when both parties request that the case be decided without further proceedings, or when there are no facts to prove.

If the defendant accepts the claim of the plaintiff conditionally or limits himself to rejecting some accessory request, the answer shall be brought to the knowledge of the plaintiff so that he may express, within the term of three days, whether he approves such acceptance or limitation. If the plaintiff does nothing within this term, it shall be understood that he does not accept. TITLE VI OF THE COUNTERCLAIM

The defendant may file a counterclaim against the plaintiff by filing a new complaint against him which shall comply with the solemnities established by Articles 261 and 262.

A counterclaim may only be filed in the written statement in which the complaint is answered.

The counterclaim may only be filed before a Judge who is competent to hear it, in accordance with the Law of Organization and Powers of the Courts.

The defendant shall be given notice of the counterclaim, and he shall take the case file to prepare his answer. This answer shall be presented within the term of six days.

The counterclaim shall be heard together with the principal complaint, and both shall be resolved in a single judgment.

Against the complaint filed by way of counterclaim, the dilatory exceptions enumerated in Article 286 are available, which shall be raised within the term of six days and in the manner provided by Article 288. Once this incidental matter is concluded, the provisions of Article 290 shall be observed. TITLE VII OF EVIDENCE CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

The case shall be received for trial: 1st.- When both parties request it and there are facts to be proven. 2nd.- Whenever it is necessary for the clarification of any substantial and pertinent fact in the proceeding, except in the case of the second paragraph of Article 292.

The evidence must bear upon the substantial facts that are in controversy in the writings prior to the order in which it is mandated. Consequently, the Courts may reject ex officio any evidence that is not pertinent or is useless that the parties may propose.

Notwithstanding what is provided in the preceding article, the expansion of evidence is admissible when, within the evidentiary term, a fact substantially related to the matter being tried occurs, or when, having occurred previously, the party alleging it swears that only then has it come to their knowledge. Notice of the writing for expansion shall be given to the co-litigant for three days, who may also allege new facts if deemed convenient. The foregoing is understood without prejudice to what is provided in Articles 131 and 132.

The evidentiary proceedings may only be conducted within the evidentiary term, except for the exceptions established by law. In any case, proceedings initiated in a timely manner that have failed to be executed opportunely due to impediments whose removal has not depended on the interested party, may be conducted within a new term that the Court shall designate for this purpose on one occasion only.

Every evidentiary proceeding must be conducted prior to a decree of the Court hearing the case and notice to the opposing party. Judicial confession and the recognition of signature, of books or of papers of the litigant, shall be conducted immediately upon notification, if the Court so orders.

In collegial Courts, evidentiary proceedings may be conducted before one sole member commissioned for this purpose by the President of the Court.

Except in the case of the second paragraph of Article 292, the order in which the Court, explicitly or implicitly, admits or denies the processing of evidence is appealable. The order in which the practice of any evidentiary proceeding is mandated is not appealable (*).

A separate file shall be formed for the evidence of each party. The registry of papers shall always be verified in the presence of the interested party or their representative, and in their absence, of two witnesses, neighbors of the same town(*). (*) See Decree Law number 161 of November 11, 1955, whose text appears in the Annex of this Code

In the same decree by which the case is received for trial, the term within which the parties must present evidence shall be designated.

The ordinary evidentiary term shall be divided into two periods, common to the parties. The first, of ten days, to propose, in one or several writings, all the evidence that interests them. The second, of twenty days, to execute in the department all the evidence that the parties have proposed; and of thirty days, to execute it outside the department.

The terms expressed in the preceding article may not be suspended except by force majeure that prevents proposing or conducting evidence within them. This provision shall be applicable to the extraordinary evidentiary term dealt with in the following articles.

The extraordinary evidentiary term shall be granted if any evidence is to be conducted outside the State.

The extraordinary term shall be: Three months, if the evidence is to be conducted in another State of Central America. Six months, if the evidence is to be conducted in any other nation.

In order for the extraordinary evidentiary term to be granted, the following is required: 1st.- That it be requested within the three days following the day on which the order receiving the case for trial shall have been notified. 2nd.- That the facts that are sought to be proven outside the State have occurred in the country where it is intended to conduct the evidence. 3rd.- That when the evidence is to be testimonial, the residence of the witnesses to be examined be indicated. 4th.- That it be expressed, in the case of documentary evidence, the archive where the documents are to be authenticated are located, and that these be relevant to the case.

The extraordinary term shall also be granted, even though the facts have taken place in the State, when the witnesses who are to testify regarding them are located in any of the points designated in Article 312. In this case, the names and residence of the witnesses must be expressed in the request.

The party against whom the claim is filed to obtain the extraordinary time period shall be notified and given three days to respond, and without further proceedings the court shall rule on the article.

The resolution granting or denying the extraordinary time period shall be appealable only on one ground.

The extraordinary period for presenting evidence shall run concurrently with the ordinary period; however, it shall begin to run from the day following notification of the resolution granting it.

The party that has obtained an extraordinary extension of the time period to present evidence within or outside the Republic, and does not present it, or presents only irrelevant evidence, shall be obligated to pay the other party the expenses incurred to attend the requested proceedings, either in person or through representatives. This condemnation shall be imposed in the final judgment, and the Court may exempt the party from it if they prove they did not present evidence due to justified reasons.

When any evidentiary proceeding is requested within the last three days of the first period, the opposing party may propose, within three days following notification of the written motion, the evidence it considers appropriate regarding the same facts. After this latter deadline has passed, and in any other case after the ten days fixed in the second paragraph of Article 309, the first period of evidence shall be definitively closed, and an order shall be issued opening the second period.

The means of evidence that may be used in litigation are: 1. Public instruments. 2. Private instruments. 3. Confession in court. 4. Personal inspection by the Judge. 5. Expert opinions. 6. Witnesses. 7. Presumptions.

Under the designation of public instruments or documents are included: 1. Public deeds executed in accordance with law. 2. Certifications issued by commercial brokers and Stock Exchange Agents, with reference to the record-books of their respective operations, in the manner and with the formalities prescribed by the Commercial Code and special laws. 3. Documents issued by public officials authorized to do so, as they refer to the exercise of their functions. 4. Books of minutes, bylaws, ordinances, records, cadastral registers and other documents held in public archives or dependencies of the State or municipalities, and copies made and authenticated by Secretaries and archivists by order of the competent authority. 5. Bylaws, statutes and regulations of societies, communities or associations, provided they have been approved by public authority, and copies authenticated in the manner provided in the preceding number. 6. Final judgments and judicial proceedings of all kinds.

For public instruments to be effective in litigation the following rules must be observed: 1. Those brought to the case without citation must be compared with the originals, if they exist, and the party against whom they are presented requests it. 2. Testimony or certificates must be given by the competent official or by the court secretary. 3. If testimony of only part of an instrument is requested or ordered to be attached ex officio, and the co-litigant or any interested party requests that other parts of the same instrument be attached, the testimony shall be supplemented with them. This addition shall be made at the expense of the party requesting it, without prejudice to what the Court determines regarding the award of costs.

Comparison of instruments shall be made by the official who authorized the present instrument in the litigation, by the court secretary or by another notary that the Court designates.

The following shall be effective in litigation without need for comparison, except for evidence to the contrary and what is provided in Article 329: 1. Final judgments and certifications or testimony of final sentences, issued in legal form by the Court that rendered them. 2. Ancient public deeds lacking a protocol and all those whose protocol or original has disappeared. 3. Any other public document that by its nature lacks an original or record with which it can be compared.

Public instruments executed outside Honduras must be presented properly legalized, and shall be understood to be so when they show the public character and the truth of the signatures of the persons who authorized them, both circumstances attested to by the officials who, according to the laws or practice of each country, must certify them. The authenticity of the signatures and the character of these officials shall be proven in Honduras by one of the following means: 1. The attestation of a Honduran Diplomatic or Consular Agent accredited in the country from which the instrument originates, whose signature is verified with the respective certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Relations. 2. The attestation of a Diplomatic or Consular Agent of a friendly Nation accredited in the same country, in the absence of a Honduran official, in which case the signature shall be certified through the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Republic in both cases; and, 3. The attestation of the Diplomatic Agent accredited in Honduras by the Government of the country where the instrument was executed, with his signature certified by the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Republic.

Instruments written in a foreign language shall be ordered to be translated by the expert designated by the Court, at the cost of the party presenting them, without prejudice to what is resolved regarding costs in the judgment. If the translation is attached at the time of presentation, it shall be valid; except that the opposing party may demand, within six days, that it be reviewed by an expert, in which case proceeding shall be as provided in the preceding paragraph.

Instruments may be presented at any stage of the litigation, without prejudice to what is provided in Articles 262 and 391.

Those who are not litigants shall not be obligated to exhibit documents of their exclusive ownership. If they are willing to exhibit them voluntarily, a notary shall go to their homes or offices to certify them.

Comparison of handwriting may be requested whenever the party whom it would harm denies or puts in doubt the authenticity of a private document or of any document lacking an original. In this comparison the experts shall proceed in accordance with what is provided in Section V of this Chapter.

The person requesting the comparison shall designate the instrument or instruments beyond doubt with which it shall be made.

The following are considered beyond doubt for comparison purposes: 1st.- Instruments that the parties accept as such by mutual agreement. 2nd.- Public instruments not challenged as forged or falsified; and 3rd.- Private instruments whose handwriting or signature have been acknowledged in accordance with Article 336.

The Court shall make the verification by itself after hearing the reviewing experts, and shall not be bound by their opinion.

The comparison of handwriting does not by itself constitute sufficient evidence; but it may serve as the basis for a judicial presumption.

In the incident concerning the authenticity of an instrument or regarding alterations made to it, the following shall be admitted as means of proof: both the comparison provided for in the five preceding articles, as well as those that the laws authorize for proof of fraud. SECTION TWO OF PRIVATE DOCUMENTS

Private documents and correspondence in the possession of the litigants shall be presented in their original form and attached to the case file. When they form part of a book, file, or bundle, they may be presented for exhibition so that a record may be made of what the interested parties point out. The same shall apply with respect to those in the possession of a third party, if such party does not wish to part with them.

Private documents and correspondence shall be acknowledged under oath, before the Court, by the party against whom they are prejudicial, if the other party requests it. Such acknowledgment shall not be necessary when the party against whom the document is prejudicial has accepted it as legitimate upon setting forth the facts in the answer to the complaint.

When the books of merchants are to be used as a means of proof, the procedures ordered in the Commercial Code shall be followed, with the exhibition being conducted in the office or desk where such books are located. SECTION THREE OF CONFESSION

Every litigant is obliged to declare under oath, once the complaint has been answered, regarding facts pertaining to the same suit, each time the opposing party requests it or the Court orders it in accordance with the provisions of Article 170. This proceeding shall be conducted without prejudice to the status of the case, that is, without suspending the course of the suit.

These declarations may be made, at the election of the person requesting them, under decisive or non-decisive oath. In the first case, they shall constitute full proof, in favor of and against the person making the confession. In the second case, they shall only be prejudicial to the person making the confession.

The facts regarding which declarations are requested from a litigant must always be expressed in clear and precise terms, in such a manner that they may be understood without difficulty. When the declaration is requested by one of the litigants, the facts may be expressed in interrogatory form or in assertive form.

The Court shall order that the litigant who is to make the declaration be cited for a determined day and hour, and shall keep the facts regarding which it is to question him confidential in the meantime. If such litigant is located outside the place where the Court is seated, his declaration shall be taken by the Court of his residence.

Before questioning him, the litigant shall take an oath to tell the truth.

The declaration must be made immediately, orally, and in clear and precise terms. If it concerns personal facts, it must be made by affirming or denying them. In any case, the necessary circumstances may be added for its correct and complete understanding.

Every litigant may be present at the declaration of the opposing party and make observations to the Court that he deems appropriate to clarify or explain the questions. He may also, after the declaration has been made, request that it be repeated, if there is any obscure or doubtful point in the answers given that needs clarification.

If the person who is to be interrogated does not appear and does not allege just cause that prevents him from doing so, he shall be cited again for the day and hour that is newly designated, under warning that he shall be held as confessed if he does not appear.

When the litigant who has requested the interrogatories attends the proceeding, both parties may ask each other, by themselves, without the mediation of their attorneys or representatives, and through the Judge, the questions and observations that the Judge admits as appropriate for ascertaining the truth of the facts. The Judge may also request the explanations that he deems conducive to such purpose.

The secretary shall draw up a record of what occurred, in which he shall insert the declaration, which may be read by the party that has made it. In the alternative, the Secretary shall read it, with the Judge asking said party whether he ratifies it or has something to add or change; and once what he states is set forth, he shall sign it, if able to do so, with the Judge and other persons present, and the Secretary shall authorize it.

In the case where, due to illness or other special circumstances of the litigant who is to answer the interrogatories, the Judge deems it appropriate, he may go with the Secretary to the home of said interested party to receive his declaration. In such case, the opposing party shall not be permitted to attend; but he shall be given a copy of the confession and may request on the following business day that it be repeated to clarify some doubtful point upon which the answer was not categorical.

