Título Undécimo. Procedimiento Ordinario

The procedure in all labor and social welfare trials is oral, conducted and advanced on its own initiative by the tribunals. Consequently, the continued presence of the judge in the tribunal during the practice of all evidence proceedings is indispensable.

The intervention of an advisor in these trials is not necessary; however, if the parties obtain advice, the following may act as such:

a)Practicing attorneys;

b)Union leaders advising the members of their respective trade unions, federations and confederations, a circumstance that the tribunal may require to be proven; and in matters whose amount does not exceed the equivalent of ten times the monthly minimum wage of the economic sector to which the claimant worker belongs; and,

c)Law students of the Universities operating legally in the country, who have passed the courses corresponding to Labor Law, in matters whose amount does not exceed the equivalent of ten times the monthly minimum wage of the economic sector to which the claimant worker belongs and, in any case, under the direction and control of the Faculties, through the respective department.

Advice provided by the union leaders and students referred to in subparagraphs b) and c) above shall always be free of charge.

Oral applications shall be made directly before the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals, the corresponding record being drawn up in each case with a copy for notifiable purposes. They may also be pursued in writing, the necessary copies to be attached.

The parties may appear and act personally or through a judicial agent under a mandate. When the amount does not exceed the equivalent of two monthly minimum wages for non-agricultural activities, the mandate may be granted by means of a power-of-attorney letter signed by the interested party himself, but if he is unable to or does not know how to sign, it shall be granted by record drawn up before the Secretary of the respective tribunal. Only attorneys, union leaders in the manner provided in this Code and relatives within the degrees prescribed by law, a circumstance they shall prove before the tribunal, may act as judicial agents under a mandate.

Legal persons shall act through their respective representatives provided for in the constitutive deed or in the bylaws, but if they grant their representation to others, the latter must have the status of attorneys. Excepted are cases of representation derived from a legal provision or from a judicial decision, in which the representatives shall be those corresponding pursuant to the respective laws or the judicial decision. Every agent under a mandate or legal representative is obligated to prove his authority in the first action or appearance.

The Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals shall act on non-business days and hours, when the case so requires, enabling the necessary time. The evidence-taking proceedings shall not be suspended except for force majeure, and the time necessary for their completion shall be deemed enabled. For the processing of conflicts of an economic-social nature, all days and hours are business days.

Decrees must be issued within twenty-four hours and orders within three days.

Insofar as they do not contravene the text and the procedural principles contained in this Code, the provisions of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure and of the constitutive law of the Judicial Branch shall apply suppletorily. If there is an omission of procedures, the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals are authorized to apply the rules of the aforementioned laws by analogy, in order that the decision impartially deciding the claims of the parties may be rendered promptly. The rules contained in this title shall in turn apply, if there is no incompatibility, where the other rules of this Code are silent.

The only incidents, ancillary matters and remedies that shall be processed in the same case file shall be those expressly indicated by this Code. The others shall be heard in a separate file, without interrupting the proceedings.

Procedures and procedural time limits shall only be interrupted when, upon reaching the time to render judgment or an order terminating the proceedings, there are incidents or remedies pending resolution, where such matters are not to be resolved in the judgment.

Case files shall be prepared in duplicate. The original of the duplicate shall be drawn up on Spanish paper, bond paper or other paper of similar quality.

Bundles shall be formed with the duplicates, which shall serve so that the tribunal continues hearing the case in the event of an appeal without suspensive effect and for replacement of the case file.

The acts of the proceedings shall be performed in writing or orally, in accordance with the provisions of this Code for each case. Written record shall be made of acts performed orally, in the form of records, notations or any other suitable means.

Every decision must be made known to the parties or to their representatives authorized for that purpose, in the legal form, and without it they shall not be bound nor may they be affected in their rights. Notice shall also be given to the other persons to whom the decision refers. Notifications shall be made, as applicable:

a)Personally;

b)By the notice board of the tribunal; and

c)By the book of copies.

