Mediadores.es begins its activity throughout Spain with a platform that allows the MASC requirement to be fully processed digitally: the file is created and the invitation is sent in about 5 minutes, compared to manual procedures that can currently take weeks. The certificate is issued later, depending on the other party's response or the expiry of the legal deadline.
"Since the entry into force of Organic Law 1/2025, proving the attempt at out-of-court settlement has become a mandatory prior step for filing civil and commercial lawsuits," explains Federico Cadenas, a lawyer with over 30 years of experience and CEO of Mediadores.es. "In practice, this procedure requires locating the other party, sending the invitation, waiting for a response, and then gathering evidence of the entire process. A procedure that, if poorly documented, can compromise the admission of the lawsuit. It's not enough to try. You must be able to prove it."
The First Study by the Illustrious Bar Association of Madrid on the real impact of the regulation, conducted in December 2025 based on a survey of 1,164 lawyers, concludes that 49.3% have had difficulties proving the attempt to the court, which in many cases has led to the lawsuit being dismissed. Furthermore, 71.7% believe that courts interpret the requirement disparately.
"The problem isn't trying mediation. It's being able to prove it later to the judge, with full documented traceability: what was sent, to whom, when, and if they could access it. That's exactly what was missing, and it's what we now provide," Cadenas summarizes.
A requirement that pushes towards digital without supporting infrastructureThe law does not impose electronic proof: Article 10.2 accepts any document that proves receipt, date, and access to the full content, and is neutral regarding the means used. The problem is that this standard — the three elements simultaneously and verifiable by a third party — is what traditional methods fulfill poorly. A registered letter proves sending and date, but not always receipt by the recipient.
What didn't arrive was the infrastructure. There is no public registry of attempts, no official form, no certified ministry channel, nor a technical standard establishing what proof is sufficient, even though the third additional provision of the law itself states that the Ministry of Justice and the autonomous communities will establish MASC services.
What didn't arrive was the infrastructure. There is no public registry of attempts, no official form, no certified ministry channel, nor a technical standard establishing what proof is sufficient, even though the third additional provision of the law itself states that the Ministry of Justice and the autonomous communities will establish MASC services.
The contrast with other state digital policies is striking. To interact with the Tax Agency, there is Cl@ve; for administrative notifications, the Electronic Enabled Directorate; for judicial auctions, the BOE Auction Portal; and for communication between professionals and courts, LexNET. When the State has wanted to digitize a procedure, it has provided the channel. With MASC, it announced the service and, so far, has not deployed it.
How it works Mediadores.es automates this entire process. The user completes a guided online form; the platform issues and sends the mediation invitation to the other party, records their response or silence, and generates the supporting documentation without manual intervention. The invitation is sent via certified electronic delivery according to Regulation (EU) 910/2014 (eIDAS), which records the sender, recipient, date, time, and access to the full content, point by point, as established by Article 10.2. "And we do all this using only tools of high legal prestige in Spain," added Cadenas. "If the invited party rejects the invitation, the certificate is issued within minutes. It is also issued if they remain silent after the thirty calendar days stipulated in Article 10.4 have passed. And if they accept, the case proceeds to mediation, either online or in person."
Traceability and legal value Every step is recorded with a timestamp: sending the invitation, contact attempts, receipt, the invited party's response, and the closing of the file. The result is a complete and verifiable file, designed to support the proof of the procedure before the courts.
"Once the procedure is structured, if I digitize it, everything is traced," explains Cadenas. "It's verified that this party did it, when they did it, when it was sent, when it was received, what the response was, and what the outcome was. That changes everything, because there's no room for interpretation: this happened, in this way, on this date, with this result."
The certificate is issued by a mediator registered in the Registry of Mediators and Mediation Institutions of the Ministry of Justice, a public and searchable registry. This independence is not a minor detail: Article 13.5.c) of Law 5/2012 requires the mediator to disclose if they or a member of their organization has previously acted for one of the parties and, in such cases, can only mediate if both parties expressly consent. Logically, the invited party will not agree to the mediator being part of the opposing lawyer's firm, so this consent will not occur: in practice, a firm cannot certify its own cases.
"Once the procedure is structured, if I digitize it, everything is traced," explains Cadenas. "It's verified that this party did it, when they did it, when it was sent, when it was received, what the response was, and what the outcome was. That changes everything, because there's no room for interpretation: this happened, in this way, on this date, with this result."
The certificate is issued by a mediator registered in the Registry of Mediators and Mediation Institutions of the Ministry of Justice, a public and searchable registry. This independence is not a minor detail: Article 13.5.c) of Law 5/2012 requires the mediator to disclose if they or a member of their organization has previously acted for one of the parties and, in such cases, can only mediate if both parties expressly consent. Logically, the invited party will not agree to the mediator being part of the opposing lawyer's firm, so this consent will not occur: in practice, a firm cannot certify its own cases.
For whom The service is aimed at both individuals facing a specific conflict and law firms, property managers, and companies that handle claims recurrently. The platform includes step-by-step tutorials and a video explaining how it works for those acting on their own behalf.
For claims of lesser value, the intervention of a lawyer or court representative is not mandatory, so it is precisely those who appear without legal assistance who are left alone to construct proof that the court will accept. This is where digitalization changes the logic: instead of the quality of proof depending on how much each person can pay, all cases are governed by the same technical standard. An individual obtains exactly the same certificate as a large law firm.
Around the procedure, Mediadores.es has created a resource and knowledge center on mediation, with articles, FAQs, and explanatory videos on what a MASC is, which conflicts it applies to, what deadlines apply, and what happens if the other party does not respond. The same person who appears without a lawyer often discovers that the requirement exists on the day they are informed that their lawsuit cannot yet be filed.
"This is a legal procedure and must be understood," says Cadenas. "It has legal content, obviously, but it is explained in a way that anyone can easily understand. The goal is not for the user to fill out the form, but for them to know what they are doing."
For claims of lesser value, the intervention of a lawyer or court representative is not mandatory, so it is precisely those who appear without legal assistance who are left alone to construct proof that the court will accept. This is where digitalization changes the logic: instead of the quality of proof depending on how much each person can pay, all cases are governed by the same technical standard. An individual obtains exactly the same certificate as a large law firm.
Around the procedure, Mediadores.es has created a resource and knowledge center on mediation, with articles, FAQs, and explanatory videos on what a MASC is, which conflicts it applies to, what deadlines apply, and what happens if the other party does not respond. The same person who appears without a lawyer often discovers that the requirement exists on the day they are informed that their lawsuit cannot yet be filed.
"This is a legal procedure and must be understood," says Cadenas. "It has legal content, obviously, but it is explained in a way that anyone can easily understand. The goal is not for the user to fill out the form, but for them to know what they are doing."
For law firms, the value lies elsewhere. All the administrative work of the pre-litigation phase — opening the file, drafting and sending the invitation, pursuing the response, gathering and organizing evidence of the attempt — stops consuming team hours, without the lawyer ceding an iota of control: the lawyer manages the file, with each action time-stamped, in a single place, and available for download. It also avoids the risk of a binding offer, which requires putting a figure on the table and being tied to it before even knowing if the other party will sit down. The platform includes step-by-step tutorials and a video explaining how it works for the file administrator. "The lawyer retains the strategy; we handle the paperwork," Cadenas summarizes.