In suits in which the State or some corporation thereof is a party, interrogatories shall not be requested of the Public Ministry or of the person representing said party. Instead, the opposing party shall propose in writing the questions that it wishes to make, which shall be answered by way of a report by the administrative employees to whom the facts pertain. These communications shall be directed through the person representing the State or corporation, who shall be obliged to submit the answer within the term that the Judge designates.

The tacit or presumed confession established in Article 345 shall produce the same effects as express confession.

The probative force of the confession shall be appreciated in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code.

When for the clarification and appreciation of the facts it is necessary for the Judge to examine by himself any place or the thing in dispute, judicial inspection shall be ordered at the request of either party. To carry it out, the Judge shall designate, at least three days in advance, the day and hour on which it is to be conducted.

The parties, their representatives and attorneys, may attend the inspection and ocular examination proceeding, and may make observations to the Judge, orally, that they deem appropriate. A person with practical knowledge of the property may also accompany each party. If the Judge deems it appropriate to hear the observations or statements of these persons, he shall previously administer to them an oath to tell the truth. The Secretary shall draw up a record of the results of the proceeding, which shall be signed by those present, and shall also set forth in it the pertinent observations made by each party, and the statements of the practical experts.

When judicial inspection and expert examination of the same thing are ordered, these means of proof shall be conducted simultaneously, in accordance with the rules established for each one of them.

Witnesses may be examined in the same place and immediately following the judicial inspection, when the inspection or viewing of the place contributes to the clarity of their testimony, if previously requested by the party to whom it is of interest.

Expert opinion shall be heard in all those cases in which the law so provides, whether it uses these expressions or other expressions that indicate the necessity of consulting expert opinions or of following a practical judgment.

Expert opinion must also be heard whenever either party requests it and it concerns: 1st.- Points of fact for whose appreciation there is needed special knowledge of some art, profession, or industry. 2nd.- Points of law relating to some foreign legislation.

Except in the case of express consent of the parties, the following cannot be experts: 1st.- One who cannot be a competent witness. 2nd.- One who does not have a professional credential issued by competent authority, if the art, profession, or industry in question is regulated by law and there are in the place two or more credentialed experts who can undertake the assignment.

In order to proceed with the appointment of experts, the Court shall summon the parties to a designated hearing, which shall take place with the assistance of those who attend. At this hearing the parties shall make the appointment if they reach an agreement. In the event they do not agree, the Court shall appoint one or more experts, as it deems appropriate.

It is presumed that the parties are not in agreement when all of them do not attend the hearing referred to in the preceding article; and in such case, the provisions of the final paragraph of that same article shall apply.

The appointment shall be communicated to the parties so that within three days they may raise their opposition if they have any legal incapacity to claim against the appointee. If there is opposition, the Court shall proceed in conformity with the provisions of Articles 138 through 142 of this Code. If the parties say nothing within said period, it shall be understood that they accept the appointment of expert witnesses made by the Court.

The expert witness who accepts the position shall declare so, and shall swear to perform it with due fidelity. This declaration must be made at the time of notification or within the three immediately following days, and verbally or in writing.

The expert witnesses shall conduct the proceedings jointly.

The parties may attend the proceeding and make as many observations as they wish to the expert witnesses; but they must withdraw so that the latter may discuss and deliberate alone. Whenever any of the parties requests it, the expert witnesses shall draw up a record of the proceedings they conduct and of the agreements they reach, and shall specify in it the facts whose mention those parties request.

The Courts shall set in each case the period within which the expert witnesses must complete their assignment.

When the expert witnesses disagree, they shall inform the Court thereof, which shall cause the parties to be cited for the appointment of a third expert.

The third expert shall conduct, jointly with the other expert witnesses and with the assistance of such parties as attend, the examination proceedings; and shall deliberate with the first expert witnesses.

Once the third expert is appointed, the provisions of Articles

, 362, 363, and 364 shall also apply.

The expert witnesses, and the third expert in his case, who are in agreement shall set forth their opinion in a single declaration signed by all. Those who are not in agreement shall set it forth separately.

The Courts shall assess the probative force of the judgment or opinion of the expert witnesses in conformity with the rules of sound criticism. SIXTH SECTION ON WITNESS TESTIMONY

The following are not competent to testify as witnesses: 1st.- Minors under fourteen years of age. 2nd.- All those who are deprived of reason when the facts about which they declare occurred or when they give their testimony. 3rd.- The blind and the deaf in acts perceived by the sense of which they lack. 4th.- Those who in the same lawsuit have been bribed, even if they have not been prosecuted criminally. 5th.- Vagrants. 6th.- Those who have been convicted of parricide, murder, homicide, bribery, corruption, perjury, theft or robbery, forgery, or fraudulent bankruptcy.

The following are also incompetent to testify in court: 1st.- The spouse and legitimate relatives through one's spouse and through one's legitimate relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity. 2nd.- Natural parents for their natural children and vice versa. 3rd.- Natural siblings for their legitimate or natural siblings and vice versa. 4th.- The tutor or curator for their ward and vice versa. 5th.- Domestic servants for their employers. 6th.- Those who have a direct or indirect interest in the lawsuit. 7th.- The intimate friend or manifest enemy of one of the litigants. The incapacities mentioned in this article may not be raised when the party in whose favor they are established presents as witnesses the same persons to whom such challenges might apply.

All those who reside in Honduran territory, nationals or foreigners, who are not prevented by law, shall have the obligation to comply with the judicial summons to testify as to all they know about what is asked of them, if they are cited with the formalities prescribed by law.

The following shall be exempt from attending the summons but not from testifying: 1st.- The President of the Republic and the Secretaries of State. 2nd.- The Deputies to the National Congress. 3rd.- The Magistrates of the Supreme Court and judicial authorities of rank superior to that of the person receiving the testimony. 4th.- The Diplomatic Representatives accredited to the Honduran Government. 5th.- The members of the Superior Court of Accounts, the Fiscal Agent and the Inspector General of the Treasury, and the General Directors of Income, Posts and Telegraphs (*). 6th.- The Political Governors, the Administrators of Income and Customs and the Commanders of Arms at the departmental, sectional or port level, in whose territory the testimony is to be received. 7th.- The bishops and the Vicars General or Capitular.

When any of the persons designated in the preceding article must testify, the Judge shall direct a communication with the necessary inserts for such person to report in writing on the facts to which the testimony refers.

The resistance of the persons mentioned in number 4th of said article shall be communicated by the Supreme Court with the antecedents of the case to the Ministry of Justice, and shall refrain from all proceedings until the Government issues the appropriate resolution. --------- (*) See Legislative Decree number 89 of March 7, 1951, whose text appears in the Annex to this Code.

The following shall be exempt from testifying but not from attending the Court's summons: 1st.- Attorneys and Solicitors, with respect to the facts that their clients may have entrusted to them in their capacity as defenders. 2nd.- Ecclesiastics and ministers of established religions, concerning facts revealed to them in the exercise of their ministerial functions. 3rd.- Public officials, both civil and military, when they cannot testify without violating the secrecy that by reason of their positions they are obliged to keep, or when acting by virtue of lawful obedience they are not authorized by their hierarchical superior to provide the testimony requested of them. 4th.- Those who are interrogated about facts that constitute a crime for which the declarant is criminally responsible, or his or her spouse, guardian, ward, or any of the relatives designated in Article 372.

The persons included in numbers 1st, 2nd and 3rd of the aforementioned Article 372 are dispensed from the obligation to testify. The Judge shall warn the witness who falls within this article or the preceding one that he has no obligation to testify, with the response given to this warning being recorded.

If the witness is physically unable to attend the judicial summons, the Judge who is to receive his testimony shall proceed to his residence, provided that the interrogation shall not endanger the life of the sick person. In the same manner shall the testimony of a woman of good reputation be received.

The Courts may, when all parties request it by common agreement, submit the examination of witnesses to the Clerk or another Minister of faith.

For the examination of witnesses, the parties shall present interrogatories by chapters. To these interrogatories shall be attached the list of witnesses to be examined, with an indication of their profession or occupation, if they have one, and their residence.

The Court shall examine the interrogatories, and once approved or excluded the questions it deems not pertinent, shall order them to be brought to the knowledge of the other party.

Every litigant shall have the right to present counter-interrogatories directed to the witnesses of his opponent, so that these witnesses may rectify, detail or clarify the facts on which their testimony is invoked. These interrogatories shall be presented before the examination of the witnesses and shall remain reserved in the custody of the Court until that moment. The provisions of the preceding article are applicable to these interrogatories, insofar as they concern their examination and approval.

Each party may present only up to six witnesses for each one of the facts that must be proven.

The Court, taking into account the number of witnesses and the extent of the interrogatories, shall set one or more hearings for their examination.

If witnesses are to be examined outside the place where the proceedings are being conducted, the interrogatories for questions and counter-interrogatories shall be sent in a sealed envelope. The Court so requested shall retain the envelope with the reservation expressed in Article 383.

If either party requests it, the Court shall order the issuance of a citation for each individual designated as a witness. This order, which shall contain a statement of the lawsuit in which the testimony is to be given and the day and hour on which the appearance is to take place, shall be signed and delivered to the witness by a Minister of faith. To the witness who, being present in the place of the proceedings, cannot be served the order despite having been sought twice on different days or on the same day with an interval of four hours, he shall be cited, prior to a court order, in the manner of a notification by writ. To the witness who, having been legally cited, does not appear at the hearing of evidence, a fine of one to ten pesos* shall be imposed, unless he justifies having been unable to attend. If he reoffends, he shall incur criminal liability for disobedience.

The witness has the right to demand from the person who presents him as such the reimbursement of the expenses occasioned by his attendance. If necessary, these expenses shall be determined without formality of proceedings and without further recourse by the Court.

The witnesses of each party shall be examined separately and successively, beginning with those of the plaintiff, and without one being able to witness the statements of the others. The examined witnesses shall remain in a place different from that occupied by those who have not yet testified, until the hearing is concluded.

Before testifying, the witness shall take an oath to tell the truth, under the penalties that the laws provide. If he should manifest ignorance thereof, the Judge shall instruct him of those designated for the crime of perjury. Oath shall not be required of minors under fourteen years of age. ---------- * The current monetary unit of Honduras is the Lempira, according to the provisions of Legislative Decree number 102 of April 3, 1926.

The oath shall be taken in the name of God. The witnesses shall take the oath in accordance with their religion.

The oath shall be omitted whenever the parties request it by common agreement.

The witnesses shall be examined in accordance with the approved interrogatories. Immediately after examining each witness, he shall be questioned according to the cross-examination interrogatories, if such have been presented and admitted.

The Courts may, and through them the parties, their Attorneys or Solicitors, may direct pertinent questions to the witness in order to clarify his obscure or contradictory statements.

The witnesses shall respond in a clear and precise manner to the questions posed to them, expressing the reason why they affirm the facts that they assert. They shall not be permitted to carry written statements, nor to read notes while testifying.

When witnesses give ambiguous or evasive responses, or refuse to swear, or to answer pertinent questions, the Judge may compel them to answer categorically, with a fine of one to ten pesos.* If they persist in their refusal, they shall incur criminal liability.

The testimony constitutes a single act that cannot be interrupted except for grave and urgent causes.

The Courts shall also endeavor, insofar as possible, that all witnesses of each party be examined in the same hearing.

The statements shall be recorded in writing, preserving insofar as possible, but in the fewest words, the expressions used by the witness; and they shall be signed by the Judge, the witness, if he is able, and the parties, if they are also able and present, and authorized by the Secretary.

Before the hearing referred to in Article 385 is held, the parties may oppose in writing against the witnesses of the opposing party the disqualifications designated in Articles 371 and 372. They may also oppose them verbally at the same hearing, but before the witness testifies. Written disqualification documents shall not be admitted at this hearing. The disqualifications against witnesses not summoned to said hearing must be opposed before they give their testimony. ----------

Centro Electrónico de Documentación e Información Judicial Judicial Branch of Honduras (*) The current monetary unit of Honduras is the Lempira, according to the provisions of Legislative Decree number 102 of April 3, 1926. In any case, the disqualifications must be expressed with clarity and specification, in such a manner that they can be easily understood. Otherwise they shall not be admitted(*).

The disqualifications opposed by the parties do not preclude the examination of disqualified witnesses; but the Courts may dismiss of their own motion those who notoriously incur in any of those designated by Article 371.

When the Court deems it necessary to resolve the case, the disqualifications shall be received in evidence, which shall be rendered within the term granted for the principal matter. But if this term is expired or what remains of it is not sufficient, it shall be extended solely for the purpose of rendering the evidence on disqualifications up to ten days, and additionally, an extraordinary extension may be requested as granted by

in the cases to which it refers.

Witness testimony shall not be admitted to disqualify those who have testified regarding the objections raised. This does not prevent the Court from accepting other means of proof without opening a special period, and taking into account the incapacities against the same witnesses that may appear in the proceeding.

Hearsay testimony, that is, testimony from witnesses who relate facts they have not perceived through their own senses and which they know only through what other persons have told them, may only be considered as the basis for a judicial presumption. However, hearsay testimony is valid when the witness refers to what they heard a party say, insofar as this explains or clarifies the fact in question.