No arguments or filing of remedies shall be admitted at notification unless otherwise provided in another law or in the decision.

Personal notification shall be given of:

a)The claim, the counterclaim and the first decision issued upon commencement of any matter;

b)The decisions ordering that the parties be informed which judge or tribunal is qualified to continue hearing by virtue of an agreed inhibition, excuse or recusal;

c)The decisions requiring the presence of any person for an act or for the performance of a procedural step;

d)Those setting a time limit for a person to do, refrain from doing, deliver, sign or state agreement or disagreement with anything;

e)The decisions ordering that a warning be issued and those enforcing such warning;

f)Those containing [a setting] of day for the hearing;

g)Orders [autos] and judgments;

h)Orders for better provision [autos para mejor proveer]; and

i)The decisions granting or denying an appeal.

These notifications may not be waived.

When effecting any of the notifications referred to in the preceding article, a copy of the application shall be delivered with the transcription of the decision rendered thereon, or only the decision when it was not rendered upon an application, in all cases identifying the respective file.

Every personal notification shall be effected no later than within six working days, counted from the day following issuance of the decision in question. Failure to comply with this provision shall cause the judge to sanction the notifier with a fine of ten quetzales the first time; of twenty-five quetzales the second time; and with dismissal the third time. It shall be recorded on the same day on which it is made and shall state the date, the time and the place where it was made and shall be signed by the notified person, but if he refuses to sign it, the notifier shall attest thereto and the notification shall be valid.

To effect personal notifications, the notifier or a notary designated by the judge at the applicant's expense and whose appointment shall preferably fall upon the person proposed by the interested party, shall go to the house indicated by the latter and, failing that, to his known residence or place where he is habitually found, and if he does not find the person to be notified, he shall effect the notification by means of a cédula which he shall deliver to relatives or servants or to any other person living in the house. If they refuse to receive it, the notifier shall affix it to the door of the house and shall state at the foot of the cédula the date and time of delivery and shall place in the file a record of having notified in that manner. Such notifications may also be effected by delivering into the recipient's own hands, wherever he may be found within the jurisdiction of the tribunal, a copy of the application and its decision or only a copy thereof.

When the notification is effected by a notary, the judge shall deliver to him the original and copies of the application or memorial and of the corresponding decision, the notary being required to sign in the book the attestation of receipt. Notaries shall record the notification following the corresponding order or decision. Attorneys for the litigants may not act as notifying notaries in the trial in question.

The cédula must contain: first and last names of the person being notified, place, date and time at which the notification is made, first and last names of the person to whom the copy of the decision and of the pleading, if any, is delivered, notice that it was delivered or affixed to the door, signature of the notifier and seal of the tribunal.

The parties have the obligation to designate a place to receive notifications in the same place where the tribunal hearing the case is seated. No action shall be taken on the first application if the interested party does not designate a place to receive notifications. The defendant and the other persons to whom the decision refers shall be notified the first time at the place indicated by the claimant. As to anyone who fails to designate in the prescribed manner a place to receive notifications, subsequent notifications shall continue to be made to him through the tribunal bulletin board [estrados].

When a person residing outside the place of the trial is to be notified or summoned, the notification or summons shall be effected by means of a rogatory letter [exhorto] addressed to the judge of first instance, if the person resides in the departmental capital, or by order [despacho] addressed to the corresponding minor judge, if residing in a municipality. The judge commissioned for that purpose is required to inform the commissioning judge, without delay and by telegraph, that the respective notification has been effected, indicating the place, day and hour when it took effect.

Failure to comply with this provision shall be punished with a fine of twenty-five quetzales imposed by the Supreme Court of Justice on the responsible judge.

When the notifier knows, from personal knowledge or from reports given to him at the house of the person to be notified, that such person is absent from the Republic, he shall refrain from delivering or affixing a cédula and shall place a record in the file, stating how he learned it and who gave him the information, so that the tribunal may order what should be done.

