A special proceeding is a legal remedy through which a party seeks to establish a status, a right, or a particular fact. This purpose distinguishes it from an ordinary civil action, which is filed for the enforcement or protection of a right, or the prevention or redress of a wrong, and from a criminal action, where the State prosecutes a person for an act or omission punishable by law.
Special proceedings are generally non-adversarial when initiated and are often actions in rem, meaning they are directed against the thing itself and seek a judgment binding against the whole world. However, they can become adversarial if there are oppositors to the petition. While formal pleadings and a hearing may sometimes be dispensed with, they are not always summary.
Special proceedings are typically commenced by filing a petition, in contrast to ordinary civil actions which are initiated by a complaint.
Examples of special proceedings include:
- Settlement of estate of deceased persons
- Escheat
- Guardianship and custody of children
- Trustees
- Adoption and rescission/revocation of adoption
- Hospitalization of insane persons
- Habeas corpus
- Change of name
- Declaration of absence of death
- Cancellation or correction of entries in the civil registry
- Recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award
Special proceedings are primarily governed by specific rules applicable to them. In the absence of such special provisions, the rules provided for in ordinary civil actions are applicable in special proceedings, as far as practicable.
Courts sitting as probate courts in estate settlement proceedings have limited and special jurisdiction and cannot hear collateral matters that belong in ordinary civil actions. The determination of who are the legal heirs of a deceased person must generally be made in the proper special proceeding, such as one for the settlement of the estate, and not in an ordinary civil action. However, an exception exists where heirs can file an ordinary civil action to enforce ownership rights acquired by succession without a prior separate declaration of heirship, provided there is no pending special proceeding for settlement or heirship determination.