How criminal
proceedings work
in Spain

A person under investigation is called investigado (the old term was imputado). Being investigado is not an accusation: it gives the right to a lawyer, to see the file and to remain silent. A person becomes acusado only when formal charges are brought and the case is sent to trial, and condenado only after a conviction. A criminal record arises only from a final conviction.

An investigating judge (juez de instrucción) directs the investigation: statements, expert reports, searches, intercepts. It lasts twelve months in principle, extendable by reasoned decision. This is when the defence can request evidence, challenge measures that restrict rights and seek dismissal before any trial.

Simple cases with an arrest or a police report —assaults, drink-driving, thefts, domestic violence— can be dealt with as a juicio rápido at the duty court within days. A guilty plea (conformidad) at that stage reduces the sentence by one third, but it is a conviction with a criminal record and should never be accepted under the pressure of the moment.

Cases with sentences of up to five years are tried by a single judge (sección de lo penal); more serious ones by the Audiencia Provincial, a panel of three judges, and some offences by a jury. Only evidence presented at trial, in public and subject to cross-examination, can support a conviction.

Judgments can be appealed to the Audiencia Provincial or the regional High Court, and then, within limits, to the Supreme Court by way of recurso de casación, a highly technical appeal on points of law. Fundamental-rights violations can finally be taken to the Constitutional Court.

Prison sentences of up to two years can often be suspended for first offenders. If prison is served, classification, leave and parole are handled before the prison supervision courts.