The other notifications shall be made to the litigants by the notice boards or by the tribunal's copy books and shall take effect two days after the notices are posted on the notice boards or the copies are added to the respective files. Of every decision a complete and legible carbon copy shall be left, which the secretary of the tribunal shall sign and seal, recording the date and time when he signs it and adds it to the files, of which he shall enter a note in the record, identifying the respective case file. Said copies shall be collected duly ordered and foliated, according to the different classes of matters being processed. The secretary of the tribunal shall collect the copies of decisions of a precautionary nature in reserved form under his own responsibility. The secretary must comply with the obligations imposed on him by this article within twenty-four hours of issuance of the decision, under penalty of a fine of five quetzales, the first time he fails to comply; of ten quetzales, for the second, and of removal for the third. The copies of the decisions shall also serve for the replacement of any case file that is lost.

In a single claim, several actions may be exercised provided that they are of the same nature, are processed under the same procedures and between the same parties.

Joinder of actions is only admissible when effected in the same act of the claim, by way of counterclaim.

In the consolidation of proceedings, the provisions of the Code of Civil and Mercantile Procedure shall govern.

Every claim must contain:

a)Designation of the judge or tribunal to whom it is addressed;

b)First and last names of the applicant, age, marital status, nationality, profession or trade, place of residence and place where notifications are received;

c)Statement of the facts on which the petition is based;

d)First and last names of the person or persons against whom a right is claimed or against whom one or more actions are exercised and indication of the place where they may be notified;

e)Enumeration of the means of evidence with which the facts will be proved, identifying them clearly and specifically according to their nature, stating the first and last names of the witnesses and their residence if known; place where the documents are located, which shall be specified in detail; matters on which visual inspection or expert examination will be conducted. This provision is not applicable to the workers in cases of dismissal, but if they offer evidence, they must observe it.

f)Requests made to the tribunal, in precise terms;

g)Place and date; and

h)Signature of the claimant or fingerprint of the right thumb or another finger if the former is missing or impaired or signature of the person signing at his request if he does not know how or cannot sign.

In the claim, precautionary measures may be requested, proof of the need for the measure being sufficient for such purpose. The travel restriction must be ordered in every case upon mere request and it must not be lifted unless it is sufficiently proved to the satisfaction of the tribunal that the representative who is to appear is duly provided with funds to answer for the outcome of the trial.

If the claim is filed orally, the judge must draw up a record in accordance with the requirements of the preceding article.

If the claim does not contain the requirements listed in Article 332, the judge, on its own initiative, must order the plaintiff to remedy the defects, specifying them appropriately; and until the legal requirements are met, it shall not be processed.

If the claim conforms to the legal prescriptions, the judge shall set a day and time for the parties to appear for oral trial, warning them to present themselves with their evidence so that they may render it at said hearing, under warning of continuing the trial in default of the party that fails to appear in time, without further summoning or hearing it.

The parties may be excused solely for illness, and the judge shall accept the excuse, only once, provided it has been submitted and justified with documentary evidence before the time set for the commencement of the hearing.

If, for the reasons stated above, its submission in the indicated manner is not possible, the excuse must be submitted and proven within the twenty-four hours following that set for the commencement of the hearing.

If the excuse has been accepted, the judge shall set a new hearing, which must be held within the seventy-two hours following the one that was not held.

Should the cause for the excuse persist, the parties must designate an agent to represent them, granting the agent sufficient powers, even to render judicial confession, when such confession was requested to be rendered in person; in this case, if the agent is not sufficiently informed of the facts, he shall be declared confessed.

At least three days must elapse between the summons and the hearing, which period shall be extended by reason of distance.

If the defendant does not agree with the plaintiff's claims, the defendant must clearly state at the first hearing the facts on which the opposition is based, and may in that same act bring a counterclaim against the plaintiff.

The answer to the claim and the counterclaim, where applicable, may be submitted in writing up to the time of the first hearing.

