2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-TWO Appendix (§§ 1 — 39.4) › Appendix III - Rules of Civil Procedure for the General Court of Justice, 1979 (§§ 39.2 — 39.4) › Part VIII - PROCEEDINGS SUBSEQUENT TO JUDGMENT › Rule 53 - Procedure to file an appeal, a writ of certiorari and a petition for certification › Rule 53.1 - When and how to do it

(a) Appeals before the Supreme Court. — The appeal is presented by filing a writ of appeal at the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court. The appellant shall serve a copy of the notice of the appeal, duly stamped with the date and time of filing, at the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals, within the term of forty-eight (48) hours following filing of the notice of appeal.
(b) Appeals before the Circuit Court of Appeals. — The petitions for appeal shall be presented by filing the notice of appeal at the office of the clerk of the part of the Court of First Instance that rendered the appealed judgment, or at the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals. If the appeal is filed at the office of the clerk of the part of the Court of First Instance that rendered the appealed judgment, the appellant shall notify the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals, within forty-eight (48) hours following the serving of the appeal, the regulatory number of copies of the notice, duly stamped by the clerk of the part of the Court of First Instance with the date and time of filing. If filed with the clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals, the appellant shall serve a copy of the appeal, duly stamped with the date and time of filing, at the office of the clerk of the part of the Court of First Instance that issued the appealed judgment, within forty-eight (48) hours following the filing of the writ of appeal.
(c) Terms for filing the writ of appeal. — The appeal shall be filed in the form filed above, within the jurisdictional term of thirty (30) days counting from the date of filing the copy of the notice of judgment issued by the respondent court of record on the case. If the date of filing the copy of the notice of judgment in the record, is different from the mailing date of said notice, the term shall be calculated from the date of mailing.
In those cases in which the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its officials or one of its instrumentalities other than a public corporation, or the municipalities of Puerto Rico are parties in a case, the writ of appeal shall be filed by any party to the case injured by the judgment, by filing a bill of appeal as provided above within the jurisdictional term of sixty (60) days counting from the filing of a copy of the notice of the judgment rendered by the respondent court. If the date of filing of the copy of the notice of judgment is different from the mailing date of said notice, the term shall be calculated from the mailing date.
(d)
(1) Writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. — The writ of certiorari before the Supreme Court, to discretionally review, the judgments or resolutions of the Court of Appeals in remedies of appeal shall be filed at the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court within the jurisdictional term of thirty (30) days counted from the date of filing of a copy of the notice of the appealed judgment in the records. If the date of filing the copy of the notice of judgment is different from the mailing date of said notice, the term shall be figured from the mailing date.
In those cases in which the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its officials, or any of its instrumentalities that is not a public corporation, or the municipalities of Puerto Rico are a part, the writ of certiorari to review, discretionally, the judgments or resolutions issued of the court of Appeals, in remedies of appeals shall be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, by any party to the action by the judgment, within the jurisdictional term of sixty (60) days counting from the date a copy of the notice of the appealed judgment is filed in the records. If the date of filing of the copy of the notice of the judgment is different from the mailing date of said notice, the term shall be figured as of the date it is mailed.
(2) The writ of certiorari before the Supreme Court to discretionally review the final judgments or resolutions issued by the Court of Appeals in writs of certiorari of the judgment rendered in proceedings of voluntary jurisdiction shall be filed at the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court within the jurisdictional term of thirty (30) days counted from the date of filing the copy of the notice in the record of the appealed judgment in the record of the case. If the date of filing the copy of the notice of the judgment or resolution is different from the mailing date of said notice, the term shall be calculated as of the date it is mailed.
(3) The writ of certiorari before the Supreme Court to review all other final judgments or resolutions of the Court of Appeals in discretionary petitions shall be filed at the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court within the term of thirty (30) days from the date the copy of the notice of the appealed judgment is filed in the record of the case. If the date of filing the copy of the notice of judgment in this record is different from the mailing date of said notice, the term shall be calculated from the date of the mailing. The term provided herein is of strict compliance, and shall only be extended under special circumstances duly grounded in the writ of certiorari.
(4) The writ of certiorari, to review any interlocutory resolution of the Circuit Court of Appeals, shall be formalized by filing a petition with the Clerk of the Supreme Court within thirty (30) days following the date of notice of the resolution or order appealed. The term provided herein is of strict compliance, prorogable only when there are special circumstances duly grounded in the petition for certiorari.
(5) The petitioner shall serve the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals within forty-eight (48) hours following the filing of the petition, a copy thereof, duly stamped with the date and time of filing.
(e) Writ of certiorari before the Circuit Court of Appeals. —
(1) The writ of certiorari to review any resolution or order of the Court of First Instance shall be executed by filing a petition within thirty (30) days following the date of notice of the appealed resolution or order. The term provided herein shall be strictly enforced, and shall only be extendible under special circumstances duly grounded in the writ of certiorari.
