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Current Affairs and Criminal Analysis Blog

An essential resource to stay informed with the latest legislative news, in-depth jurisprudential analysis, and practical advice from our experts.

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Latest analysis

Procedural Law

The Abbreviated Criminal Procedure in Spain (Arts. 757-793 LECrim)

The route through which most criminal cases in Spain are processed. Scope, preliminary proceedings, intermediate stage, preliminary hearing, trial and appeals, with the differences from ordinary committal proceedings and from fast-track trials.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 118 LECrim

Article 118 LECrim: the Right of Defence of a Suspect in Spain

Article 118 LECrim sets out when the right of defence begins and what it contains: information about the facts, access to the case file before making a statement, a lawyer of free choice, a private interview, silence and the privilege against self-incrimination. We go through the wording and the practical traps of each letter.

September 5, 2026
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Article 141 CP

Article 141 of the Spanish Criminal Code: incitement, conspiracy and proposal to commit homicide or murder

As a rule the Spanish Criminal Code punishes acts that have been carried out. Article 141 CP is one of the listed exceptions: it moves criminal liability back to the preparatory stage and punishes incitement, conspiracy and proposal to commit homicide or murder with the penalty reduced by one or two degrees.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 236 CP

Article 236 of the Criminal Code: Taking Back Your Own Property

Driving your car out of the garage without paying for the repair, removing leased machinery or retrieving an attached asset from deposit can be an offence even though the item is yours. Article 236 CP protects lawful possession against the owner, with a fine of three to twelve months. We go through its elements, its penalties and how it is told apart from theft and from Article 455 CP.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 244 CP

Article 244 of the Criminal Code: Taking and Using Another Person's Vehicle

Taking a car or a motorcycle to use it and then return it is not ordinary theft: Article 244 CP creates a provision of its own built around a forty-eight-hour window for giving the vehicle back. That window decides whether the act carries community service or a fine, or is tried straight away as theft or robbery.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 246 CP

Article 246 of the Spanish Criminal Code: altering boundaries and markers

Moving a boundary stone, shifting a fence or ploughing beyond the line can be a criminal offence in Spain. Article 246 CP punishes altering boundaries, markers and landmarks with a fine, and turns the whole case on one figure: the benefit obtained and the 400 euro threshold.

September 5, 2026
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Article 265 CP

Article 265 of the Spanish Criminal Code: damage to Armed Forces and police property

Damaging a police vehicle, a military installation or any other asset assigned to the service of the Spanish Armed Forces or the State security forces has its own provision in the Criminal Code. Article 265 CP carries 2 to 4 years in prison, but only where the damage exceeds 1,000 euros; below that figure the case falls back to ordinary criminal damage.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 385 CP

Article 385 of the Spanish Criminal Code: serious risk to road traffic

Article 385 CP punishes creating a serious risk to road traffic by placing obstacles, spilling substances or tampering with signage, and also failing to restore the safety of the road where there is a duty to do so. It is the only offence in the road safety chapter that does not require driving.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 509 LECrim

Article 509 LECrim: Incommunicado Detention and Custody in Spain

Being held incommunicado is the most restrictive measure that can be ordered against a detained or imprisoned person. Article 509 LECrim subjects it to two closed grounds, a reasoned court order and a five-day limit. We explain which rights may be removed through Article 527 LECrim, which may not, and what guarantees survive.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 561 CP

Article 561 of the Spanish Criminal Code: false alarms and hoax emergency calls

Reporting a danger that does not exist and thereby mobilising police, firefighters or rescue services has its own offence in Spain: article 561 CP. Its decisive element is not the lie itself but the actual mobilisation of the emergency services that follows from it.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 66 CP

Article 66 of the Spanish Criminal Code: rules for setting the sentence

The penalty range attached to an offence is only the starting point. Article 66 CP holds the eight rules that force the court to move within that range in a specific way depending on the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and it is what turns "six months to three years" into an actual sentence.

September 5, 2026
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Article 757 LECrim

Article 757 LECrim: the scope of the abbreviated procedure in Spain

Article 757 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act decides which track a criminal case follows: up to nine years of custodial penalty, the abbreviated procedure; above that, the ordinary procedure. Steps, deadlines, the moment for a plea agreement and, in part, the trial court all depend on that boundary.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 779 LECrim

Article 779 LECrim: the Order Transforming a Case Into Abbreviated Proceedings

Article 779 LECrim contains the five possible ways out of preliminary proceedings. The fourth is the transformation order, the ruling that closes the investigation, fixes the punishable acts and identifies who they are imputed to. We explain each of the five decisions, their requirements and what happens next.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 962 LECrim

