Criminal Law Articles

The Spanish Constitution

The Constitutional Court of Spain The declaration of unconstitutionality | Fundamental rights of citizens   The Constitutional Court   The Constitutional Court is the supreme body for the interpretation of the Constitution. It guarantees its primacy and judges conformity or non-conformity with the laws, provisions and acts challenged. The declaration of unconstitutionality can be promoted through the appeal of unconstitutionality - which can only be presented by the President of the Government of Spain, the Ombudsman, fifty deputies or fifty members of parliament - or through the question of unconstitutionality, which is raised by judges and courts. The Constitutional Court also resolves conflicts of competence that arise...

Cooperation in matters of security

Measures to combat organised crime Fight against organised crime and trafficking in human beings and firearms   Grande-Marlaska strengthens cooperation with Moldova with the delivery of security equipment to combat organised crime. The Minister for Home Affairs met with the president of the country, Maia Sandu, and his counterpart, Adrian Efros, with whom he also signed the reciprocal recognition agreement and the exchange of national driving licences approved at the last Council of Ministers. The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, stressed on Thursday in Chisinau the "excellent cooperation" in security between Spain and Moldova, "which has been strengthened in the last two years, as...

Judicial bodies & Prosecutor’s Office

The Judicial Bodies in Spain The Supreme Court | The National High Court | The High Courts of Justice | Provincial Courts | Others   The judicial bodies in Spain are:   ■ The Supreme Court with jurisdiction throughout Spain, is the supreme court in all jurisdictional orders, except as regards constitutional safeguards, which fall within the purview of the Constitutional Court. ■ The National High Court with jurisdiction throughout Spain, is a specialised court that hears certain cases assigned to it by law. In matters of criminal law, for instance, the National High Court is competent to determine cases concerning offences against the crown or members of...

The ordinary jurisdiction

Jurisdictional orders of the spanish justice Civil | Criminal | Judicial review | Employment   The nature of the action determines each of the orders into which the judicial function is structured. The ordinary jurisdiction is divided into four jurisdictional orders:   ■ Civil: this order examines matters relating to private law, with the exception of those pertaining to employment law and, in particular, matters governed by Civil and Commercial Law (obligations, property, trading companies, parentage, marriage, etc.). It also tries litigation cases not expressly assigned to another jurisdictional order. This order also hears cases relating to property located in Spanish territory or entities registered...

Operations against trafficking

Trafficking networks and sexual or labour exploitation Sexual exploitation | Labour exploitation | Trafficking for forced marriages   Law enforcement agencies rescued 1,466 victims of trafficking and exploitation in 2023, 24% more than in 2022 National Police and Guardia Civil carried out 409 police operations against trafficking and exploitation of human beings and dismantled 109 criminal organisations and groups The National Police and the Guardia Civil released a total of 1,466 victims of trafficking networks and sexual or labour exploitation in 2023, including 18 minors, and in eighteen cases, the same person was a victim of more than one type of crime. This is the...

Organisational structure of the Spanish Judiciary

The General Council of the Judiciary The governing body of the spanish judiciary   Under the Constitution of 1978, Spain is a country under the rule of law, and accordingly the Spanish judicial system has undergone major changes over the past 30 years. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 establishes that justice emanates from the people and is administered in the name of the King by magistrates and judges of the judicial branch of government - they are independent, permanent, responsible for their actions and subject only to the rule of law. The Constitution establishes the principle of jurisdictional unity as the cornerstone of the...

Prosecution of organised crime

Fight against drug trafficking Human trafficking | Money laundering   Spain and Albania step up their collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and his Albanian counterpart, Taulant Balla, have signed a joint declaration to strengthen cooperation in the prosecution of organised crime. Spain and Albania have strengthened their cooperation against transnational organised crime, especially in the fight against drug and human trafficking and in the investigation of money laundering, according to the declaration signed in Madrid by the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and his Albanian counterpart, Taulant Balla. This text continues the foundations laid on 1...

Recital of Motives Spanish Criminal Code 2016

Recital of Motives Spanish Criminal Code 2016 ORGANIC ACT 10/1995 | DATED 23RD NOVEMBER | ON THE CRIMINAL CODE 2016 | JUAN CARLOS I | KING OF SPAIN   Recital of Motives   To all those who may see and understand the presents: Be it known: That the Cortes have approved and I have given My Royal Assent to the following Organic Act: If the legal order has been defined as a set of rules that regulate the use of force, one may easily understand the importance of the Criminal Code in any civilised society. The Criminal Code defines criminal and misdemeanours that constitute the cases for...

Elimination of terrorist content online

Fight against the dissemination of terrorist propaganda Identifying threats and responding to the challenges of new technologies   The conference brings together around 50 security experts from 24 EU countries and is co-organised by the European Commission and the Centre for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO). Grande-Marlaska highlighted Spain's "pioneering" role in enforcing orders to remove radical content online and the need for "meticulous vigilance and coordinated action to protect European citizens and the rule of law also in cyberspace". In June 2022, the EU launched a regulation to combat the dissemination of terrorist content, the main objective of which was to curb...

Adapting the legal framework to new forms of crime

A future law criminalises deepfake pornography Criminalises online grooming of minors and the dissemination of pornographic material to minors   The Government of Spain makes progress on the protection of minors in the digital environment The Executive has also approved the Verano Joven 2024 programme, which includes discounts of up to 90% on bus and train tickets for young people to travel around Spain and Europe. It has also transposed the European directive setting an overall minimum tax of 15% for multinationals. The Council of Ministers has addressed the draft organic law to guarantee the protection of the rights of minors in the digital environment,...