If any witness does not understand or does not speak the Spanish language, they shall be examined by means of an interpreter appointed by the Judge.

Deaf-mutes may be admitted as witnesses in the event that, by knowing how to read and write, they are able to give their statements in writing.

The Courts shall assess the probative force of witness testimony in accordance with the following rules: 1st.- The testimony of a single witness, however impartial and truthful they may be, shall never by itself alone produce full proof. 2nd.- That of two or more witnesses consistent in the fact and in their essential circumstances, without objection, legally examined and who give reasons for their statements, may constitute full proof when it has not been contradicted by other proof to the contrary. 3rd.- When the testimony of the witnesses of one party is contradictory to that of the witnesses of the other, they shall consider true what those declare who, even being fewer in number, seem to tell the truth by being better informed of the facts, or by having a better reputation, being more impartial and truthful, or by their statements being more consistent with other evidence in the proceeding. 4th.- When the witnesses of both parties meet equal conditions of knowledge, impartiality and veracity, they shall consider true what the greater number declares, if this greater number is two or more. In the opposite case, they shall consider the fact as not proved. 5th.- When the witnesses of both parties are equal in circumstances and in number, in such a way that sound reason cannot incline to give more credit to some than to others, they shall equally consider the fact as not proved; and 6th.- When the testimony of witnesses from the same party is contradictory, those that favor the other party shall be considered as presented by the latter, assessing the probative merit of all of them in accordance with the preceding rules.

The value of this proof and the cases in which it is to be admitted are subject to the provisions of the Civil Code.

Between two or more contradictory proofs, and in the absence of a law that resolves the conflict, the Courts shall prefer the one they believe most consistent with the truth.

After the period for proof has elapsed, or once all the proposed proof has been completed, the Judge shall, at the verbal or written request of either party, order that the evidence produced be joined to the case file. The Judge shall also order that the case file be delivered to the parties, in turn, and for a period of six days, so that they may present their conclusions by making a written summary of the evidence.

The concluding briefs shall be limited to the following: 1st.- In numbered paragraphs, there shall be expressed with clarity, and with the utmost conciseness, each one of the facts that have been the subject of the debate, making a brief and methodical summary of the evidence that in the opinion of each party justifies or contradicts them. 2nd.- In paragraphs also numbered and brief, and following the same order of the facts, the evidence of the opposing party shall be appreciated. 3rd.- It shall then be set forth, plainly and simply, whether the legal grounds alleged, respectively, in the complaint and answer are maintained, in whole or in part. Other laws or legal doctrines may also be cited in this place upon which the resolution of the questions debated in the lawsuit may be based, but limited to citing them without comments or other exposition than that of the positive concept in which they are deemed applicable to the case. With no other reasoning, the conclusion shall be for judgment.

After the period granted for the concluding brief has elapsed, the case file shall be collected, with or without a brief, from the party that has it in their possession, as soon as the opposing party requests it, and it shall be given the appropriate course.

Once the case file is returned by the defendant, or collected from their possession by virtue of compulsion, the Judge shall issue an order considering it closed, and shall order the parties to be cited for judgment.

Once the parties are cited to hear judgment, no briefs or evidence of any kind shall be admitted to them except in the cases of Article 170. This is understood without prejudice to what is provided in Article 131.

The Judge shall issue the judgment within ten days following the citation.

If an appeal of the final judgment is timely and properly filed, the Judge shall admit it in both effects, and shall order the case file to be sent to the superior Court, with designation of the period for improvement.

Every appellant must appear in proper form before the Judge or superior Court within the period of summons. If they fail to do so, as soon as that period has elapsed, the appeal shall be declared void, and the appellant shall be condemned to the costs of the same.

If the appellee has not appeared before the superior court, the proceedings shall continue their course, with notification of any orders issued being made by means of a notice on the bulletin board. If the appellee appears thereafter, he shall be admitted as a party without any retrogression in the procedure.

At any stage of the second instance, the litigant who filed the appeal may withdraw from it, and the superior court, without further proceedings and without any subsequent recourse, shall declare the appellant withdrawn from the appeal with costs and the appealed resolution as final, and shall order that this be communicated to the lower court, with the return of the case file, where applicable.

As soon as the judgment rendered in the appeal resource becomes final, it shall be communicated to the lower court by means of certification, so that what has been resolved may be carried out. CHAPTER II OF APPEALS OF FINAL JUDGMENTS IN CASES OF GREATER AMOUNT

Once the appellant has appeared within the term of the summons for improvement, a copy of the case file shall be delivered to him for six days so that he may present his written statement of grievances, enumerating with as much brevity as possible the points of fact and law that give rise to them.

A copy of the statement of grievances and the case record shall be delivered to the appellee for six days, and during this term he may join in the appeal on the points in which he believes the judgment to be prejudicial. In the case of joinder in the appeal, another copy shall be delivered to the appellant for three days.

In the written statements of expression and response to grievances, the parties shall request that the case be received for trial, when they deem it necessary and appropriate, expressing the grounds that justify this request.

Without the need to receive the case for trial, the litigants may request: 1. That the opposing party be required to make judicial confession only once, provided that it is regarding facts that have not been the subject of interrogatories in the first instance. 2. That documents be brought to the case file or that they present documents themselves that are found in any of the circumstances set forth in Article 262.

When the appellant requests that the case be received for trial, the appellee must respond to this claim in the written statement referred to in Article 422. If the appellee requests it, the appellant may challenge it within the three days following the day on which he is given notice of that statement.

With respect to the terms and means of proof and the manner of conducting it, what is established for the first instance of cases of greater amount shall be observed.

After the trial period has elapsed, or as soon as all proposed and admitted evidence has been conducted, the Court shall order, at the verbal or written request of either party, that the evidence be joined to the case file and that a copy be delivered to the parties for six days so that they may present their conclusions.

Once the copies have been returned, an order shall be issued directing that the case be brought for review, with notification of the parties for judgment, which shall be rendered within ten days.

When the Court deems it necessary to order, for better decision, any of the proceedings permitted by Article 170, the term for rendering judgment shall be suspended, and such term shall resume as soon as the proceedings conducted are joined to the case file.

If either party intends to file a cassation recourse against the judgment rendered by the Court of Appeals, the procedure shall be carried out in the manner prescribed in Title XXI of Book III of this Code. Once the legal term has elapsed without filing or preparing such recourse, what is provided in Article 420 shall be carried out. CHAPTER III OF APPEALS OF ORDERS AND OF JUDGMENTS RENDERED IN INCIDENTS AND IN SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS

All appeals, whether of orders or judgments, except for final judgments of greater amount referred to in the preceding Chapter, shall be processed by the procedures established herein. Appeals of verbal trials are also excepted, which shall be handled by their special procedures.

In the written statement of appearance, the appellant shall express the grievances in the manner established for cases of greater amount.

When the appellee appears within the term of the service of process, he shall be given a view of the statement of grievances for three days. Within the term of the view, the appellee may present his written response to the grievances and may join in the appeal.

The claims referred to in Articles 423 and 424 shall also be formulated in said documents, when they are appropriate.

After the term designated for responding to the grievances has elapsed, if no admission of evidence is granted, a hearing for judgment shall be called, which shall be rendered within a term of five days.

Admission of evidence in these appeals may only be granted when the law permits it for the first instance and when one of the cases expressed in Article 220 is present.

The evidence, in such case, shall be presented within the term and in the form established for the first instance.

The provisions of Articles 425 and 426 shall also be applicable in their respective cases to the appeals referred to herein.

Once the evidence is joined to the proceedings in the time and manner determined by Article 427, it shall be made available to the parties at the Secretariat for three days, common to both, so that they may present their conclusions.

Once this term has elapsed, a hearing for judgment shall be called, which shall be rendered within a term of five days.

Every complaint for civil liability must be accompanied by a certification or transcript containing: 1st.- the judgment or order in which the injury is alleged to have been caused. 2nd.- The proceedings that in the opinion of the party tend to demonstrate the violation of law, or of the procedure or formality required to be observed by the same under penalty of nullity, and that the appropriate remedies or complaints were timely filed. 3rd.- The final judgment that has terminated the lawsuit or case.

The certification or transcript referred to in the preceding article shall be requested from the Court or Tribunal where the proceedings are filed. The secretary shall give receipt of the presentation of the document. The Court or Tribunal shall order, under its responsibility, that said document be provided without delay, being able to agree that the particulars that it deems necessary be added so that the truth of the facts is evident. The Court or Tribunal shall order, under its responsibility, that said document be provided without delay, and may agree that the particulars it deems necessary to establish the truth of the facts be added.

If ten days pass from the presentation of the document without the certification or transcript having been delivered to the party, the latter may file a complaint with the Tribunal that must hear the complaint, which shall make appropriate instructions to the lower court to send said document within a brief period, or shall demand the original proceedings if it deems it more convenient and they are not necessary for the execution of the judgment. In these cases, the proceedings shall be made available to the plaintiff, or the transcript shall be delivered to him so that he may file his complaint, retaining, in its case, the proceedings to keep them in view until the conclusion of the liability suit.

In any case, the judgment that acquits the defendant of the civil liability complaint shall condemn the plaintiff in all costs, and shall impose them on the defendants when the complaint is granted in whole or in part.

When it is declared that civil liability has occurred, once the judgment becomes final, the proceedings shall be communicated to the Prosecutor, so that, if there are grounds to demand criminal liability, he may request and propose what he deems appropriate.

In the remedy of civil liability against Judges or Magistrates, the provisions of the law on Organization and Attributes of Tribunals shall also be observed.

The executory proceeding takes place in obligations to give when to claim their fulfillment any of the following titles is invoked: 1st.- Public deed, provided that it is the first copy, or another subsequent one given by judicial order and service on the person who should be prejudiced, or his predecessor. 2nd.- Private instrument, judicially acknowledged or ordered to be acknowledged. However, this acknowledgment shall not be necessary with respect to the acceptor of a bill of exchange who has not questioned the authenticity of his acceptance at the time of protesting the bill for non-payment. 3rd.- Judicial confession. 4th.- Any bearer titles or legitimately issued nominal titles that represent matured obligations, and also matured coupons of such titles, provided that the coupons are consistent with the titles, and these, in all cases, with the counterfoil books. If the comparison proves consistent, it shall not be an obstacle to the dispatch of execution, the protest of falsity of the title that at the time the director or the person representing the debtor may make, who may allege the falsity in proper form as one of the exceptions of the suit; and 5th.- Any other title to which the laws give executory force.

If, in the event the creditor does not have an enforceable title, he wishes to prepare execution by recognition of signature or by confession of debt, he may request that the debtor be cited to appear before the court in order to perform the corresponding one of these proceedings. And if the cited party does not appear or gives only evasive answers, the signature shall be deemed recognized or the debt shall be deemed confessed.

Once the signature is recognized, execution shall be deemed prepared, even if the debt is denied. If the signature is not recognized, as likewise if the debt is denied in the case where judicial confession was required, the creditor may exercise his right only in the declarative judgment that corresponds by its amount.

Electronic Center of Judicial Documentation and Information Judicial Branch of Honduras

Confession made in the ordinary proceeding by answering interrogatories after the complaint has been answered does not constitute an enforceable title, nor may, by virtue thereof, this judgment be brought by abandoning the ordinary proceeding.

In order for execution to proceed, it is further required that the obligation be currently enforceable.

Execution may be directed against: 1st.- The specific thing or certain item owed and which exists in the possession of the debtor. 2nd.- The value of the thing owed and which does not exist in the possession of the debtor, its valuation being made by an expert appointed by the Court; and 3rd.- A liquid sum of money or of a determined class whose valuation may be made in the manner established in the preceding number. There shall be understood as a liquid sum, not only that which currently has this quality, but also that which may be liquidated by means of simple arithmetic operations with only the data that the same enforceable title supplies. The creditor shall express in the execution complaint the specific thing or the liquid amount for which he requests the writ of execution.

If the title shows an obligation that is partly liquid and partly illiquid, execution may proceed for the first part, reserving the creditor's right to claim the remainder by ordinary means.

The valuation that, in conformity with Article 452, is made to determine the amount of the execution, shall be understood without prejudice to the right of the parties to request that it be increased or decreased.

The execution complaint shall be formulated in the same terms as the ordinary complaint.

Upon examination of the title, execution shall be granted or denied without hearing the defendant.

If the title has execution attached, the Judge shall issue the writ of execution and attachment, in which the debtor shall be ordered to pay the debt or deposit it with costs and interest within twenty-four hours; and if payment or deposit is not made within the stated term, sufficient property shall be attached for payment.

Electronic Center of Judicial Documentation and Information Judicial Branch of Honduras

The writ of execution and attachment shall be served on the debtor, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III, Title V, Book I of this Code.

If the debtor does not comply with the order, without new citation or further action, property shall be attached in the order designated by the creditor; and the attachment shall be made in the following order: 1st.- In money, jewelry or precious items. 2nd.- In movable property. 3rd.- In livestock. 4th.- In fruits and income. 5th.- In real property. 6th.- In salaries and pensions. If the attachment falls upon real property, the officer shall cause the proceeding to be registered in the Property Registry.