If, in the period between the summons and the first hearing, or upon the holding of the latter, the plaintiff expands the facts alleged or the claims made, unless the defendant states the desire to answer it, which shall be recorded, the judge shall suspend the hearing and schedule a new hearing for the parties to appear for oral trial in the manner established in Article 335 of this Code.

What is established in Articles 332, 333 and 334 is applicable to the answer to the claim, to the counterclaim and to the answer thereto, as applicable.

Once the counterclaim has been raised, the judge shall suspend the hearing, setting a new one for the answer to take place, unless the counterclaim defendant expresses his desire to answer it in the same act, which shall be placed on record.

Once the claim and the counterclaim, if any, have been answered, the judge shall endeavor to reconcile the parties, proposing to them equitable formulas of conciliation and shall approve on the spot any settlement formula they may agree upon, provided that they do not contravene the applicable laws, regulations and provisions.

If the defendant agrees with the claim, in whole or in part, enforcement proceedings may be pursued as to what has been accepted, if so requested, which shall be placed on record, without the judge having to issue a judgment in that respect; and the trial shall continue as to the claims not accepted.

If conciliation is partial, the trial shall continue with respect to the petitions not covered by the agreement.

If there is no conciliation whatsoever, the trial shall proceed.

Prior to answering the claim or the counterclaim, and at the hearing designated for such purpose, dilatory defenses shall be raised and proved, except those arising subsequently, which may be filed until before judgment is rendered in second instance.

In the latter case, evidence thereof shall be received at the next hearing scheduled for the receipt of evidence in the trial or in an order for better provision, if receipt of such evidence has already been exhausted.

Peremptory defenses shall be raised with the answer to the claim or to the counterclaim, but those arising subsequently and those of payment, limitation period, res judicata and settlement, may be filed at any time, as long as second-instance judgment has not been rendered, and evidence thereof shall likewise be received at the next hearing scheduled for the receipt of evidence in the trial or in an order for better provision, if receipt of such evidence has already been exhausted.

The judge must decide the dilatory defenses at the first appearance, unless the party entitled to oppose them avails itself of the provisions of the second paragraph of the following article, which shall be placed on record, in which case the judge shall suspend the hearing and set another hearing for the reception of the relevant evidence and decision on the defenses.

If said defenses are declared without merit, in this same hearing proceedings shall continue as indicated in Article 335 and 344 of this Code.

Peremptory defenses and those arising after the answer to the claim or to the counterclaim shall be decided in the judgment.

If there is no settlement between the parties, the judge shall immediately receive the evidence offered. Any evidence that has not been specifically proposed in the claim or that is likewise not adduced in the answer, in the counterclaim, as well as evidence that is irrelevant or contrary to law, shall be rejected outright.

Within the twenty-four hours following the hearing, the plaintiff may offer the relevant evidence to contradict the defendant's defenses, if he has not done so before.

In the case of defenses filed against the counterclaim, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be observed.

In the decision by which the claim or the counterclaim is admitted for processing, it shall be ordered to request on its own initiative certifications of the documents that the parties have offered as evidence and that are located in any public office, or in the possession of any of the litigants. In the same manner it shall proceed when such documents have been proposed as evidence against the defenses of the defendant, or against those that the plaintiff opposes to the counterclaim.

All evidence must be received immediately by the judge at the first hearing; for that purpose the parties are obligated to appear with their respective evidence.

If at such hearing it is not feasible to receive all the evidence due to impossibility on the part of the tribunal or due to the nature thereof, a new hearing shall be set, which must be held within a period of not more than fifteen days from the first appearance, under the strict responsibility of the head of the tribunal.

Extraordinarily and provided that due to circumstances beyond the control of the tribunal or the parties, it has not been possible to produce all the evidence, the judge may set a third hearing for that purpose.

Such last hearing shall be held within a period of eight days counted from the second appearance, under the strict responsibility of the head of the tribunal.

The Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals have the power to set extraordinary time limits when evidence must be requested from places outside the Republic. Likewise, they are empowered to take all such measures as may be necessary to ensure that evidence timely offered by the parties and deemed absolutely indispensable is not left unreceived.

The parties may offer up to four witnesses on each of the facts they seek to establish.

All inhabitants of the Republic have the obligation to attend the judicial summons to testify in labor proceedings, unless they are justifiably prevented from doing so or are covered by the exceptions established by law. Disobedience shall be punished with a fine of five to twenty-five quetzales, which the judge hearing the matter must impose.

With due advance notice, summonses shall be made through the National Police.

When witness statements must be taken outside the locality where the tribunal has its seat, the judge, after the claim has been answered and with a hearing of the opposing party, informing it of the day and time of the proceeding, may commission another of equal or lower category, even if he is not of the exclusive labor jurisdiction.

The judge may also authorize the requested judge to set the day and time at which the information is to be received, but the respective decision shall be notified to the parties with due advance notice.

In this case the notification shall be made by telegraphic letters rogatory that the requested judge shall address to the requesting judge, who by the same means shall inform the former of having made the notification.

The employers are obligated to allow their workers to attend to give such testimony as may be required, when the summons is legally issued, without detriment to their interests, wage or working hours. Violation of what is prescribed in this article shall be punished with a fine of twenty-five to one hundred quetzales to be imposed by the judge hearing the matter.

The challenge to witnesses shall not interrupt the proceedings of the trial and the judge shall rule expressly on it when rendering judgment.

It shall be admitted within the twenty-four hours following the testimony in question and the evidence to establish it shall be received at the same hearing or at the next hearing designated for the receipt of evidence in the trial or in an order for better provision, if the receipt of such evidence has already been exhausted. The subordination of the witness derived from the employment contract shall not be a ground for challenge, but it shall be a ground if the witness performs management, representation or trust functions in the enterprise in question, if proposed by the latter.

Management positions shall be considered those in the performance of which decisions are issued that bind all or most of the personnel of an enterprise, department or section thereof.

Positions of representation are those that entail implementation of the will of the employer and imply high hierarchy or dignity or the delegation of functions that in principle correspond to the employer.

Positions of trust shall be considered those for whose performance it is essential that whoever holds them have recognized moral suitability, and sufficient integrity or discretion so as not to compromise the security of the respective enterprise.

The party proposing an opinion of experts shall do so by submitting at one time the points on which the expert examination is to address and shall designate its own expert. For the taking of this evidence, the judge shall grant a hearing to the other party for two days, to be counted from the date of the holding of the first appearance, so that they may state their views regarding the proposed list of topics and designate their own expert. The tribunal shall finally specify the points on which the expert examination is to address. The experts shall render their opinion orally or in writing at the hearing to be set by the judge and only in the event that they fail to agree, the judge shall appoint a third expert in disagreement, who shall render an opinion at the most immediate hearing set for the reception of evidence in the trial or in an order for better provision, as applicable.

The parties may not challenge the experts, but the judge is empowered to remove them if at any time he has reason to doubt their impartiality or their lack of expertise, whether on his own conviction or on motion by the party deeming itself aggrieved. No appeal lies against this decision.

When the exhibition of documents or accounting, wages or payroll books is proposed as evidence by the plaintiff, the judge shall order it for the first appearance, warning the defendant party, if the latter is the one who must exhibit them, with a fine of fifty to five hundred quetzales in case of disobedience, without prejudice to the data alleged in that regard by the offeror of the evidence being presumed true. If this evidence is offered by the defendant party, it must likewise comply with presenting it at the first hearing.

If it is necessary to carry out an expert examination in the accounting, wage or payroll books or in the documents, proceedings shall follow the manner set forth in the preceding article, with the tribunal warning whoever must exhibit them for such purpose, with the fines established in the preceding paragraph, if he fails to comply with the tribunal's order.