Article 962 LECrim: the Immediate Trial for a Minor Offence

The police summon the parties and the trial is held the same day at the on-duty court. Article 962 LECrim governs that mechanism for five groups of minor offences, with one decisive detail: the trial may go ahead even if the person summoned does not appear. We explain the list, the summonses and the way out offered by Article 963 LECrim.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 490 LECrim

Citizen's Arrest in Spain: Articles 490 and 495 LECrim

A security guard, a shop manager or any citizen may make an arrest in the seven cases listed in Article 490 LECrim. Article 495 LECrim sets the limit that is broken most often: there is no arrest for minor offences save in one exception. Outside those cases, holding someone may itself be an offence.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 637 LECrim

Free and Provisional Dismissal: Articles 637 and 641 LECrim

The closure of a criminal case does not always mean the same thing. Article 637 LECrim governs free dismissal, which ends the proceedings definitively, and Article 641 LECrim the provisional one, which suspends them pending new material. We compare the two article by article, with their grounds, their effects and the appeals available.

September 5, 2026
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Illegal Building Works

Building without a licence (art. 319 CP): when it stops being a fine and becomes a criminal offence

Art. 319 CP does not punish building without a licence: it punishes building what could never have been authorised on certain classes of land. The sentence, who answers for it and whether the court orders demolition all follow from that distinction.

September 5, 2026
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Cassation Appeal

Cassation Interest in Spanish Criminal Appeals (Art. 847.1.b) LECrim)

The route opened by Act 41/2015 to bring a cassation appeal against appeal judgments of the Provincial Courts. When it lies, how it is prepared, what must be shown and why refusal for lack of cassation interest is made by simple ruling.

September 5, 2026
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Case Law Analysis

49 articles
Case Law Analysis

Can Many Weak Clues Add Up to a Conviction? The Logic and Limits of Circumstantial Evidence

Ten suspicions do not make one proven fact: why piling up inconclusive circumstantial evidence cannot amount to conclusive proof, according to logic, case law and the best scholarship.

July 11, 2026
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Case Law Analysis

Citing the Wrong Article Does Not Cause Prejudice if the Facts Were Clear (STS 321/2026)

The Spanish Supreme Court holds that a numbering error in the prosecution's citation of the criminal provision does not breach the accusatory principle where the statement of facts clearly described the charged conduct and the accused was able to mount a defence.

June 17, 2026
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Case Law Analysis

Aggravated Bodily Harm with a Dangerous Instrument: a Discretionary, Not Automatic, Finding

The Spanish Supreme Court holds that Article 148.1 of the Criminal Code is not applied automatically: the court must weigh the instrument, the real risk created and the unlawfulness before imposing the aggravated sentence.

June 17, 2026
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Case Law Analysis

Aggravated Fraud and Undue Delay: When a Sentence Reduction Is Available

The Spanish Supreme Court sets out when the undue delay mitigating factor reaches the 'highly qualified' threshold and allows a sentence to be reduced by one or two degrees. Ordinary delay is not enough.

June 17, 2026
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Case Law Analysis

STS 1040/2025: Review Application Quashes Second Conviction for the Same Facts

The Spanish Supreme Court shows how the review application under Art. 954.1.c) of the Criminal Procedure Act corrects a double conviction for the same facts, with the first judgment prevailing and the second rendered void.

June 17, 2026
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Case Law Analysis

Initial Use of Violence Already Amounts to Commencement of a Sexual Assault in Spain

The Spanish Supreme Court has clarified that using violence to overcome a victim's resistance already constitutes a punishable act of attempted sexual assault, even if the sexual act itself never takes place. Case 10556/2025.

June 17, 2026
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Criminal Law Reforms

26 articles
Criminal Law Reforms

Organic Law 5/2024: The Right of Defence in Spain (2026)

Organic Law 5/2024 on the Right of Defence gives statutory form to Article 24 of the Constitution: professional secrecy, confidentiality of lawyer-client…

July 3, 2026
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Criminal Law Reforms

Organic Law 14/2022: New Embezzlement and Sedition Repeal

Organic Law 14/2022 reformed embezzlement (Arts. 432-435 CP) into graded offences and repealed sedition. What changed and how it affects your defence.

June 20, 2026
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Criminal Law Reforms

Hate Crimes and LGBTI Protection in Spain: What Really Changed

Law 4/2023 (the trans act) did not amend the Criminal Code: the wording in force of Art. 22.4 and Art. 510 CP comes from Organic Law 6/2022. Which law changed what.

June 20, 2026
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Criminal Law Reforms

Organic Law 13/2022: Payment Fraud and Cyber Scams

The payment-fraud reform is Organic Law 14/2022, not Organic Law 13/2022: it transposes Directive (EU) 2019/713 and rewrites arts. 248 and 249 CP against phishing.