If the creditor does not designate property for attachment, it shall be made effective against such property as the debtor presents, and if the debtor does not present any, against such property as the officer designates.

The attachment proceeding shall contain the individual and detailed description of the attached property and of its quality and condition; and shall be signed by the officer, the creditor and the debtor if present.

No attachment shall be made on the property referred to in Article 1444 of the Civil Code, nor on railroad lines open to public service, nor on their stations, warehouses, workshops, lands, works and buildings that are necessary for their use, nor on the locomotives, rails and other fixed and movable equipment, intended for the operation of the line. When execution is ordered against a Railroad Company or enterprise, it shall proceed in the manner provided in the Commercial Code.

Once the attachment is verified, the property shall be placed at the disposal of the depositary designated by the creditor, under his responsibility. If the creditor does not designate a depositary, the executor shall appoint one. If the attached property is located in various places, or consists of species of a different nature, more than one depositary may be appointed.

If the debtor does not appear at the attachment proceeding or refuses to deliver the property, the executor shall do so, extending the respective proceeding, which in any case shall be signed by the depositary.

If any difficulty arises in verifying the attachment or in delivering the property, the Court shall resolve it summarily in view of the executor's certificate. 466.- Once the attachment is verified, the executor shall remit or deposit the proceeding in the Secretariat; and the secretary shall make a record of the day and time on which it is delivered to him.

In addition to the receivers, the practice of execution and attachment proceedings may be entrusted to any Notary Public and even to a private individual.

When the debtor's domicile is unknown, or his whereabouts are unknown, the Judge may order, at the instance of the plaintiff, that attachment proceed without first making the demand for payment, and making it to the person who is in charge of the property if there is one.

Once the attachment is made, when the debtor's domicile is known, he shall be cited in person so that he may oppose the execution; and when it is not known or his whereabouts are unknown, the provisions of Article 1 of this Code shall apply. SECOND SECTION OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE LAWSUIT UNTIL THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF THE JUDGMENT FOR PAYMENT OR SALE

Within the term of three days, counting from the day following the citation referred to in the preceding article, opposition to the execution must be filed; and if it is not filed, at the instance of the plaintiff, the Judge shall cite for judgment of sale. In the opposition brief, the exceptions shall be alleged and the evidence deemed appropriate shall be proposed.

Only the following exceptions shall be admissible in the execution proceeding: 1st.- Falsity of the executive title, or of the act that would have given it such force. 2nd.- Payment. 3rd.- Compensation of liquid credit that results from a document that has executive force. 4th.- Prescription. 5th.- Discharge or extension of time. 6th.- Pact or promise not to claim. 7th.- Lack of legal standing in the executing party or in his Attorney. 8th.- Novation. 9th.- Transaction. 10th.- Agreement to submit the decision of the matter to arbitrators or amicable mediators, granted with the solemnities prescribed by law. 11th.- Lack of jurisdiction. Any other exception that belongs to the debtor shall be reserved for the ordinary lawsuit, and may not prevent the pronouncement of the judgment of sale.

In execution proceedings concerning payment of bills of exchange, only the exceptions expressed in the first five numbers of the preceding article shall be admissible, and the last one proved by public deed or by private document or acknowledged in lawsuit, and also the exception of expiration of the bill.

The debtor may also base his opposition by alleging excess in the computation or in cash of the debts or goods in kind.

All exceptions must be raised in a single brief, expressing with clarity and precision the facts and the means of proof by which the debtor intends to prove them. The fact that the defendant has intervened in the actions of the plaintiff to prepare the execution action shall not prevent the exception of lack of jurisdiction from being raised. Once this exception is decided, the Court may rule on it forthwith, or reserve it for the final judgment.

A copy of the opposition brief shall be given to the executor so that he may respond within the term of three days. With what he states, or if he states nothing in said term, the opposition shall be resolved, if there are no facts to prove or if the antecedents on which it is based appear in the record.

When the case is to be received for evidence, the term for presenting it shall be ten days. This term may be extended up to ten additional days, at the request of the creditor. The extension must be requested before the granted term expires, and shall run without interruption after it.

Evidence shall be presented in the same manner as in the ordinary lawsuit, and the order allowing it shall express the points upon which it shall bear. Once the evidentiary term has expired, the record shall remain in the Secretariat for three days at the disposal of the parties, before pronouncing judgment. During this period, written observations may be made based on what the examination of the evidence suggests, and once it has expired, whether or not briefs have been presented, the case shall be cited for judgment.

The final judgment shall be pronounced within the term of five days, and in it there shall be resolved in detail and individually on the admission or inadmissibility of each one of the exceptions raised, and it shall be declared accordingly, whether or not the execution should proceed. If one or more of the exceptions are admitted, the debtor shall be absolved; and if none is admissible, the sale of the attached property shall be ordered, or payment with the money deposited.

A sentence of sale or payment shall also be pronounced whenever no admissible exception has been filed within the legal term and whenever the defendant requests it, reserving his right to exercise it through ordinary proceedings.

Once the sentence of sale or payment is pronounced, the procedure shall continue even if an appeal is filed. However, if an appeal is filed, the seized assets shall not be sold until the sentence becomes final, except in the case of exception provided in the second paragraph of Article 484. In this case, as well as when the defendant has deposited the amount for which he is being executed, payment may be made to the plaintiff whenever he provides security for the results of the trial. The plaintiff shall provide the same security when the defendant, before the case is received for evidence, requests that the sentence of payment or sale be pronounced immediately, protesting to use his right in ordinary proceedings.

The Court shall evaluate the security with notice to the debtor. The security shall lapse in the case of the second paragraph of the preceding article if the sentence of sale or payment is confirmed and in the case of the third paragraph, if the defendant does not use his right in ordinary proceedings one month after the execution proceedings are concluded.

The administration of the seized assets shall be in charge of the custodian. If they are movable property, the custodian may transfer them to the place he deems most convenient, unless the defendant provides security for the preservation of such assets where they are located. If the assets consist of houses or rural properties, they shall remain in the debtor's possession until the sale is carried out, unless there is danger of deterioration or destruction.

All disputes that arise between the debtor, the creditor, and the custodian concerning the possession, administration, and custody of the seized assets shall be conducted in verbal hearings that shall take place with whoever attends.

The sale of real estate and movable and semovable property that can be preserved without deterioration shall not proceed while the sentence of sale is not final; but once it is pronounced by the Court of First Instance, all proceedings shall continue until the approval of the appraisal of such assets, if the plaintiff requests it, under his responsibility. If all or part of the seized assets consist of perishable goods or species susceptible to imminent deterioration, their realization shall proceed immediately, even if the sentence of sale has not been pronounced.

In order to dispose of the seized assets, they shall be previously appraised, unless both parties waive this requirement. The appraisal shall be made by experts appointed in accordance with the provisions of Article 359.

Once the appraisal is completed, it shall be deposited in the office for the disposal of interested parties; and the Secretary shall record the date on which it was delivered to him.

Interested parties shall have a term of three days, counted from the presentation of the appraisal, to challenge the operations. The petition to challenge shall be given to the other party for three days; and with what he may state or if he states nothing, the incident shall be resolved.

Once the appraisal is approved, and upon request of either party, the day and hour shall be set to carry out the sale. The announcement of the sale shall be made through a newspaper of the department, or by notices, in lieu thereof, for twenty days if they are real estate, and for ten days if they are movable or semovable property. If the assets exist in another department, the sale shall also be announced there, for the same length of time and in the same manner.

The sale shall be carried out in public auction; and bidders shall not be admitted for less than two-thirds of the appraisal value, unless the interested parties agree to modify these requirements.

In order to participate in the auction, bidders must previously deposit in the Court the cash value of their bid, or present a surety bond approved by the Judge, without which requirement they shall not be admitted.

The creditor may participate in the auction up to the amount of his credit, without needing to deposit the deposit required in the preceding article.

If no bidders appear on the designated day, the Court, ex officio or upon petition of a party, shall set a new day for the sale. On this day, a valid bid is any bid made for any amount.

When the sale has not been carried out on the first designated day, the new day that is set shall be announced for eight days in the manner provided in Article 488.

At any stage of the proceedings, the execution creditor may request the enlargement of the attachment to other property of the debtor, if the attached property is insufficient. Notice of this request shall be given to the execution debtor for a period of two days; and with whatever he alleges or if he makes no allegation, the Court shall resolve it.

At any stage of the proceedings, before the attached property has been disposed of, the execution debtor may terminate it by paying the debt with its interest and costs. He may likewise terminate the attachment by depositing a sum sufficient for payment. The requests made with the aforementioned objectives shall be processed in conformity with the preceding article.

If the attachment has been levied on the specific property that is claimed, once the judgment for payment has become final and non-appealable, its delivery to the execution creditor shall be ordered.

Without the execution creditor being completely reimbursed, the sums produced by the attached property may not be applied to any object other than that declared preferential by final judgment. The costs proceeding from the execution shall enjoy preference even over the credit itself.

Upon termination of the proceedings or cessation of the attachment, the Court, at the request of any interested party, shall set a reasonable period for the depositary to render his account. Once the account is rendered, it shall remain in the office for six days at the disposal of the parties; and it shall be understood that they approve it if they make no objection during said period.

If there is opposition, it shall be communicated to the depositary so that he may answer within six days; and it shall be resolved with whatever he alleges, or if he makes no answer during said period. In the same resolution, the honorarium of the depositary shall be fixed if applicable, taking into account the responsibility and work imposed by the position. FOURTH SECTION ON THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS

Before payment is made to the creditor or the attached property is sold at auction, any interested party may claim his right, asserting ownership of said property, or seeking to be paid preferentially to the execution creditor or concurrently with him. The third-party claim, whenever it refers to real property, must be founded on a written instrument, and shall be brought before the same Court that is hearing the principal proceedings.

The opposition founded on the right of a co-owner over the attached property shall be processed in the form established for third-party claims of ownership. In the same manner, the claim of the execution debtor shall be processed for the exclusion from the attachment of any of the property referred to in Article 462.

In no case shall the third-party claim suspend the proceedings of the executive process.

A third-party claim of ownership founded on a public or authentic document suspends the proceedings relating to the disposition of the attached property. For a third-party claim of ownership founded on another type of instrument to suspend said proceedings, the person alleging it must secure its outcome to the satisfaction of the Court.

Third-party claims of ownership and of preference shall be pursued in a separate proceeding with the execution creditor and the execution debtor, and by the procedures of ordinary litigation. The third-party claim of concurrence shall be processed in accordance with the following articles.

Once the third-party claim is filed, the Court shall set a hearing for the execution creditor, the execution debtor, and the opponent to appear and present what they deem appropriate. The appearance shall be held with whoever attends; and he who does not attend may present a written document which shall be read at the same hearing. If none of the interested parties attend, the Court, ex officio or at the request of a party, shall set a new date; and if no one attends this new hearing, the Court shall decide on the merits of the case.

At the hearing set for this purpose, the law and the disputed facts shall be submitted for discussion. If there are facts to be proven, the Court shall set the points for evidence; and shall set at the same hearing the period for proof which, in no case, may exceed twenty days. Once the period for proof is concluded, the proceedings shall continue in conformity with Article 477; and the Court shall issue its decision in the form of a final judgment declaring whether the third-party claim is or is not valid.

If there are no facts to be proven, the parties shall be cited to hear the judgment.

In cases where the third-party claim does not suspend execution, the opponent may, before judgment is rendered, request that the execution creditor secure the outcome of the proceedings in conformity with Articles 480 and 481. CHAPTER II ON THE EXECUTIVE PROCEDURE IN OBLIGATIONS TO DO AND NOT TO DO

There is an executory action in obligations to perform an act when, being determinate and currently enforceable, they are enforced by means of a title that carries with it execution.

The rules of the First Section of the preceding Chapter shall apply to the procedure covered by this Chapter, insofar as they are applicable and do not appear modified by the following articles.

If the act due consists of the execution of an instrument or the constitution of an obligation on the part of the debtor, the Judge hearing the litigation may proceed in his name, if, upon notice, the debtor fails to do so within the term assigned by the Court.

When the obligation consists of the execution of a material work, the executory order shall contain: 1st.- The order to summon the debtor to comply with the obligation; and 2nd.- The designation of a reasonable term for commencement of the work.

In addition to the exceptions expressed in Article 471, which are applicable to the procedure covered by this chapter, the debtor may raise the exception of absolute impossibility for the current execution of the work due.

If no exceptions are raised, the sentence for payment shall be omitted, and the executory order shall suffice for the creditor to exercise his right in accordance with the provisions of the following articles.

The creditor may request authorization to carry out, by means of a third party and at the expense of the debtor, the act due, if in the opinion of the latter this is possible, provided that the debtor, not raising exceptions, refuses to comply with the executory order; and when the debtor disobeys the sentence dismissing the exceptions raised or allows the term referred to in number 2nd of

to lapse, without beginning the work. An equal request may be made when, after commencement of the work, the debtor abandons it without justified cause.