(2) The writ of certiorari to review final resolutions in proceedings of voluntary jurisdiction rendered by the Court of First Instance shall be executed by filing a petition within thirty (30) days following date of notice of the appealed resolution or order. The term provided herein is jurisdictional.
(3) The writs of certiorari under the two previous clauses submitted for the consideration of the Circuit Court of Appeals, and their copies, may be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals or with the clerk of the part of the Court of First Instance in which the controversy subject to review was settled, and said filing shall have full force of law. Subsequent writs and their copies shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals.
(4) When the writ of certiorari is filed in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals, the petitioner shall serve the office of the clerk of the respondent court, within forty-eight (48) hours following the filing of the petition, a copy thereof duly stamped with the date and hour of filing. When the petition is filed in the Office of the clerk of the appealed court, the petitioner shall serve the Office of the clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals the regulatory number of copies duly stamped by the clerk of the respondent court with the date and hour of filing within forty-eight (48) hours following the filing of the petition.
(f) Petitions for registration before the Supreme Court. — A petition for registration at request of a party shall be executed by filing a petition with the Office of the clerk of the Supreme Court at any time after having filed the docket at the Circuit Court of Appeals or after having notified the filing of the original records before said court to the parties, as the case may be. The petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition for registration, duly stamped with the date and hour of filing, to the clerk of the Circuit Court of Appeals, within forty-eight (48) hours following the filing of the petition.
The petition for registration shall also be executed when the Supreme Court of the United States or any United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Federal District Court or State Court of any state of the Union, has a case for its consideration in which there are local issues of law that are decisive in the cause of action before any of said courts, for which there are no clear precedents in the decisions of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and an opinion on such issues is requested by filing the corresponding petition with the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court.
(g) Interruption of the term to appeal. — The term to appeal shall be interrupted by a timely motion made pursuant to any of the rules set forth below, and said term shall start to run anew when a copy of the service of any of the following orders regarding said motions is filed in the case:
(1) In appeals to the Circuit Court of Appeals proceeding from the Court of First Instance, granting or denying a motion under Rule 43.3 to amend or to make initial or additional findings of fact, whether or not a revision of the judgment would be required if the motion is granted;
(2) in appeals before the Circuit Court of Appeals proceeding from the Court of First Instance, finally resolving a motion for reconsideration as provided in Rule 47;
(3) in appeals to the Circuit Court of Appeals proceeding from the Court of First Instance, denying a motion for a new trial under Rule 48;
(4) in appeals to the Supreme Court proceeding from the Circuit Court of Appeals finally resolving a motion for reconsideration filed pursuant to the provisions of Rule 47.
(h) Stay of the term to file a writ of certiorari before the Supreme Court. — The term to file a writ of certiorari before the Supreme Court of a judgment or final resolution of the Court of Appeals shall be stayed by the timely filing of a motion for reconsideration pursuant to the provisions of Rule 47. Said term shall begin to run anew upon the filing of a copy of the notice of the resolution or judgment of the Court of Appeals finally resolving the motion to reconsider. If the date of filing the copy of the notice of judgment is different from the mailing date of said notice, the term shall be figured from the mailing date.
(i) Interruption of the term to file a writ of certiorari before the Circuit Court of Appeals. — The term to file a writ of certiorari before the Circuit Court of Appeals shall be interrupted and shall begin to run anew pursuant to the provisions of Rule 47.
(j) Who benefits. — When the term to appeal or file writ of certiorari is interrupted by virtue of these rules, the interruption shall benefit any other party involved in the suit.
(k) Failure to take further steps to perfect the petition. — If the appellant fails to take any of the further steps to execute the appeal or the writs of certiorari or certification, such omission shall not invalidate the same, and shall only be a cause to grant those remedies specified in this Rule 53; or if no remedy is specified, for such action as the court of appeal may deem appropriate, including dismissal of the appeal or of the writs of certiorari or certification.
(l) The court of appeals may, on its own initiative or by petition of a party, dismiss an appeal or a discretionary recourse for the following reasons:
(1) The court of appeals lacks jurisdiction.
(2) That the appeal or discretionary recourse has not been executed pursuant to the law and applicable rules.
(3) That the appeal or discretionary recourse has not been processed with due diligence.
(4) That the appeal or discretionary recourse is clearly frivolous or has been filed to delay the proceedings.
History —Amended on July 18, 1986, No. 143, p. 450, § 1; Dec. 7, 1993, No. 108, § 1; Dec. 25, 1995, No. 249, § 19; Dec. 18, 1997, No. 164, § 1; Mar. 27, 2004, No. 84, § 1, eff. 30 days after Mar. 27, 2004.