June 19, 2026
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Criminal Law Reforms

Organic Law 4/2022: Abortion Clinic Harassment, Art. 172 quater

Organic Law 4/2022 added Article 172 quater CP to punish the harassment of women attending abortion clinics and their staff. What changed and defence lines.

June 19, 2026
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Criminal Law Reforms

Organic Law 8/2022: Judiciary Act Reform and Art. 570 bis CP

Organic Law 8/2022 did not touch the Criminal Code: it amended the Judiciary Act. The criminal organisation offence is Art. 570 bis CP, created by Organic Law 5/2010.

June 19, 2026
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Economic & Corporate

15 articlesView all →
Drug trafficking

Heroin Trafficking in Spain: Penalties, Aggravations and Defence (Art. 368 CP)

Heroin is a drug that causes serious harm to health: Art. 368 CP punishes its trafficking with 3 to 6 years. Penalties, aggravations and the weight of addiction.

June 20, 2026
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market abuse

Market Manipulation and Insider Trading: the Criminal Risk of the Financial Professional (Arts. 284 and 285 CP)

Traders, portfolio managers and compliance officers are exposed to the market-abuse offences of arts. 284 and 285 CP, where their professional status aggravates the penalty.

June 20, 2026
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Drug trafficking

MDMA and synthetic drug trafficking (art. 368 CP): why they cause serious harm to health and how the charge is defended

Why MDMA, methamphetamines and synthetic cannabinoids count as substances causing serious harm, what penalties art. 368 CP sets and how the charge is defended.

June 20, 2026
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Economic criminal law

Crimes against the market and consumers in Spain: false advertising, price manipulation and insider trading (Arts. 282 to 285 CP)

What Arts. 282 to 285 CP punish: misleading advertising, false billing, market and price manipulation and insider trading, with their penalties and lines of defence.

June 19, 2026
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Drug Trafficking

Drug Houses and Dealing Premises: the Aggravated Offence of Art. 369.1 CP

Using a flat or premises to sell drugs is trafficking under art. 368 CP and, where the premises are open to the public, it is aggravated under art. 369.1.3 CP.

June 18, 2026
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Drug Trafficking

Street Dealing and Minor Drug Trafficking: the Reduced Offence of Art. 368.2 CP

Art. 368.2 CP lets courts lower the penalty for low-level drug dealing. How it differs from shared consumption, and the lines of defence.

June 18, 2026
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Tax Crimes

6 articlesView all →
Cryptocurrency

DAC8 Crypto Tax Reporting Reaches Spain: When Undeclared Crypto Becomes a Criminal Offence

From 2026 the EU's DAC8 directive makes crypto platforms report clients' operations to the tax authorities. When does undeclared crypto become tax fraud under Article 305 CP in Spain?

July 23, 2026
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Economic Crime

Fake Invoices in Spain: Which Crime? Forgery, Accounting and Tax Offences (2026)

Fake invoices under Spanish law: document forgery (art. 392 CP), the accounting offence (art. 310), tax fraud above 120,000 euros per tax and year (art. 305), and how regularization works.

July 2, 2026
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Economic Criminal Law

Social Security and Subsidy Fraud: Articles 307 ter and 308 CP

Art. 307 ter CP punishes the fraudulent obtaining of benefits and art. 308 subsidy fraud. Timely repayment can extinguish criminal liability altogether.

June 18, 2026
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Tax Inspection

A Tax Authority Inspection in Spain: Your Rights and Criminal Defence

Has the tax authority started a tax inspection? We explain your rights, when an inspection can turn into a tax offence, and why you need a criminal lawyer…

April 13, 2026
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Tax Crimes

Accused of a Tax Crime in Spain? Defence Guide for Taxpayers

If the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) is investigating you or the prosecutor has filed criminal charges for tax fraud, this guide explains your rights and…

March 6, 2026
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Tax Fraud

Tax Fraud and the Regularization Strategy

Technical analysis of Article 305 CP: when tax non-payment becomes a crime and how to use voluntary regularization to avoid prison.

December 14, 2025
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Money Laundering

8 articlesView all →
Money Laundering

Money Laundering Through Front Men in Spain: Liability and Defence

Anyone lending their name as the holder of accounts, assets or companies may face money laundering charges under Art. 301 CP. Forms, mental element and defence.

August 4, 2026
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Money Laundering

Europe's New Anti-Money-Laundering Rulebook (AMLR and AMLA): Cash Limits and Criminal Exposure in Spain

The EU's single AML rulebook, the new Frankfurt-based AMLA authority and an EU-wide cash limit are coming. How they sit on top of money laundering under Article 301 CP in Spain.