Whenever proceedings are to be carried out in accordance with the preceding article, the plaintiff shall present, together with his request, an estimate of what the execution of the obligations he claims shall cost. The estimate having been brought to the attention of the defendant, the defendant shall have a period of three days to examine it, and if nothing is objected within said period, it shall be considered accepted. If objections are raised, the estimate shall be made by means of experts appointed in the manner established by Article 359.

Once the value of the estimate is determined in the manner established in the preceding article, the debtor shall be obliged to deposit it within three days at the order of the Court, so that the necessary funds shall be delivered to the executing party, as the work requires.

Once the deposited funds are exhausted, the creditor may request an increase of them, justifying that there has been an error in the estimate or that unforeseen circumstances have arisen that increase the cost of the work.

Once the work is completed, the creditor must render an account of the application of the funds supplied by the debtor.

If the debtor does not deposit at the order of the Court the funds decreed, the debtor's property shall be seized and sold in sufficient amount to make the deposit in accordance with what is established in the preceding Chapter, but without admitting exceptions to oppose execution. If the creditor cannot or does not wish to take charge of the execution of the work due, in accordance with the preceding provisions, he may use the other remedies that the law grants for the fulfillment of obligations to perform an act, provided that the debtor has not deposited the funds required for the execution of the work, nor have properties been sold to make the deposit in the case of the preceding article.

Once the term designated in number 2nd of Article 512 has expired, the Court may, at the request of the creditor, impose on the debtor the coercive measure referred to in

The coercive measure shall cease if the debtor furnishes sufficient security at the discretion of the Court, to ensure indemnification of all damages to the creditor.

The foregoing provisions shall also apply to the obligation of non-performance, when it is converted into the obligation to destroy the work completed, provided that the title on which it is based expressly sets forth all the circumstances required by the second paragraph of Article 1359 of the Civil Code, and the third paragraph of the same article cannot be applied. In the case that the foregoing paragraph applies, the matter shall be processed in the form of an incident. TITLE II OF THE CONCOURSE OF CREDITORS CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

The concourse of creditors is voluntary or necessary. It is voluntary when promoted by the debtor outside of the case expressed in number 1 of Article 639. It is necessary when promoted by the creditors or declared ex officio in the cases of numbers 2 and 3 of the aforementioned Article 639.

The concourse produces for the bankrupt and his creditors an indivisible state. It shall comprise all of his property and all of his obligations, even though they may not be due, except those property and obligations that the law expressly excepts.

Once the concourse is declared, all ordinary and enforcement proceedings that are pending against the bankrupt in other courts of any jurisdiction and that may be subject to compromise shall be brought before the Court that knows of it; they shall continue to be processed or shall be initiated before the Court that knows or should know of them.

The ordinary proceedings aggregated to the concourse shall continue to be processed in accordance with the procedure that corresponds, according to their nature, until the final judgment becomes enforceable. If the bankrupt is condemned, what has been decided shall be carried out in the ordinary manner or in the manner determined by the appellate judgment. In it, the Court shall make an express declaration on this point. The enforcement proceedings shall be paralyzed in the state in which they are found and the creditors shall exercise their right in the manner established by this title. Which is understood without prejudice to what is provided in the three following articles.

Pledged or mortgaged creditors may enforce their rights in the property that is respectively affected by their credits, initiating, for such purpose, the corresponding procedures, or continuing those already initiated. Whether such creditors make use of the right that this article grants them, or whether they leave in the hands of the Trustee the realization of the burdened property, they may demand payment in the manner established by Article 603.

If a private concourse is formed for a property burdened with mortgage, partial enforcement proceedings cannot be initiated or continued against it.

When at the time of the declaration of the concourse there is pending an enforcement proceeding for an obligation of performance and funds have already been deposited as referred to in Article 517, the processing established for this class of proceedings shall continue until the complete expenditure of such funds or until the conclusion of the work to be paid with them. In other cases, the creditor may only continue or initiate his efforts so that his credit is considered for the value of the damages declared or that may be declared.

When a creditor has the right of retention in the cases designated by the laws, he cannot be deprived of the retained thing without first being paid or assured payment of his credit. The Trustee may, however, when judicially authorized, demand the delivery of the retained thing, depositing to the order of the Court an equivalent value of it in money, on which the retention shall be enforced.

The embargoes and precautionary measures that have been decreed in the proceedings that are aggregated to the concourse shall lose their value from the declaration of it, only when they refer to property that, without awaiting the result of such proceedings, must be realized in the concourse or be included in it.

The ordinary proceedings aggregated to the concourse and the enforcement proceedings referred to in Articles 528 and 530 shall be processed with the Trustee, whether provisional or permanent. The new causes initiated against the mass of the concourse shall also be processed with the Trustee, whether for revendication or for another reason.

Whenever the rulings issued in the concourse must be notified by means of notices in newspapers, posters shall also be posted for the same purpose in the Secretariat of the Court. CHAPTER II OF VOLUNTARY CONCOURSE

The debtor who presents himself in voluntary concourse shall accompany his petition with: 1. A detailed and individual statement of all his property, with indication of the place where it is located, its estimated value and the liens to which it is subject. 2. A statement of the property that, in accordance with law, is excepted from the assignment. 3. A statement of the proceedings that he has pending, whether he appears as plaintiff or defendant in them. 4. A statement of the debts, with indication of the names and address of the creditors and the nature of the titles in which they are recorded; and 5. A memorandum of the direct and immediate causes of the poor condition of his business, and in it he must account for the use of the proceeds of the debts contracted and of the other property received in the last year. It shall be understood that the debtor does not make a detailed and truthful exposition of the condition of his business when, presenting himself in voluntary concourse, he omits any of the statements that this article expresses and does not give satisfactory reason for the omission.

The debtor may present himself in voluntary concourse to make an assignment of property or proposals for an agreement to his creditors. FIRST SECTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT OF PROPERTY

Any debtor who does not find himself in any of the cases expressed in Article 639 may make an assignment of property. Which is understood without prejudice to what is established in Article 1443 of the Civil Code.

The resolution granting the petition for assignment of property shall contain: 1st.- The appointment of a provisional Receiver who, personally or through an authorized representative, shall take over the administration of the assigned property. 2nd.- The order to convene the creditors residing in the territory of the Republic, so that they may attend with the supporting documents of their credits at a meeting that shall take place on the day and hour designated by the Tribunal. 3rd.- The order that notice shall be given to all creditors residing in the territory of the Republic that within the period of summons they must appear in the place of proceedings, personally or through a Procurator, under pain of continuation of bankruptcy proceedings and payment of credits without further notice to any absent party. 4th.- The order to dispatch the corresponding letters rogatory to notify the assignment of property to creditors located outside the Republic, requiring them to appear in the place of proceedings within the period of summons (which shall be expressed in each letter rogatory), under the aforementioned penalty, and providing that in the meantime they shall be represented by a special curator; and 5th.- The order to announce the assignment of property, the appointment of provisional Receiver and the day set for the meeting of creditors, publishing in abstract five times, at ten-day intervals, in one or two newspapers of the department, if they exist, or in "La Gaceta", otherwise.

The following cannot be provisional Receivers: 1st.- Minors under twenty-one years of age; 2nd.- Bankrupts who have not been rehabilitated; and 3rd.- The debtor making the assignment, nor their relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity.

It is the duty of the provisional Receiver to: 1st.- Demand the delivery of the assigned property and the books and business papers of the debtor. 2nd.- Ensure that the notices and publications provided for in Article 538 are made. 3rd.- Collect the due credits from the assets of the bankrupt. 4th.- Adopt urgent measures of administration, repair and preservation required by the assigned property. 5th.- Sell at public auction or private sale, with prior authorization of the Tribunal, goods that cannot be preserved in storage, and those that are in imminent deterioration or to an imminent and considerable depreciation. The sale may not be carried out except after twenty-four hours have elapsed since notice to the bankrupt, if present, unless the bankrupt expressly consents to it. If during this period the bankrupt makes objections, the Tribunal shall resolve, without further recourse, what it deems prudent, consulting the interests of the bankruptcy. In case the bankrupt is not found in the place of proceedings, the sale shall be carried out immediately. 6th.- Claim delivery of property that the debtor omitted from his list; and 7th.- Represent the rights of the creditors, judicially and extrajudicially.

The provisional Receiver shall deposit in a bank, or in the custody of the person designated by the Tribunal and at its order, the jewelry, precious goods, public securities and money that he receives, with deduction of the amount that the Tribunal considers necessary for administration expenses.

If the provisional Receiver does not have funds to meet the expenses that the exercise of his office demands, he shall request authorization from the Tribunal to sell in the manner provided for in number 5 of Article 540, property in sufficient quantity, or to borrow money at interest, encumbering the assigned property, in case these are not of easy realization.

The meeting of creditors referred to in number 2 of Article 538 shall take place with those who attend, even though not all those residing outside the seat of the Tribunal have been individually summoned. The debtor and the provisional Receiver must also attend.

The first meeting has as its purpose: 1st.- To deliberate concerning the acceptance of the assignment of property. 2nd.- To appoint the definitive Receiver; and 3rd.- To determine the remuneration of the provisional and definitive Receivers. The creditors may also reach such agreements as they deem appropriate in this meeting, either with respect to the administration and sale of the assigned property, or concerning the conduct of the bankruptcy proceedings.

When the matters to be dealt with in the first meeting cannot be completed in a single day, the meeting shall continue on the next business days.

Eight days before the date set for the meeting, creditors shall present the supporting documents of their credits at the Office of the Tribunal, and they shall remain there at the disposal of the other creditors for examination. A statement of the amounts owed for principal, interest and costs shall be attached to the documents, also expressing the payments made by the debtor. The secretary shall give a receipt for the credit instruments and statements that are presented, even if the parties do not request it. Creditors who do not have documents shall present only the statement, and shall indicate therein the means of proof of their credits.

If any of the creditors or the bankrupt requests that any or all of those in attendance swear to the validity of their credits, the Tribunal shall order it immediately.

If any of the credits is challenged as false, or the capacity or standing of any of the claimants is objected to, or a question is raised concerning the amount for which his vote should be counted, the Tribunal shall decide what corresponds in the same hearing and without further recourse, for the sole purpose of determining the rights of creditors in the act of voting.

The creditor or Procurator who holds more than one representation shall have only one personal vote; but the credits represented shall be taken into account to form the majority in amount.

It is prohibited to divide credits after the debtor's presentation in bankruptcy. If this provision is violated, neither the violator nor any of those representing portions of the divided credit shall have a vote in the creditors' meetings. If the division takes place within thirty days prior to the debtor's presentation, all those claiming portions of the divided credit shall be counted as a single person, and shall cast a single vote, proceeding in the manner established in the final paragraph of this Title. This provision does not apply to credit divided to effect the partition of an inheritance, partnership or community not exclusively formed by such credit. Credit belonging to a community shall be represented by only one of the co-owners. If they do not agree on the designation of the representative, none of them shall have a vote.

At this meeting, creditors may: 1st.- Ask the debtor for explanations concerning the causes of his default. 2nd.- Require him to prove the blamelessness of his insolvency; and 3rd.- Object to the assignment of property by virtue of any of the causes indicated by Article 1443 of the Civil Code.

If any of the creditors has exercised the right conferred upon him by the preceding article, the Tribunal, having heard the debtor, shall resolve in the same hearing whether the explanations given by the debtor appear satisfactory. Otherwise, it shall order the formation of the third section of the proceedings.

Creditors residing within the territory of the Republic who have not been cited or have not appeared at the first meeting, and those who, having been cited, did not have the time to attend within the period of summons, may oppose the admission of the assignment of assets and any other agreements made in accordance with the final paragraph of Article 544, provided they file their opposition within the period of summons corresponding to the creditor who raises it.

At the first meeting, the appointment of the permanent Trustee must necessarily be made.

The appointment of the Trustee shall be made by majority of votes; in order for there to be a majority, the following is required: 1st.- That two-thirds of the votes of the creditors attending the meeting be gathered; and 2nd.- That the credits of those forming the majority amount to, at least, three-quarters of the total credits of those attending. If this double majority is not obtained, the Court shall make the appointment, and its decision shall only be appealable in the suspensive effect. The provisions of this article shall be applied in all cases in which a majority of creditors must be obtained, unless the law establishes a different rule.

If among the assigned assets there are properties encumbered with two or more mortgages, the mortgagee creditors may appoint a special Trustee to administer and realize them. As for properties encumbered with only one mortgage, the appointment of a special Trustee shall not take place, and it shall be sufficient that the one appointed for the concourse keep separate accounting of everything concerning them.

The special Trustees referred to in the preceding article shall be appointed in the same manner as the general ones, but only by the mortgagee creditors who have the right to participate in the special concourse, and shall be subject to the same rules as the general Trustees. The general Trustees may intervene in the proceedings of the special concourse, with the powers of assistants, in the interest of the estate.

Those who cannot be provisional Trustees cannot be permanent Trustees.

