El acceso efectivo a la demanda por medios electrónicos en el proceso judicial: ¿un cambio de rumbo en la jurisprudencia del Tribunal constitucional español sobre el uso de medios electrónicos en la administración de justicia?

The use of electronic means in the processing of procedures in the Administration of Justice is causing the appearance of new legal situations that require the intervention and response of the Constitutional Court so that the fundamental rights of the defendants are not diminished by the introduction of the use of ICT in the management and processing of judicial files.
Notification of the claim by electronic means has been the subject of repeated pronouncements by the Constitutional Court. This has established a doctrine already consolidated in judgments where it has clarified the interpretative doubts that have arisen and has declared the legal requirement that the first location of the defendant - be a natural or legal person, and regardless of whether or not it is obliged to relate exclusively by electronic means with the Administration of Justice - it must be done at the defendant’s domicile and by delivering a copy of the claim in paper format, and the judicial body must also comply with its duty of diligence ensuring that the act of communication serves its purpose to make the party aware of the existence of the process and the claim so that it can articulate and use the means that suit its right for its defence, ultimately avoiding that the violation of fundamental rights such as the right to a fair hearing and the right to effective judicial protection.
However, the richness of the casuistry leads us to analyse in this case what happens when it is possible that the defendant has had access to the claim by electronic means but does not perform any act in defense of his/her rights. Should the Constitutional Court doctrine on extrajudicial knowledge of the process be applied or, on the contrary, should the jurisprudence on the invalidity and ineffectiveness of electronic notifications of the claim be applied? In the present work we analyse the criteria followed by the Constitutional Court to establish doctrine in these cases in order to resolve this casuistry.