July 23, 2026
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Money Laundering

Spain Abolishes the Golden Visa in 2025: The Money-Laundering and Criminal Risks That Remain

Since 3 April 2025 Spain no longer grants residency for buying property. The abolition creates no new offence, but the criminal risks attached to the scheme — money laundering above all — remain.

July 23, 2026
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Money Laundering

Money Laundering through Real Estate in Spain (Art. 301 CP)

How illicit money is funnelled into property deals, the red flags prosecutors look for and the lines of defence against art. 301 CP.

June 18, 2026
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Money Laundering

Money Laundering Laws in Spain: Expats and Investors Guide (2026)

Spain's anti-money laundering laws are among Europe's strictest. This guide explains how expats, property buyers, and business owners can inadvertently…

April 8, 2026
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Money Laundering

Money Laundering: Criminal Defence Guide 2026

Under investigation for money laundering? We explain the indicators the prosecution uses, the penalties provided for, the difference from self-laundering,…

March 4, 2026
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Labor Crimes

7 articlesView all →
Workers' Rights

Offences against Union Freedom and the Right to Strike in Spain: Art. 315 CP

Art. 315 CP punishes anyone who prevents or limits union freedom or the right to strike through deceit, abuse of a situation of need or coercion. Elements of the offence in force, boundaries with Arts. 314 and 311 CP, liability under Art. 318 CP, limitation periods, the weight of a labour inspection report and lines of defence.

August 18, 2026
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Workers' Rights

Workplace Discrimination as a Crime in Spain: Art. 314 CP Explained

Art. 314 CP punishes serious discrimination in employment with six months to two years in prison or a fine of twelve to twenty-four months, but only where, after an administrative order or penalty, equality is not restored and the financial harm is not repaired. Route, boundaries and defence.

August 17, 2026
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Workers' Rights

Illegal Labour Trafficking in Spain: Art. 312 CP and Employers

Art. 312 CP punishes with two to five years in prison illegal trafficking in labour, deceptive recruitment and the employment of foreign nationals without a permit under conditions that harm their rights. Criminal threshold, Art. 311 bis and employer defence.

August 12, 2026
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Workplace Safety

Fatal or Injury Workplace Accident: the Concurrence Between Art. 316 and Reckless Homicide

When a workplace accident causes death or serious injury, the endangerment offence of art. 316 CP does not absorb the result: it concurs with the reckless offence.

June 20, 2026
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Workers' Rights

The Labour Inspectorate: When the Employer Faces Criminal Liability

Obstructing or falsifying data before the Labour Inspectorate, and the offences against workers' rights (Arts. 311-318 CP): when criminal liability arises and how it is defended.

June 17, 2026
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Economic Crime

Workplace Safety Crimes: the Offence Against Workers' Safety (Art. 316 CP)

Arts. 316 to 318 CP punish whoever, being under a legal duty, fails to provide safety measures and thereby places workers' life or health in serious danger.

June 15, 2026
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Compliance & Prevention

19 articlesView all →
criminal compliance

Corporate AI Criminal Risk in Spain: The EU AI Act and Compliance

How to manage corporate AI criminal risk in Spain: the EU AI Act, corporate criminal liability under Article 31 bis CP and algorithmic governance.

June 20, 2026
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M&A

Criminal due diligence in M&A: Art. 130.2 of the Spanish Criminal Code

Why the buyer inherits the target's criminal liability under Art. 130.2 CP, and how criminal due diligence and R&W protect the deal in Spain.

June 20, 2026
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Criminal compliance

ESG and criminal compliance: how Article 31 bis CP can exempt a company from criminal liability in Spain

What corporate criminal liability under Art. 31 bis CP is, how an adequate compliance model can exempt the company, and where ESG risks fit today.

June 20, 2026
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Economic criminal law

Breaching international sanctions (EU, OFAC and UN): the criminal exposure in Spain and how it is defended

Breaching EU, OFAC or UN restrictive measures can amount in Spain to smuggling and money-laundering offences. We set out the legal framework and the defence.

June 19, 2026
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Compliance

How compliance exempts the company: Art. 31 bis 2 CP requirements

What a prevention model must satisfy for the legal person to be exempt from criminal liability in Spain, and how the company builds its defence.

June 18, 2026
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Compliance

The Corporate Internal Investigation After a Sign of Crime

Legal framework of the internal investigation: employee rights, validity of digital evidence, whistleblowing channel (Law 2/2023) and Art. 31 bis CP.

June 18, 2026
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Fraud & Scams

13 articlesView all →
Insurance Fraud

Insurance Fraud in Spain: When a Faked Claim Is a Crime

Faking or inflating a claim to collect an indemnity is fraud under Art. 248 CP: sentencing, Art. 250 aggravations, attempt, Art. 457 CP and defence.