Permanent Trustees are general attorneys-in-fact of the creditors with respect to the concourse, and also represent the rights of the insolvent debtor insofar as they may affect the estate. Consequently, it corresponds to them to: 1st.- Represent the creditors in court and out of court. 2nd.- Administer the assets of the concourse and realize them in accordance with the law. 3rd.- Account for the state of the concourse in accordance with Article 568; and 4th.- Liquidate and pay the credits in accordance with what the Court orders.

The remuneration of the provisional or permanent Trustee shall be that determined by the unanimous agreement of the creditors attending the meeting. If there is no unanimity, the Court shall determine the remuneration, taking into account the work of the Trustee and the amount of the assets in concourse, once the charge has been completed and the administrative account has been approved.

Trustees may be removed: 1st.- By unanimous agreement of the creditors. 2nd.- At the well-founded and justified request of any of them; and, 3rd.- Ex officio, whenever the Court deems it necessary or convenient for the interests of the estate, whether due to fraud, collusion with the insolvent debtor or with any of the creditors, lack of skill or negligence in administration, which appear manifest or which may reasonably be presumed. The request for removal shall be processed as an incidental matter; and the judgment granting it, whether ex officio or at the request of a party, shall only be appealable in the suspensive effect. When removal is ordered ex officio, the Court shall by itself make the appointment of the new Trustee.

To enforce the civil liability of Trustees for abuse or negligence in the exercise of their office, an ordinary suit shall be filed, and in this judgment the ruling rendered in the removal incident shall not have the value of res judicata.

Creditors and the debtor may participate in the proceedings of the concourse, with the powers of assistants, outside of the cases in which according to the law they can or must intervene as direct parties.

From the appointment of the permanent Trustee, the judgment of voluntary concourse shall proceed in two sections: The first, which shall contain the prior proceedings, shall be called Administration of the Concourse. The second shall be devoted to the recognition and ranking of credits and shall be called Priority of Credits.

A third section shall be formed to be called Qualification of Insolvency: 1st.- When, with the creditors exercising any of the rights referred to in Article 551, the Court does not rule on the incidental matter in the same hearing; and 2nd.- When, after the Court has ruled in the same hearing, an appeal is filed on the judgment. FIRST SECTION OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONCOURSE

The permanent Trustee shall be delivered, under inventory, the assets, books, and papers of the debtor, which the latter or the provisional Trustee has in their possession. If the appointment of the permanent Trustee does not fall to the provisional one, the latter shall immediately render an account of their administration. This account shall be recorded in the administration section, and shall be examined by the permanent Trustee within the term of six days. If they do not object to it within this term, it shall be approved, and if they raise any claim against it, the latter shall be processed as an incidental matter. The provisions of this article shall also apply in the case that, the permanent Trustee ceasing for any reason during the concourse, they must be replaced by another.

Whenever it is necessary to obtain the agreement of the creditors, they shall be cited to appear by means of notices published in a newspaper of the department, if it exists, or in the Official Gazette, in case it does not. This agreement may also be obtained by personally notifying the creditors, so that they may express their opinion within the period designated for that purpose.

On the first business day of each month, the Receiver shall present a report of the operations carried out and a statement of the funds realized in the preceding month, so that they may be attached to the case file. The breach of this provision shall be sufficient cause for removal of the Receiver, unless he alleges just excuse qualified by the Court. The silence of the creditors regarding the information that, according to this article, must be supplied to the Receiver, shall not be deemed as approval, nor shall it prevent objection to the general administrative account, even as to what appears consistent with such information.

In this same proceeding, all matters relating to the disposal of the assets of the concurse shall be handled, which shall proceed immediately, if the unanimity of the creditors does not agree otherwise.

The rules established in Section Three, Chapter I, Title I of this Book are applicable to the appraisal and disposal of the assets of the concurse, for the appraisal and realization of seized assets.

In this first proceeding, the claim of the debtor who repents of the assignment and intends to exercise the right conferred upon him by Article 1446 of the Civil Code shall also be handled.

Once all credits have been paid, or the portion thereof that the assets of the concurse are able to cover, the Receiver shall render to the Court the general account of his administration, which shall remain in the office of the Secretary for fifteen days at the disposal of the debtor and all creditors. The presentation of the account shall be announced to the creditors in the manner established by the first paragraph of Article 567. In the case of Article 1446 of the Civil Code, only the debtor is a party to object to the account.

If no objection is made within the time limit set forth in the preceding article, the account shall be deemed approved, without prejudice to what is provided in Article 1568 of the Civil Code. The time limit shall be counted from the date of publication, or from the first date when more than one publication is ordered.

If objections are filed against the account, they shall all be processed as a single incident, with the participation of the Receiver and those who filed the objections, not allowing such objections to proceed until after the time limit granted by Article 572 has expired.

Once the Receiver's account is approved or rectified, as the case may be, and the debts are paid, delivery shall be made to the debtor of the assets that remained as surplus and of his books and papers.

If the debts have not been paid in full, the books and papers of the bankrupt shall be kept together with the case file.

In the case referred to in Article 571, it shall not be necessary to await the approval of the Receiver's general account in order to deliver the debtor's assets to him.

The incident relating to the dismissal of the concurse, whether temporary or definitive, shall also be processed in the first proceeding.

Temporary dismissal takes place when the assets are insufficient to cover the necessary expenses for the continuation of the concurse.

Definitive dismissal takes place: 1st.- When all creditors agree to withdraw from the concurse or waive their credits; and 2nd.- When the debtor, or a third party on his behalf, deposits the amount of costs and matured credits and provides security for the remaining credits to the satisfaction of the creditors.

In the case of Article 579, the Receiver or any creditor may request temporary dismissal, and the Court shall order that this request be published for ten days in a newspaper of the department, if one exists, or in the Official Gazette. If any of the creditors objects during this period, the objection shall be processed as an incident. Dismissal shall not be granted if the existence of sufficient assets is proven, or if any of the creditors or a third party advances the necessary funds for the continuation of the concurse. The advances made for such purpose shall enjoy the privilege granted by law to judicial costs, and shall be paid with the first funds realized.

Temporary dismissal leaves subsisting the status of concurse, but empowers the creditors to pursue individually the assets subject to the concurse for the payment of their credits.

The declaration of temporary suspension does not prevent criminal action from being brought against the bankrupt.

In the cases of Article 580, once the petition is presented, it shall be ordered published for ten days in the manner expressed by Article 581. If no opposition is filed during this period, the petition shall be granted. If opposition is filed, it shall be processed as an incident between the debtor and the opposing party.

Once the definitive suspension is decreed, the state of concourse ceases. Consequently, the debtor's assets shall be returned to him, and the provisions of Articles 572 and 575 shall be observed.

The Court, ex officio or at the instance of the creditors or the debtor, shall correct any abuse it notes in the administration of the assets in concourse, adopting such measures as it deems necessary for such purpose. This faculty is understood in relation to both the provisional and definitive Receiver. SECOND CATEGORY OF CREDIT PREFERENCE

The second category shall be headed with a literal transcript of the statement of debts presented by the bankrupt, and to it shall be attached the supporting documents of their credits presented by the creditors.

Once the definitive receivership is constituted, the Court shall order, ex officio or at the request of a party, to convene the creditors, including mortgagees, whether or not they have appointed a particular Receiver, the debtor, and the Receivers, to a second meeting, for the purpose of proceeding to the verification of credits. This meeting may not take place before the expiration of the longest term of service for creditors residing within the territory of the Republic, unless such creditors have appeared in the proceedings.

The decree that convenes the second meeting shall be published in the manner determined by paragraph 1 of Article 567, with at least fifteen days' notice in advance. This publication shall be deemed sufficient notification, and the meeting shall be held with only those who attend. This is understood without prejudice to what the creditors may have unanimously agreed.

The Receiver may at this meeting assert his own credits, if he has any, but may not represent another creditor.

Once the meeting is convened, the verification of credits presented by the respective creditors shall proceed, beginning with mortgagees and following, with respect to the others, the order they had in the debtor's statement. Creditors who have not sworn to the truthfulness of their credits shall do so when they are dealt with in this meeting, if any of the other creditors or the debtor requests it. If the verification cannot be completed in one hearing, it shall continue on the next business days.

The minutes of this meeting shall express the credits that have been verified, the objections made, and the preferences claimed. The creditor who does not claim preference at the verification meeting may do so before the judgment of the first instance is rendered. The demand for preference shall in this case be notified to all creditors, at the cost of the plaintiff, by means of notices published in the manner established by paragraph 1 of Article 567. The failure to formally claim preference does not prevent the Court from declaring in the judgment those that appear from the documents presented.

The right to object to credits belongs to: 1st.- The debtor. 2nd.- The creditors whose credits are already recognized; and, 3rd.- Those who appear in the statement presented by the debtor. This objection may be made, not only at the meeting itself, but within eight days following the examination of each credit. The Receivers may not object, but they may make observations regarding the credits presented, and shall supply the information requested of them ex officio by the Court, by the creditors, or by the bankrupt.

Verified credits that are not timely objected to shall be considered recognized.

For each of the objected credits, a separate docket shall be formed until they are in a condition for final judgment. The objections shall be processed in ordinary procedure, with the objectors and the creditor whose credit is objected being parties.

Creditors who do not attend this meeting may request verification of their credits with notice to the debtor, the Receiver, and the creditors whose rights have already been recognized, with notifications made personally, unless the Court, for well-founded reasons, orders them to be made by notices in the manner established by paragraph 1 of Article 567. Upon requesting this verification, they shall present the documents of their credits and the statement referred to in Article 546. They shall also swear to the effectiveness of such credits, if any of the other creditors or the debtor requests it. Verification may be requested at any stage of the concourse, as long as there are funds to distribute; but creditors who appear after the term of service has expired shall pay the costs incurred in the recognition of their credits.

In the cases of the preceding article, the term to object shall be eight days, counted for each creditor and for the debtor, from the respective personal notification, or from the publication of the notices, when so ordered.

Only creditors have the right to challenge the preferences claimed, and they may do so even when their own credits are being challenged. The issues that arise concerning them shall be processed through ordinary proceedings.

Creditors who sustain challenges for the benefit of the estate, with favorable results, shall have the right to be indemnified with the assets of the bankruptcy, for all expenses, and to be paid the corresponding fee for their services. In case of loss, they shall bear the expenses alone, and shall have no right to remuneration.

The agreements adopted may also be challenged, both in the first meeting of creditors and in subsequent meetings, for defects in the forms established for the convocation and holding of the meeting or error in the calculation of the majorities required by law. Only the debtor or the creditors who, having timely presented the titles of their credits, or the summary in their case, did not attend the meeting in question, or those who, attending, protested against the validity of the act and refrained from voting, may make this challenge. The term to file it shall be three days, counted from the holding of the meeting, after which it shall not be admitted. It shall be processed by the procedures established for incidents in a separate file, and the course of the main matter shall not be suspended, except that the Court, for well-founded reasons, resolves otherwise. The judgment rendered shall be appealable in both effects.

Upon the expiration of the term of notice to the creditors who have not appeared, and the issues followed on verification or preference of credits being brought to trial status, the Court shall render the judgment of grades, which shall contain: 1st.- The enumeration of all credits presented, with the expression of their amount in principal, the title that accredits it and the name of the holder. 2nd.- The brief relation of all issues on challenge of credits or on preference that has been raised; and 3rd.- The resolution of said issues and, in consequence, the order in which the credits must be satisfied, with designation, if necessary, of the values specially destined for their payment.

No creditor may be paid all or part of his credit before the judgment of grades becomes final. Once this occurs, the Receiver shall present a statement of distribution of the funds in accordance with what was decided, which shall be brought to the attention of the creditors by means of notices published in the manner provided in paragraph 1 of Article 567, and it shall be processed, if not objected to, within a term of five days.

Notwithstanding what is provided in the preceding article, privileged or mortgaged credits may be paid by the Receiver even before the judgment of grades, with prior authorization of the Court, provided that the payment of the other credits that enjoy preferential right is secured, or the necessary amount is deposited for this purpose or its payment is guaranteed. With respect to creditors who enjoy the right of retention, what is provided in Article 531 shall be observed.

If, after paying the mortgaged and privileged creditors and the administration expenses, or reserving the amount necessary for these purposes, funds of the bankruptcy remain on deposit, the Court, with the agreement of the majority of creditors, shall order that said funds be distributed among the recognized common creditors, in proportion to their credits. The distribution statement that the Receiver shall form shall designate the shares that correspond to absent creditors and to those who, having appeared at the bankruptcy, have not obtained recognition of their credits before the distribution is made. These shares shall be kept on deposit until, verified and recognized their credits, they are claimed by the respective creditors or the Court disposes of them, in accordance with what is established in Article 606. What is ordered by paragraph 2 of Article 602 shall be applicable in this case.

The claim of delinquent creditors shall not suspend the execution of the decreed distributions; but if, pending the recognition of these new credits, another distribution is ordered, said creditors shall be included in it for the corresponding sum, on the condition that it be kept on deposit until the termination of the suit. If the resolution of the latter is favorable to the claiming creditors, they shall have the right to require that the dividends of their credits in the preceding distributions be preferentially covered with the undistributed funds; but they may not demand from the creditors paid in the prior distributions the return of any amount, even though the assets of the bankruptcy do not suffice to fully cover their unsatisfied dividends.