When the plaintiff offers evidence of judicial confession, the judge shall set it for the first hearing and the absolvent shall be summoned under warning of being declared confessed in default.

But if it is the defendant who offers such evidence, the judge shall order its taking at the most immediate hearing set for the reception of evidence in the trial, with the absolvent being summoned under warning of being declared confessed in default.

The same procedure shall be followed for the acknowledgment of documents. When judicial confession is expressly made in the course of the trial, enforcement proceedings may be pursued as to what was confessed, if so requested, which shall be placed on record, without the judge having to render judgment in that respect, and the trial shall continue as to the claims not accepted.

When the presence of a person is recorded in a proceeding, they shall be identified by their given names and surnames, domicile, nationality, civil status, profession and place where they reside.

In the statements of witnesses and in the opinions of experts, the ties they have with the litigants and any other legal circumstances that serve to assess the evidence shall be recorded, requiring them to identify themselves with their neighborhood identity card or with another reliable document in the judgment of the tribunal, if it doubts their identity or if the interested party so requests. In this case, the witness who does not properly identify themselves may not give testimony. Nor may the office be conferred upon the expert who does not meet this requirement.

With respect to advisors, only their given names and surnames shall be recorded and if the judge doubts their capacity for that purpose, or if any of the parties so requests, the judge shall require them to present the respective supporting documents, all without prejudice to the provisions of article 321 of this Code.

The Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals shall not admit untimely evidence, evidence contrary to law or impertinent evidence. In the event of denial of the admission of evidence, the litigants have the right to have their protest entered of record and to request the admission thereof in second instance, and the respective chamber shall decide as appropriate.

The Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals have the power to carry out, on its own initiative or at the request of a legitimate party, only once before rendering judgment and for better provision, any pertinent evidence measure, to order that any document or proceeding they deem appropriate be brought into view, or to order the conduct of any inspection or appraisal they deem indispensable. The conduct of such measures shall have as its sole object the clarification of doubtful situations and in no case shall serve to furnish evidence to the parties to the trial. They shall be carried out within a period not exceeding ten days, in which the hearing or hearings that are necessary shall be designated, with summons to the parties. No appeal shall be admitted against the decisions for better adjudication or against those denying them.

of 2016, File 3662-2016).

When the defendant fails to appear at the first hearing without justification and has been legally summoned to render judicial confession therein, under the corresponding warnings, the judge, without further proceedings, shall render judgment within forty-eight hours of the holding of the respective hearing.

The same procedure shall be followed in the cases contemplated in the preceding paragraph, when it concerns a claim for unjust dismissal, even if the evidence of judicial confession of the defendant has not been offered; but if other actions are also litigated in the same trial, the trial shall proceed with respect to such actions as provided in this title.

Upon receipt of the evidence, and within a period of not less than five nor more than ten days, the judge shall render the judgment. Failure to have rendered his decision within the ten-day period indicated above entails liability for the judge.

Where an order for better provision has been issued, the judgment shall be pronounced within the same time limit, which shall be counted from the expiry of said order.

Except upon express provision in this Code and with the exception of public and authentic documents, judicial confession, and facts personally verified by the judge, whose value shall be assessed in accordance with the rules of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, evidence shall be weighed in conscience, but in analyzing it the judge shall obligatorily set forth the principles of equity or justice upon which he bases his criterion.

Incidents that by their nature cannot or should not be resolved beforehand shall be decided in the judgment. In any case the other party shall be heard for twenty-four hours, unless the incident is raised and must be resolved at the same hearing. The evidence shall be received at one of the hearings specified in Article 346.

A copy shall be made of all orders and judgments that put an end to the trial, which shall be collected by the secretary of the tribunal in ad hoc books.

Judgments shall be rendered in a clear and precise manner, making therein the declarations that are appropriate and consistent with the claim, convicting or acquitting, in whole or in part, the defendant and deciding all disputed points that have been the subject of debate.