August 12, 2026
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Fraud

Accused of Fraud in Spain: What to Do

You have been reported for fraud: what to do, when a failed business deal or a non-payment is a crime (Art. 248 CP), the line with a civil breach of contract, and how a dismissal is achieved.

July 23, 2026
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Summons to Testify

Summoned by the Cybercrime Unit: Your First Statement as a Suspect

Being summoned by Spain's cybercrime units over an online scam does not make you guilty. What it means, your rights (Art. 118 LECrim) and why the first statement decides almost everything.

June 22, 2026
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Computer Fraud

Computer Fraud in Spain (Art. 249.1.a CP): What It Is and How to Defend It

Computer fraud (Art. 249.1.a CP) punishes a non-consented transfer obtained through computer manipulation: phishing, banking malware, CEO fraud and SIM swapping.

June 19, 2026
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Fraud

Pyramid Schemes and Ponzi Fraud in Spain: How the Criminal Code Punishes Them

Pyramid schemes and Ponzi frauds are prosecuted in Spain as fraud under Articles 248 to 250 CP. Here are the offence, the sentences and the defence.

June 19, 2026
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Fraud

What Sentence Does Fraud Carry if You Have No Criminal Record?

Basic fraud (art. 249 CP): 6 months to 3 years in prison. With no priors and a suspended sentence (art. 80 CP), a first conviction may avoid prison.

June 12, 2026
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Misappropriation

8 articlesView all →
Undue Retention

Undue retention (art. 253 CP): when refusing to return something stops being a breach of contract

Failing to return a deposit, a tool, a vehicle or an advance payment is not in itself a criminal offence. Art. 253 CP requires a title creating a duty to return and an intent to appropriate that goes beyond non-payment. Where exactly the boundary with a civil claim runs.

September 5, 2026
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Misappropriation

Accused of Misappropriation in Spain: What to Do

You have been reported for misappropriation: what to do, when keeping something is genuinely a crime (Art. 253 CP), the line with a civil debt, and how a dismissal is achieved.

July 23, 2026
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Misappropriation

Misappropriation of an Inheritance: the Offence under Art. 253 CP

A co-heir, executor or administrator who appropriates assets from the estate to the detriment of the other heirs commits misappropriation (Art. 253 CP): imprisonment of six months to three years, or one to six years in the aggravated form.

July 14, 2026
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Misappropriation

Appropriation of property delivered by mistake (Art. 254 CP): what happens with a mistaken bank transfer and when it becomes a crime

Receiving a transfer or delivery by mistake is not a crime; keeping it while aware of the error is. We analyse Art. 254 CP, the duty to restore and the defence.

June 20, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 254 Criminal Code: Appropriation of Lost Property (2026)

What Article 254 of the Spanish Criminal Code punishes: appropriating another's movable property outside the misappropriation of Art. 253 (lost property, received by mistake or of unknown owner) and its penalties.

June 14, 2026
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Misappropriation

Misappropriation (Art. 253 Criminal Code): Defence Keys

Keeping money or goods received with a duty to return them is a crime (Art. 253 Criminal Code). Penalties, differences with fraud and defence.

May 31, 2026
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Theft, Robbery & Property

26 articlesView all →
Art. 236 CP

Article 236 of the Criminal Code: Taking Back Your Own Property

Driving your car out of the garage without paying for the repair, removing leased machinery or retrieving an attached asset from deposit can be an offence even though the item is yours. Article 236 CP protects lawful possession against the owner, with a fine of three to twelve months. We go through its elements, its penalties and how it is told apart from theft and from Article 455 CP.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 244 CP

Article 244 of the Criminal Code: Taking and Using Another Person's Vehicle

Taking a car or a motorcycle to use it and then return it is not ordinary theft: Article 244 CP creates a provision of its own built around a forty-eight-hour window for giving the vehicle back. That window decides whether the act carries community service or a fine, or is tried straight away as theft or robbery.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 246 CP

Article 246 of the Spanish Criminal Code: altering boundaries and markers

Moving a boundary stone, shifting a fence or ploughing beyond the line can be a criminal offence in Spain. Article 246 CP punishes altering boundaries, markers and landmarks with a fine, and turns the whole case on one figure: the benefit obtained and the 400 euro threshold.

September 5, 2026
Read
Article 265 CP

Article 265 of the Spanish Criminal Code: damage to Armed Forces and police property

Damaging a police vehicle, a military installation or any other asset assigned to the service of the Spanish Armed Forces or the State security forces has its own provision in the Criminal Code. Article 265 CP carries 2 to 4 years in prison, but only where the damage exceeds 1,000 euros; below that figure the case falls back to ordinary criminal damage.