The amount reserved for creditors residing outside the territory of the Republic shall remain on deposit until the expiration of double the term of notice established for the country of residence of said creditors; if they do not appear and request within this period the recognition of their credits, it shall be applied to the payment of recognized credits.

If any creditor included in the judgment of grades does not appear to receive what was decided in his favor three months after the Receiver's general account is approved, the Court shall order that the amount corresponding to said creditor be deposited in the Treasury, at the order of the latter, taking note of the deposit in the respective office, and leaving a certified copy of all matters acted upon in the proceedings.

The third branch shall be initiated with a literal copy of the decree in which the Court has ordered its formation.

The dispute concerning the admission of the assignment of property shall be processed, in the case of number one of Article 565, as an incident between the debtor and the creditor or creditors who raised it. If the opposition is sustained by the legal majority of creditors, they may entrust the Receiver with their representation.

The final judgment that admits the assignment does not prevent creditors who have not taken part in the incident from exercising the right conferred by Article 551, before the distribution of the realized assets. The judgment that does not admit the assignment affects all creditors.

When from what has been acted in this branch there is merit to proceed criminally against the debtor or against third parties, the Court ex officio shall bring it to the attention of the competent Criminal Judge.

The propositions of agreement may be made by the bankrupt or by any of the creditors, both in the voluntary and necessary bankruptcy, and at any stage of these proceedings. They may also be presented by the debtor before the bankruptcy is initiated, accompanied by all the antecedents determined by Article 535.

Proposals for settlement may concern: 1st.- The remission of part of the debt. 2nd.- The extension of the term. 3rd.- Both one and the other at the same time; and 4th.- Any other lawful matter relating to the payment of debts.

The settlement must be the same for all creditors, unless unanimous agreement of the creditors exists. However, the extension of the term shall be counted with respect to all from the day on which, in accordance with what is provided by Article 625, the settlement becomes binding. Privileged or mortgage creditors and those who enjoy the right of retention shall not be prejudiced by the agreement of the majority, if they have abstained from voting. They may, however, limit the guarantee to a portion of their credits and vote as common creditors for the remainder, obligating themselves, in this portion, to the agreements that are reached. The settlement does not benefit the sureties of the bankrupt when the respective creditors have abstained from voting.

The following do not enjoy the faculty of making proposals for settlement: 1st.- The debtor prosecuted, or who has been condemned as a culpable or fraudulent debtor or bankrupt. 2nd.- He who, after having made a cessation of assets or being in bankruptcy proceedings, flees or does not appear at the judicial summons. 3rd.- He who has not fulfilled a prior settlement.

The proposals for settlement, before they are accepted, do not hinder the exercise of executive actions against the debtor, whether such actions have been initiated in court or not.

Neither shall any of the branches of the cessation of assets or of the necessary bankruptcy proceedings be suspended by the proposals for settlement, unless the legal majority of creditors request or consent to it. In any case, while the proposals for settlement are pending, the Trustee may not proceed to the sale of other assets of the bankruptcy except those specified in Article 484, second paragraph, without prejudice to what is provided in Article 630.

Once the proposals for settlement are presented, the Court shall order the convening of creditors who are found in the territory of the Republic to a meeting that may not take place before fifteen days following, or within the term fixed in

, if the settlement is proposed before the bankruptcy proceedings are initiated. Creditors who are outside the country and who do not have an attorney shall in all cases be considered as opposed to the settlement.

Once the creditors are assembled, the credits of all participants who have not previously complied with these requirements shall be verified and sworn, proceeding in the manner established by Articles 546, 547, and 591, as applicable. The Court shall then submit the settlement proposals to deliberation: and the Trustee, if there is one, shall make a verbal or written presentation of the background of the current state and probable results of the bankruptcy. All creditors present who have verified their credits shall have the right to vote in this meeting, with the exception of the spouse, legitimate and natural ascendants and descendants, and legitimate siblings of the debtor, whose credits shall not be taken into account either in determining the liabilities. These persons may, however, have the right to vote on the settlement when they are to deny their approval. Deliberation on the settlement shall not be suspended, either by impugnations made in this meeting against one or more of the credits presented, or by those deduced previously and still pending resolution. Deliberation shall also not be suspended by the allegation of legal incapacity of the debtor to propose the settlement. The challengers, in these cases, shall exercise their rights in the manner established by Articles 622 and following; and the Court shall resolve what is appropriate in the same hearing and without further remedy, for the sole purpose of determining the rights of creditors in the act of voting.

For the acceptance of the proposals, a majority of two-thirds of the creditors present who are affected by the settlement is required, and a majority of credits amounting to at least three-fourths of the total liabilities of the bankruptcy, excluding those corresponding to privileged or mortgage creditors who have not taken part in the settlement and those who do not have the right to vote in it. Absentees referred to in the second paragraph of Article 618 shall be considered present for this purpose. Unanimity of votes of the creditors present is required to agree to the remission of half or more of the credits or to grant a term exceeding four years. To compute the votes of creditors whose credits have been impugned, the provisions of Article 548 shall be observed. In the minutes to be drawn up of what transpired, the creditors who voted in favor of and against the settlement shall be mentioned in detail, with an expression of the credits they represent.

Once the settlement is agreed upon, it shall be brought to the knowledge of creditors who did not attend the meeting, for the purposes of Articles 622 and 625.

The settlement may be challenged by any creditor who did not attend the meeting or who voted against the majority, if he alleges any of the following causes: 1st.- Legal incapacity of the debtor to propose it. 2nd.- Defects in the forms established for the convening and holding of the meeting or error in the computation of the majorities required by law. 3rd.- Falsity or exaggeration of the credit or incapacity to vote of any creditor who voted to form the majority, if, excluding this creditor, such majority would disappear. 4th.- Fraudulent understanding between one or more creditors and the debtor to vote in favor of the settlement, or to abstain from attending; and 5th.- Substantial error or omission in the lists of assets or creditors. The sureties of the bankrupt may also oppose the settlement, when the respective creditors have abstained from voting.

The period to challenge the settlement is eight days, counted from the holding of the meeting with respect to creditors who attended it, and from the notification made to them in accordance with what is provided in Article 621, with respect to others.

The opposition to the settlement shall proceed as an incident between the debtor and creditor or creditors who have formulated it or the surety in the case of the last paragraph of

Article 625.- If no opposition to the settlement is filed within the period fixed by Article 623, it shall be understood as approved by the creditors, and the Court shall declare it so ex officio or at the request of any interested party. The settlement shall begin to be effective from the time this declaration becomes final. If opposition is filed and is rejected, it shall be effective from the time the judgment terminating the opposition incident becomes final.

In the same meeting in which the settlement is agreed upon, the creditors shall resolve whether or not the debtor must remain subject to intervention in the management of his affairs, until he complies with the obligations imposed on him in said settlement. They shall also designate the functions of the intervener and the compensation he shall receive for them, which shall be determined in accordance with what is established for the Trustees in Article 560. To exempt the debtor from intervention and to agree on the functions of the intervener, a legal majority is required. If the necessary majority to determine the functions of the intervener is not obtained, the latter shall limit himself to exercising those expressed in article 274, and in such case, the creditors, by legal majority, or in their disagreement the Court, shall designate one or two persons to whom notice must be given as referred to in said article.

Once the agreement is approved, the ordinary or executive proceedings joined to the bankruptcy proceeding and that have not been concluded with the agreement shall be returned to the Court of origin so that it may continue hearing them, provided that any of the persons who were parties to said proceedings requests it before any other action. Otherwise, the Court that heard the bankruptcy shall continue hearing them.

The non-appearance of the debtor at the meeting in which the agreement proposals are to be deliberated and the omission in the service of citations and other necessary proceedings for said meeting to take place shall create a presumption of abandonment of the agreement, unless justified cause is shown.

If the agreement proposals are rejected for not having obtained the necessary majority for approval, the debtor may reiterate them only once, if they are presented supported by the absolute majority of the creditors capable of voting on them. If the agreement is rejected due to defects in the forms established for the convocation and holding of the meeting, due to error in the count of majorities, due to incapacity to vote in it of some of the creditors who attended it, or due to substantial error or omission in the lists of assets or creditors, the debtor may propose it again, remedying the defect. If rejected for any of the other causes, it may not be proposed again either in the same or different form.

If the agreement is newly proposed in the case of the first paragraph of the preceding article, the course of the bankruptcy and the realization of the debtor's assets shall continue, however, unless otherwise agreed by legal majority of the creditors. If the renewal of the agreement is made in the cases of the second paragraph of the preceding article, the provisions of Article 617 shall apply.

The approved agreement does not prevent the actions that creditors may assert against the bankrupt who expressly opposed its acceptance and those who did not take part in the deliberations because they were outside the country. The debtor may, however, oppose said actions by paying to the respective creditors, within a brief period to be designated by the Court, the share that would have corresponded to them to receive in the bankruptcy. The estimation of this share and the fixing of the period shall be made prudentially by the Court, after hearing the debtor, the interested creditors, and the Trustee, if there is one.

Once the agreement is approved, the state of bankruptcy shall cease and the debtor's assets, books, and documents shall be returned to him, without prejudice to the restrictions established in the agreement itself. The Trustees shall present their administrative accounts as in the case of Article 572.

Creditors who did not appear to verify their credits in a timely manner may require that the agreement be complied with in their favor at any time, as long as the actions resulting from the agreement have not prescribed. Questions concerning the validity or amount of the credits shall be processed solely with the debtor.

The approval of the agreement does not prevent criminal actions that may be brought against the debtor in relation to his bankruptcy.

The agreement may be rescinded for non-compliance with its stipulations, at the request of any interested party.

The actions to claim the nullity and rescission of the agreement shall prescribe in six months, counted, in the case of nullity, from the date of the condemning sentence, and in the case of rescission, from when said action may be brought.

Once nullity or rescission is declared, the debtor shall be considered bankrupt by this fact alone, and the Court shall issue ex officio the necessary measures for the security of the assets and for the notification of creditors, in accordance with the rules established for necessary bankruptcy.

The acts and contracts of the debtor executed or concluded during the time between the approval and the annulment or rescission of the agreement may be rescinded within one year, counted from the date of the act or contract. It falls to the Trustees, as agents of the creditors, to bring the corresponding actions to request rescission, without prejudice to the right of the creditors to bring them on their part or to join in those brought by the Trustees. Their processing shall be adjusted to the rules of ordinary proceedings. CHAPTER III OF NECESSARY BANKRUPTCY

Necessary bankruptcy takes place: 1st.- When, the debtor having made a cession of assets, it is declared by final sentence that the creditors are not obliged to accept it. 2nd.- When, there being three or more enforceable and matured titles against the debtor and two executions initiated, at least, the amount sufficient for payment is not consigned the day following demand or sufficient assets are not presented to respond to it. Any of the creditors with an enforceable and matured title may, in such case, request the formation of bankruptcy. The other creditors may also request it, provided they briefly and summarily prove that the debtor has lost the right to use the period according to Article 1391 of the Civil Code. 3rd.- When, the debtor's disappearance or flight being notorious, it is requested by two or more creditors, even if they are not of matured term. In the first of the cases expressed in this article, the Court may decree necessary bankruptcy ex officio.

The resolution that orders the formation of necessary bankruptcy shall specify all the points expressed in Article 538; but it shall omit what relates to the appointment of the provisional Trustee if one has already been designated in the cession of assets.

All procedures of voluntary bankruptcy shall be applicable to necessary bankruptcy, insofar as the nature of the latter permits. The formation of the third branch shall be omitted. However, the Court shall ex officio communicate to the respective Criminal Judge the debtor's flight, in the case that he could be criminally pursued ex officio.

The debtor has a period of five days to object to the formation of the bankruptcy. The objection shall be conducted with the Receiver and shall be processed as an incidental matter.

When the bankruptcy is decreed due to the disappearance or flight of the debtor, a curator of assets shall be appointed with the intervention of the Fiscal to represent the debtor.

Once the declaration of bankruptcy becomes final, the bankrupt shall present, within five days, the statements of assets and liabilities, and the report referred to in the

, if they have not been accompanied by the cession of assets. If the debtor fails to do so, the Court may place the debtor under arrest for up to thirty days; and, if after this period has elapsed, the debtor still fails to comply with the obligation imposed by this article, the debtor shall be prosecuted as guilty of concealment, unless there is justified impediment. In case of flight or disappearance of the debtor, the provisions of this article shall be complied with by the curator appointed to the debtor, under penalty of removal. TITLE III OF BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS

Every merchant who finds themselves in a state of bankruptcy in accordance with the Commercial Code shall be subject to the procedures established in the preceding Title. In the suspension of payments, the provisions established for the agreement shall apply.

The power to request the retroaction of acts performed by the bankrupt to the detriment of the bankruptcy during improper time, referred to in Articles 867 through 870 of the Commercial Code, corresponds to the Receiver or to the custodian administrator, as applicable. If creditors observe any omission in this regard, they shall bring it to the attention of the Receiver so that the Receiver may exercise the corresponding action; and if the Receiver fails to do so, the claimant may lodge their complaint with the Judge of the bankruptcy.

