Tutela judicial efectiva y revisión en casación del uso de la facultad judicial de moderación de la responsabilidad por negligencia prevista en el art. 1103 del código civil

Abstract

The power of judicial moderation of responsability for negligent breach of obligations provided in Article 1103 CC is considered in case law to be a discretionary decision of the trial judge, based on equity and depending on the circumstances of the case, which, except in exceptional cases, is not subject to appeal in cassation. This article studies the exceptions to this rule and the need to preserve the discretionary nature of the decisions while avoiding arbitrariness. This balance requires, on the one hand, the externalization of the parameters of application or non-application of the power of moderation and, on the other hand, a sufficient motivation of the judicial decision, which includes the factual and legal elements that allow to evaluate it and make possible, as a general rule, the jurisdictional control of the decisions, in accordance with the content and function of the right to effective judicial protection.