September 5, 2026
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Criminal Code

Family Exemption from Criminal Liability (Art. 268 CP): When It Applies

Art. 268 CP exempts non-violent property offences between spouses and close relatives from punishment: who is covered, which offences fall within it, its limits (vulnerability, separation), and what remains: civil liability.

July 31, 2026
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Theft

Caught Shoplifting: How the Fast-Track Trial Works

You have been caught shoplifting: what happens, when it is an offence or minor theft (art. 234 CP), how the fast-track trial works, and the plea agreement under art. 801 LECrim.

July 21, 2026
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Sexual Offenses

46 articlesView all →
Stealthing

Stealthing in Spain: Condom Removal as Sexual Assault

Non-consensual condom removal is analysed as sexual assault following Organic Law 10/2022. Sentencing under Arts. 178 and 179 CP, evidence and defence.

August 4, 2026
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Sexting

Accused of Sharing Intimate Images in Spain: What to Do

You have been reported for sharing intimate photos or videos: what to do, why forwarding them is already the non-consensual sharing of intimate images (art. 197.7 CP), the aggravating factors, and how the defence is built.

July 23, 2026
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Sexual Offences

Accused of a Sexual Offence in Spain: Steps and Defence

If you have been reported or investigated for a sexual offence in Spain, the first rule is not to testify without a lawyer (Art. 118 LECrim). What to do and not do, and the procedural roadmap.

June 22, 2026
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child sexual abuse

The new EU directive on child sexual abuse: what changes and how it will affect Spain

Provisional EU deal (22 June 2026): penalties of up to 10-12 years, limitation periods of up to 32 years from adulthood, and new AI offences.

June 22, 2026
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Sexual Assault

Groping and Unwanted Touching: Sexual Assault and Defence (Art. 178 CP)

After LO 10/2022, sexual touching without consent is sexual assault (Art. 178 CP), punishable by 1 to 4 years. We explain the classification, the penalties and the lines of defence.

June 22, 2026
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sexual assault

Alcohol and sexual consent in Spain: when intoxication turns an encounter into sexual assault (Art. 178 CP)

When alcohol overrides the capacity to consent and turns an encounter into sexual assault under Art. 178 CP, the penalties it carries and how it is defended.

June 20, 2026
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Human Trafficking

10 articlesView all →
Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking for Labour Exploitation: Where the Offence against Workers' Rights Ends and Art. 177 bis CP Begins

Between paying below the collective agreement and forced labour there is a difference of five to eight years in prison. The line between Art. 311 CP, Art. 312 CP and trafficking under Art. 177 bis.1.a CP does not lie in the working conditions, but in the means used to recruit and hold the person.

August 27, 2026
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Human Trafficking

Trafficking for Forced Begging and Criminal Exploitation in Spain: Art. 177 bis CP

The two least-worked purposes under Art. 177 bis CP: begging in letter a) and exploitation to carry out criminal activities in letter c). The boundary with Art. 232 CP, the exemption from punishment in Art. 177 bis.11 CP for the victim who offends, aggravations and limitation periods.

August 18, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 172 bis Spanish Criminal Code: Forced Marriage (2026)

Article 172 bis of the Spanish Criminal Code: the offence of forced marriage, the modality of taking the victim abroad by deception, the aggravation for underage victims and the line with trafficking…

July 2, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 156 bis Spanish Criminal Code: Organ Trafficking, Offences and Penalties (2026)

Article 156 bis CP: what organ trafficking covers in Spain — promoting, facilitating, advertising or performing illegal transplants —, penalties of up to 12 years and the recipient's liability…

July 2, 2026
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Facilitating Illegal Immigration

Article 318 bis CP: Facilitating Illegal Immigration (and How It Differs from Trafficking)

Art. 318 bis CP punishes helping a non-EU national to enter or transit through Spain in breach of immigration law, unless the help is purely humanitarian. A fine of 3 to 12 months or 3 months to 1 year in prison, far below human trafficking.

June 23, 2026
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Prostitution

Hostess Club Owner or Manager: Criminal Liability in Spain and Defence

Running a hostess club is not, in itself, a crime: voluntary adult prostitution is not criminalised in Spain. Criminal risk arises with exploitation (Art. 187 CP) or trafficking (Art. 177 bis). We explain the line and the defence.

June 22, 2026
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Life & Physical Integrity

19 articlesView all →
Article 141 CP

Article 141 of the Spanish Criminal Code: incitement, conspiracy and proposal to commit homicide or murder

As a rule the Spanish Criminal Code punishes acts that have been carried out. Article 141 CP is one of the listed exceptions: it moves criminal liability back to the preparatory stage and punishes incitement, conspiracy and proposal to commit homicide or murder with the penalty reduced by one or two degrees.