When it appears from the record in a trial that a violation punishable by the labor and social welfare laws or by the common laws has been committed, the judge, upon rendering judgment, shall order that the relevant matter be certified and that the certification be forwarded to the tribunal that must try it.

The application for revocation shall lie against decisions that are not final. It must be filed at the time of the decision, if it was rendered during a hearing or proceeding and within twenty-four hours of notification of a decision, when it was rendered by the tribunal without the presence of the parties.

The Appeal of Nullity may be filed against acts and procedures in which the law is violated, when the appeal is not admissible. The Appeal of Nullity shall be filed within the third day of learning of the violation, which shall be presumed known immediately if it occurred during a hearing or proceeding and from notification in all other cases. Nullities not timely alleged shall be deemed consented to and the parties may not claim them subsequently nor may the tribunals order them on its own initiative.

The Appeal of Nullity shall be filed before the tribunal that violated the procedure. The Tribunal shall process it immediately, ordering the other party to be heard for twenty-four hours and, with its answer or without it, shall decide within the following twenty-four hours, under the strict liability of the Judge.

When the appeal is declared unfounded, a fine of five to five hundred quetzales shall be imposed on the litigant who filed it.

Against the decision resolving the appeal, when rendered in first instance, the appeal shall lie, which must be filed within twenty-four hours of its notification and be decided within the three days following receipt of the record by the respective Chamber, without a hearing of the parties.

In labor procedures, the following appeals shall lie against judgments or orders terminating the trial:

a)For clarification and expansion, which must be filed within twenty-four hours of notification of the ruling. Clarification shall be requested if the terms of the judgment are obscure, ambiguous or contradictory, so that its tenor may be clarified or rectified. Expansion shall be requested if any of the points submitted to trial were omitted from decision; and,

b)Of appeal which must be filed within the third day of notification of the ruling.

The appeal shall not lie in trials whose amount does not exceed one hundred quetzales.

The liability appeals against the holders of the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals and the Rectification appeal lie in the cases provided for in this Code.

Once the appeal has been filed before the tribunal that heard in First Instance, the latter shall grant it if proper and shall elevate the record to the Labor and Social Welfare Appeals Chamber.

The appeal against the judgments and orders that terminate the trial produces suspensive effects. The appeal does not produce suspensive effects when it is filed against any of the other appealable decisions. When the appeal is one that does not produce suspensive effects, the tribunal shall elevate the original record and shall continue hearing with the duplicate.

An appeal without suspensive effects acquires them if, while the First Degree Tribunal continues hearing, it reaches the time to render judgment and the appeal has not been resolved. In such case, the first-instance ruling shall be pronounced after what was decided by the Second Degree Tribunal has become final.

Upon receipt of the record in the Labor and Social Welfare Appeals Chamber, upon the appeal filed, it shall grant a hearing for forty-eight hours to the appellant party, so that it may express the grounds for its disagreement. Upon expiration of this term, a day shall be set for the review hearing, which must be held within the following five days. And it shall render judgment five days thereafter, under the strict responsibility of its titular judges.

If within the forty-eight-hour period granted to the appellant, the latter requests that any evidence denied in first instance be taken, with respect to which he had recorded his protest, the tribunal, if it deems it appropriate, with notice to the parties, shall set a hearing for the reception of the requested evidence, which must be taken within the period of ten days. Once the evidence has been taken or said period has expired, the Chamber, within a period of not less than five nor more than ten days, shall render the judgment. Failure to have rendered its ruling within the ten-day period indicated above entails liability for the Chamber or for the Magistrate or Magistrates responsible for the delay.

The Second Instance Tribunal, when it deems it indispensable, may make use of the power conferred by Article 357.

If the record has been elevated in consultation, it shall issue its ruling within the ten days following its receipt.

The Second Instance judgment must confirm, revoke, amend or modify, partially or totally, the First Instance judgment.

Against Second Instance judgments, no remedies other than Clarification and Expansion shall lie.