For the purposes of the preceding article, the Receiver is obliged to prepare, within the ten days immediately following delivery of the bankruptcy books and documents, the following statements: One of the payments made by the bankrupt in the fifteen days preceding the declaration of bankruptcy, for debts and direct obligations whose maturity is after that declaration, in accordance with Article 867 of the Commercial Code. Another, of the contracts entered into in the thirty days prior to the declaration of bankruptcy, which are deemed fraudulent and are rendered null and void by operation of law, and of the gifts inter vivos, referred to in Article 868 of the same Code.

In view of the statements referred to in the preceding article, the Receiver shall direct extrajudicial claims to the interested parties to obtain restitution to the estate of what belongs to it; and if these prove ineffective, the Receiver shall resort to the legal means available according to the nature of each claim.

The Receiver shall also prepare, even after the ten days have elapsed, another statement of the contracts entered into by the bankrupt that fall within any of the cases included in Article 869 of the Commercial Code, making appropriate investigations to ascertain whether fraud was involved in their execution; and upon finding evidence to prove it, the Receiver shall direct extrajudicial claims, and if these prove ineffective, shall bring the corresponding judicial action.

The suits that the Receiver brings regarding the application of the

of the Commercial Code shall be presented accompanied by documentary evidence showing that the payment was made during improper time and that the obligation had not matured until after the declaration of bankruptcy. If necessary, the Receiver may prepare their action with the judicial confession of the debtor. These suits shall be processed and decided under the procedures established for incidental matters; and if not answered by the debtor, or if in the answer the proof of the Receiver is not refuted, condemnation to repayment shall be ordered.

To reintegrate to the estate the assets withdrawn from it by contracts that have become null and void by operation of law pursuant to the provisions of the

of the Commercial Code. Proceedings shall be conducted through the procedures for the action of restitution, with the Receiver justifying, through the deed of the same contract, that it falls within the case provided by law.

The decisions rendered for the application of Articles 867 and 868 of the Commercial Code shall be executed even if an appeal is filed.

The suits for nullity or revocation of contracts entered into by the bankrupt in fraud of the creditors, referred to in Articles 869 and 870 of the Commercial Code, shall be processed in the declarative proceeding that corresponds to their amount, and in the Court that has jurisdiction over the matter.

The bankrupt's petition for rehabilitation shall be processed, once the qualification judgment is concluded, in the same proceeding in which it has been heard, subject to the provisions of Chapter VI, Title I, Book IV of the Commercial Code. The procedure shall be subject to the formalities established for incidental matters, with the intervention of the Bankruptcy Trustee and the Fiscal. TITLE IV OF THE EFFECTS OF THE LEGAL RIGHT OF RETENTION

In order for the right of retention granted in certain cases by the laws to be effective, it is necessary that its validity be declared judicially at the petition of the person who may assert it. Retention may be requested as a precautionary measure of the right it guarantees, and in such case, the procedure shall be in accordance with the provisions of Articles 280, 283, and 284.

The goods retained by an enforceable resolution shall be considered, according to their nature, as mortgaged or constituted as a pledge for the purpose of their realization and the preference in favor of the credits they guarantee. The judicial decree that declares the retention of real property admissible shall be registered in the Registry of Mortgages.

The same preference established in the preceding article shall be enjoyed by legal bonds provided as a substitute for retention.

The Judge may, considering the circumstances and the amount of the credit, restrict the retention to a part of the personal property that is intended to be retained, which is sufficient to guarantee the credit itself and its accessories. TITLE V OF THE INTERDICTS CHAPTER I DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL RULES

Interdicts or summary possessory judgments may be brought: 1st.- To preserve possession of real property or real rights constituted therein. 2nd.- To recover this same possession. 3rd.- To obtain the restoration of possession or mere holding of the same property, when such possession or mere holding have been violently taken away. 4th.- To prevent a new construction. 5th.- To prevent a ruinous or dangerous construction from causing damage; and, 6th.- To enforce the other possessory actions enumerated in Title XIII, Book II, of the Civil Code. In the first case, the interdict is called a writ of protection; in the second, a writ of restitution; in the third, a writ of restoration; in the fourth, a notice of new construction; in the fifth, a notice of ruinous construction, and in the last, a special interdict.

Only the Judge of the Court of First Instance of the department in which the property that is the object of the interdicts is located is competent to hear them in the form established in this Title; however, subject to the procedure established in Title XIX for oral trials, Judges of the Peace may hear them, provided that the value of the property does not exceed two hundred pesos (*).

Appeals in possessory judgments shall be granted only in devolutive effect, except that the law expressly orders them to be granted in both effects or that the appealed judgment does not sustain the interdict; and in any case their processing shall be in accordance with the rules established for incidental matters.

The party filing a writ of protection shall express in its complaint, in addition to the circumstances enumerated in Article 261, the following: 1st.- That personally or adding that of its predecessors, it has been in quiet and uninterrupted possession, for a complete year, of the right for which it seeks protection; and 2nd.- That there has been an attempt to disturb or molest it in its possession or that in fact it has been disturbed or molested by means of acts which it shall describe in detail. If it requests securities against the damage it reasonably fears, it shall specify the measures or guarantees it requests against the disturber. The means of proof which the petitioner intends to use shall also be expressed in the complaint; and, if they are declarations of witnesses, the name, profession or occupation and residence of these shall be indicated.

When the respondent wishes to present testimonial evidence, it shall indicate the name, profession or occupation and residence of the witnesses in a list that it shall deliver to the Secretariat and which shall be attached to the proceeding, at least before noon on the day preceding that designated for the hearing. -------- (*) The current monetary unit of Honduras is the Lempira, according to the provision of Decree number 102 of April 3, 1926. Witnesses not mentioned in said list shall not be examined, except by express agreement of the parties.

Each party may present only up to four witnesses regarding each of the facts that must be proven.

The witnesses shall be questioned regarding the facts mentioned in the complaint and those indicated by the parties at the hearing, if the Court deems them relevant.

Challenges to witnesses shall be raised before their examination; and if the proof to justify them cannot be presented at the same hearing, and the Court deems it necessary to resolve the judgment, it shall set a new hearing for such purpose, which shall take place within the three days following the completion of the examination of the witnesses of the complaint.

When not all the evidence can be presented in a single hearing, the Court shall continue receiving it on the next business days until concluded, within the ten days following.

No extraordinary period for the presentation of evidence shall be granted in this action; however, any period of time is considered appropriate for its presentation, whether within or outside the department, from the first summons until the Judge declares the period of proof closed.

The rules established for the examination of witnesses and for their objections in Section VI, Chapter III, Title VIII of Book II of this Code are applicable to the petition for protection (querella de amparo), insofar as they do not appear to be modified by the preceding articles.

A record shall be drawn up of everything done at the hearing, clearly and precisely expressing what was stated by the parties and the evidence presented.

The final judgment shall be pronounced as soon as the evidence is concluded, or at most, within the three following days.

If the petition is granted, the defendant shall be condemned in costs. In the contrary case, the plaintiff shall be.

Regardless of the judgment rendered, the right to exercise the action of ownership that may correspond to them in accordance with law shall always be reserved to those condemned by it. No other suit shall be admissible that tends to nullify what was decided in the interdict. CHAPTER III PETITION FOR RESTITUTION

Whoever intends to bring a petition for restitution shall state in his complaint, in addition to the circumstances enumerated in Article 261, the following: 1st.- That personally or joining that of his predecessors, he has been in quiet and uninterrupted possession, for a complete year, of the right in which he claims to be protected; and 2nd.- That he has been dispossessed of possession through acts which he shall indicate with the possible clarity and specificity.

The provisions of Chapter II of the present Title are applicable to the petition for restitution. CHAPTER IV PETITION FOR REINSTATEMENT

Whoever intends to bring a petition for reinstatement shall state clearly and determinedly in his complaint, in addition to the circumstances indicated in Article 261, the violence with which he has been dispossessed of the possession or tenancy in which he claims to be established.

The provisions established in Chapter II of this Title are applicable to the petition for reinstatement.

The judgment pronounced in this suit leaves to the parties not only the right to exercise the ordinary action, in conformity with Article 674, but also that of the possessory actions that correspond to them. CHAPTER V NOTIFICATION OF NEW CONSTRUCTION

Once the complaint for suspension of new reportable construction is filed, the Judge shall provisionally decree such suspension, and shall order that a record be made of the state and circumstances of the work and that the party executing it be notified with the demolition or destruction, at his cost, of whatever shall be done hereafter. In the same resolution, the Court shall order the notifier and the defendant to be cited to appear at the hearing on the fifth business day after notification of the defendant, and at such hearing the documents and other means of proof on which the parties base their claims shall be presented.

Notification of the defendant is not necessary to carry out the suspension decreed. Notification of the party directing or executing the work shall be sufficient for this suspension.

Once the work is suspended, and while the interdict is pending, only what is absolutely indispensable may be done on it so that what has been built is not destroyed. Authorization from the Court is necessary to execute the works referred to in the preceding paragraph. The Court shall rule on this authorization with the urgency the case requires, and shall proceed summarily, or, in case of doubt and for better determination, after hearing the opinion of an expert appointed by it, who may not be challenged.

If the parties wish to present testimonial evidence, they shall be subject to what is provided in this respect in Chapter II of this Title. If any of the parties requests it, and in the Court's judgment expert knowledge is necessary, the opinion of an expert shall be heard, who shall issue his report within a brief period that the Court shall set.

The Court shall pronounce final judgment within the third day after the hearing, or after the presentation of the expert's opinion, if applicable. In the judgment, the provisional suspension decreed shall be ratified, or its lifting shall be ordered, always leaving to the loser the right to exercise the ordinary actions that correspond to him, so that the right to continue the work or to have it demolished may be declared. The Court may, however, at the request of a party, order demolition in the same judgment, when it deems that the maintenance, even temporarily, of the work causes serious harm to the notifier and he provides sufficient bond to answer for the results of the ordinary suit. The judgment ordering demolition shall be appealable in all effects. In any case, the judgment shall carry a condemnation of costs.

If the suspension of the work is confirmed, the losing party may request authorization to continue it, fulfilling the following conditions: 1st.- To prove that serious damages follow to it from the suspension of the work. 2nd.- To provide sufficient bond to answer for the demolition of the work and the indemnification of damages that may result to the opposing party from continuing it, in case it is condemned to do so by final judgment; and 3rd.- To file, at the same time of requesting said authorization, an ordinary complaint so that its right to continue the work is declared. The first of the expressed conditions and the qualification of the bond shall be the subject of an incidental proceeding.

If the demolition or repair of a ruinous or dangerous work is requested, or the securing or removal of poorly rooted trees or those exposed to being felled by cases of ordinary occurrence, the Court shall carry out, with the utmost brevity, in association with an expert appointed by the same Court and with notification of the parties and attendance of those who appear, a personal inspection of the construction or trees reported. Each party may also, if it deems convenient, associate itself with an expert for this act; and in the minutes of the proceedings, the expert opinions or reports shall be recorded, the pertinent observations made by the interested parties, and what the Judge performing the procedure observes about it. When the inspection is to be conducted more than five kilometers distant from the urban limits of the municipality where the Court functions, the Court may entrust the procedure to the corresponding Justice of the Peace or to another Minister of Faith, who shall proceed in association with the expert designated by the Court and in the manner provided in the preceding paragraph.

On the merit of the procedure ordered by the preceding article, the Court shall rule within the third day, either denying what was requested by the complainant, or decreeing the demolition, repair, securing, or removal that may be warranted. When the inspection procedure has not been conducted by the Court itself, the Court may, before issuing sentence, order that it be rectified or expanded in the points it deems necessary.

In the same sentence that orders the demolition, repair, securing, or removal, the Court may immediately decree the urgent precautionary measures it considers necessary, and furthermore order that said measures be executed, without allowing an appeal thereof.

Without prejudice to what is provided in the preceding article, the appeal of the final judgment in this interdict shall be granted in both effects.

When the interdict is granted, the right to exercise in ordinary proceedings any action tending to render without effect what has been resolved shall not be understood as reserved.

If the destruction or modification of the works referred to in Articles 915 and 916 of the Civil Code is requested, the procedure established in Chapter VI of this Title shall be followed.

If on the part of the respondent the interdict is alleged to be inadmissible due to sufficient time having elapsed to constitute a right of easement, this objection shall be processed as an incidental proceeding and shall be received for evidence, without prejudice to the Court conducting an inspection.

The actions granted by Articles 918, 920, and 921 of the Civil Code shall be subject to the procedure established in Articles 686, 687, and 688 of this Code. If the exception referred to in the final paragraph of Article 920 of the Civil Code is alleged, the procedure shall be as provided in the preceding article.

If the suspension of the works referred to in Articles 852, 853, 856, and 923 of the Civil Code is requested, the Court shall proceed as in the case of the report of new construction.

The right to have a well sealed, granted by Article 924 of the Civil Code, shall be substantiated in ordinary proceedings.

The sentences rendered in the interdicts dealt with in this Chapter leave unimpaired the right of the parties to file in ordinary proceedings the actions that correspond to them by law.