September 5, 2026
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Assault

Accused of Assault After a Fight in Spain: What to Do

You have been reported for bodily harm after a fight: what to do, when it is a minor offence or an offence (Art. 147 CP), when self-defence applies, and what happens if both parties were injured.

July 23, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 148 CP: Aggravated Bodily Harm · Weapons and Treachery (2026)

Art. 148 CP: when injuries under art. 147.1 are aggravated to imprisonment of 2 to 5 years for the use of weapons, cruelty or treachery, a victim under 14 or vulnerable, or for being or having been the perpetrator's partner — and why that aggravation is discretionary.

July 16, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 139 Spanish Criminal Code: The Offence of Murder (2026)

Article 139 of the Spanish Criminal Code: murder and its four qualifying circumstances, the 15 to 25 year prison range, and the reviewable permanent imprisonment cases of Article 140.

July 2, 2026
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Medical Negligence

Medical negligence resulting in death: reckless professional homicide in Spain (Art. 142 CP)

When a patient's death from malpractice is tried as reckless homicide under Art. 142 CP, how it is defended and how the family pursues a private prosecution.

June 20, 2026
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Bodily Harm

Negligent Bodily Injury: Article 152 CP and the Line Between Gross and Less Serious Negligence

Injuring someone unintentionally can be a crime in Spain if there is gross negligence (Art. 152 CP). The penalty ranges from a fine to prison by injury severity.

June 20, 2026
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Other Crimes Against Persons

9 articlesView all →
Art. 450 CP

Failure to Prevent an Offence (Art. 450 CP): When Not Acting Is a Crime in Spain

Witnessing an assault and doing nothing can be a criminal offence. Art. 450 CP punishes anyone who, able to intervene immediately and without risk, fails to prevent an offence against life, physical integrity, liberty or sexual freedom, and also anyone who fails to alert the authorities. Elements, penalties and the line against Art. 11 and Art. 195 CP.

September 5, 2026
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Moral Integrity

The Crime Against Moral Integrity Under Article 173.1 CP: Degrading Treatment, Mobbing and Harassment

Guide to the crime against moral integrity under art. 173.1 CP: degrading treatment, workplace and housing harassment, torture (art. 174) and art. 177.

July 18, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 163 Spanish Criminal Code: Unlawful Detention and Kidnapping (2026)

Article 163 of the Spanish Criminal Code: what unlawful detention is, the 4-to-6-year basic penalty, the reduction for releasing the victim in 3 days, and kidnapping under art. 164…

July 2, 2026
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Extortion

Article 243 CP: the Offence of Extortion in Spain (Penalties & Defence)

Art. 243 CP punishes with 1 to 5 years in prison forcing another, for profit and through violence or intimidation, to perform or omit a legal act to the detriment of their assets. The victim's act of disposition is what sets it apart from robbery and coercion.

June 23, 2026
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Criminal Law

Genetic Manipulation: the Offences of Articles 159 to 162 CP

The genetic manipulation offences (Arts. 159 to 162 of the Criminal Code): altering the genotype, cloning, fertilising eggs for a purpose other than procreation, and the penalties and disqualification.

June 17, 2026
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Workplace Harassment

Workplace Harassment (Mobbing): When It Is a Crime

Not every workplace conflict is mobbing. We explain when workplace harassment constitutes an offence under Art.

May 20, 2026
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Family & Domestic Violence

14 articlesView all →
Gender Violence

Accused of Gender Violence in Spain: What to Do

Your partner or ex-partner has reported you for gender violence: what to do, the mistake of contacting her, the protection order, the Violence against Women Section, and the fast-track trial.

July 23, 2026
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Gender Violence

Arrested for Gender Violence: The First 24 Hours

Arrested for gender violence: your rights at the police station (art. 520 LECrim), the protection order, the fast-track trial, and the mistake of contacting your partner.

July 21, 2026
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Gender Violence

Domestic Abuse in Spain: Art. 153 (Occasional) vs Art. 173.2 (Habitual)

Domestic abuse in Spain is not the offence of bodily harm: it is occasional abuse under Art. 153 CP or habitual abuse under Art. 173.2 CP. We explain the difference, the penalties and the defence, with full respect for the presumption of innocence.

June 23, 2026
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Family Offences

Parental Child Abduction in Spain: Art. 225 bis CP and How It Is Defended

Art. 225 bis CP punishes a parent who abducts their own child with 2 to 4 years in prison. We explain removal, retention, the restitution exemption and defence.

June 20, 2026
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Procedural Law

The Article 416 LECrim Exemption Explained: When a Relative May Refuse to Testify

What the Article 416 LECrim exemption is, who can rely on it, its five exceptions and what happens if you report and later choose to stay silent.

