Author: dc

Feminine noun. Legal institution by which a person, tutor (guardian), is entrusted with the representation of minor children without parents or those legally unable to exercise their rights. E.g.: La tutela sobre los menores se rige por los principios universales consagrados por el Código Civil: Guardianship of minors is regulated by the universal principles enshrined in the Civil Code.
The verb is tutelar. dc

Feminine noun. In Spanish related to Civil and Commercial Law, rebeldía is the situation in which a litigant (plaintiff or defendant) does not appear or does not present their arguments and/or refrains from complying with the acts of the procedure. E.g.: En caso de que el demandante no comparezca ante el tribunal, o bien no consienta su defensa, se le podrá declarar en rebeldía: If the defendant does not appear a judgment by default can be rendered against him.
In Spanish related to Criminal Law rebeldía is a legal situation, produced by the disappearance of the accused, that produces certain effects such as the suspension of the course of the proceedings once the summary phase is finished, until the accused is present. E.g.: Los seis acusados restantes están siendo juzgados en rebeldía: The remaining six defendants are being tried in absentia. Some legal systems, such as in Argentina, do not accept the conviction in rebeldía. The person is called rebelde.
By the way, rebeldía means also rebelliousness. dc

Masculine and feminine noun. In Legal Spanish, a reo is the defendant in a civil or (especially) a criminal trial. The feminine form is rea. E.g.: El fiscal, en el término de 24 horas, pondrá al reo a disposición del tribunal en el territorio en el que fue arrestado, junto con la documentación correspondiente: Within twenty four hours the prosecutor makes the arrested person available to the court in the territory of which the arrest has been performed, sending also the respective documentation.
Reo/a is also and adjective and it can mean indistinctly suspect and guilty. dc

Feminine noun. In business Spanish diligencia is the processing of an administrative matter, and written proof of having done it. E.g.: Esta diligencia no figuraba en el expediente del sumario: No such protocol was in the case file. In this case the verb is diligenciar. E.g.: No hay documentación que diligenciar: No paper work to complete.
Diligencia can also mean diligence, care. E.g.: Actuar con la misma cautela, diligencia y pericia que una persona de prudencia razonable en circunstancias similares: Exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.
By the way, a diligencia is also a stagecoach. dc

Feminine noun. Also called insolvencia and suspención de pagos, it happens when a person, a company or a state cannot pay all the debts they have with their creditors due to lack of liquidity or cash. This situation unchains a procedure that aims to reach an agreement between the debtor and the creditors, under judicial supervision, on the way in which it will be paid. E.g.: A mediados de la semana bursátil, surgieron preocupaciones por una posible cesación de pagos, lo que detuvo a los operadores y arrastró el capital a las inversiones seguras: Default concerns hit the financial markets half way through the trading week, which put traders and their heels and pushed capital into safe haven investments. dc