“A judge’s order will always be needed to take this decision through a quick procedure which is taken within four days at the latest after the judge has heard all sides,” Justice Minister Francisco Caamano told a news conference.

The initial version of the law unveiled in November allowed for sites to be blocked or closed by a new regulatory body without a judge’s order.

It sparked an outcry from bloggers and other Internet users who argued that it could be used by the government to censor websites.

A manifesto against the draft law was signed by tens of thousands of people in Spain, which has one of the highest rates of illegal downloads.

Last month Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his socialist government would introduce a new version of the draft law which addressed these concerns.

“If the draft law needs to be clarified, it will be. But the government feels that a country which wants to have intellectual property must protect it,” he said.

The new draft law still must be approved by parliament before it it comes into effect.

The measure allows a judge to act on a complaint filed by the a newly formed intellectual property commission at Spain’s ministry of culture by closing websites accused of facilitating piracy under a fast-track judicial process.

The website’s owner will be summoned at the time of the initial complaint and have four days to appeal the blockage.

Spain’s original version of the plan, unveiled to widespread criticism November, would have allowed the IP commission to shutter websites without any judicial authorization. Friday’s new draft requires the authorization of judge.

“A judge’s order will always need to take this decision though a quick procedure which is taken within four days at the latest after the judge has heard all sides,” Justice Minister Francisco Caamano told a new conference, the AFP reports.

The legislation is part of a larger Sustainable Economy Law currently being drawn up by Spain’s Cabinet. It still must get approval from parliament before going into effect.

Spain’s proposal takes a different tact the so-called “three-strikes” laws passed in France, where the end-user is targeted for punishment by cutting off internet access to those repeatedly accused of illegal downloading.

Spanish record label lobby Promusicae claims the industry had lost $1.6bn in revenue in 2007 and 2008 because of online music piracy. US copyright lobbies and politicians have accused the country of being unwilling to fight against internet piracy and allowing the practice to be “widely perceived as an acceptable cultural phenomenon.”

The new measures, which will be reviewed by several consultative bodies before being submitted to parliament in February, are being described as ‘balanced’.

In the case of a complaint concerning copyright infringement, this will first be heard and investigated by a new Intellectual Property Committee. The case will then be passed to a judge of the National Court for Contentious Administrative Issues and the court will have four days in which to decide whether to block or close an offending site.