June 12, 2026
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Police Custody

Is a Complaint Enough to Arrest? Gender Violence and Sexual Assault

When can police arrest after a complaint of gender violence or sexual assault? Evidence, purpose, proportionality and why a complaint alone is not enough.

June 4, 2026
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Crimes Against Liberty

11 articlesView all →
Threats

Threats and Coercion by WhatsApp and Social Media in Spain

When a message on WhatsApp or social media becomes threats (Arts. 169-171 CP) or coercion (Art. 172 CP), the aggravation for the medium used and what digital evidence really proves.

August 12, 2026
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Threats

Accused of Threats in Spain: What to Do

You have been reported for threats: what to do, when a remark is an offence (arts. 169-171 CP), how much context matters in WhatsApp messages and arguments, and how a dismissal is achieved.

July 21, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Minor Coercion (Art. 172.3 CP): Minor Offence, Penalty and Defence

Art. 172.3 CP: what minor coercion is, why it is a minor offence punished only with a fine, when a report is required, and how it is defended.

July 14, 2026
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Threats

Threats with a Bladed Weapon or Firearm: the Offence under Art. 169 CP

Displaying a knife or a gun while making a threat does not create an autonomous offence, but it turns the threat into a serious one, can trigger art. 171.5 CP within the family, and may coincide with illegal possession of weapons.

July 14, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 171 Spanish Criminal Code: Blackmail and Conditional Threats (2026)

Article 171 of the Spanish Criminal Code: conditional threats of non-criminal harm, blackmail by threatening to reveal private facts, minor threats in gender and domestic violence cases, and every penalty involved.

July 2, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 202 Spanish Criminal Code: Trespass of a Dwelling — Breaking and Entering (2026)

Article 202 of the Spanish Criminal Code (CP): trespass of a dwelling, entering or remaining without consent, the aggravated form with violence or intimidation, and how it differs from squatting…

July 2, 2026
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Crimes Against Honor & Dignity

9 articlesView all →
Insults

Suing for insults or slander in Spain: prior conciliation, the one-year limit and retraction

Offences against honour are not pursued by a police report. They require a private prosecution by the injured party, a prior conciliation hearing under art. 804 LECrim and a one-year limitation period, the shortest in the Criminal Code. A mistake in any of the three closes the door.

September 5, 2026
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Arts. 522-526 CP

Offences Against Freedom of Conscience and Religious Feelings in Spain (Arts. 522 to 526 CP)

Arts. 522 to 526 CP protect freedom of conscience, religious feelings and respect for the memory of the dead. They are narrowly construed, with an exhaustive list of means and a demanding subjective element, and they sit on the boundary with freedom of expression. Conduct, penalties and the line against Art. 510 CP.

September 5, 2026
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Crimes Against Honor

The Offence of Insults: Articles 208 to 210 CP, Penalties and Defence

Article 208 CP defines an insult as an expression that harms another person's dignity. Only serious insults are crimes. Penalties, online insults and defence.

June 17, 2026
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Crimes Against Honor

Slander as a Criminal Offence (Art. 205 CP): Penalties and Defence

What slander is under Arts. 205-207 CP: falsely imputing a crime, penalties with and without publicity, the exceptio veritatis and how it is defended.

June 17, 2026
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Slander

Slander and Insults on Social Media: Defence

Posting a false accusation or a serious insult online can be a crime. The difference between slander and insult, penalties and defence strategy.

May 30, 2026
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Offences Against Honour

Slander and Insult: Differences, Penalties and Defence ▷ 2026 Guide

Accused of slander or insult? We explain the difference between these offences, the exceptio veritatis, the penalties and the most effective defence…

March 4, 2026
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Road Safety

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Art. 385 CP

Article 385 of the Spanish Criminal Code: serious risk to road traffic

Article 385 CP punishes creating a serious risk to road traffic by placing obstacles, spilling substances or tampering with signage, and also failing to restore the safety of the road where there is a duty to do so. It is the only offence in the road safety chapter that does not require driving.

September 5, 2026
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Confiscation

Confiscation of the Vehicle and the Instrumentalities of an Offence in Spain: When It Applies and How to Oppose It

Article 385 bis CP does not order the car to be confiscated: it classifies it as an instrumentality and refers to Articles 127 and 128. What confiscation reaches, how proportionality works, what happens when the asset belongs to a third party, and what can be done before judgment.

September 5, 2026
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Breathalyser

Challenging the Breathalyser: How Drink-Driving Evidence Is Set Aside

A positive breathalyser reading is not an automatic conviction: the defence can challenge it over type-approval, calibration, the double reading or margin of error.

June 20, 2026
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road safety

Positive Saliva Drug Test: How It Is Challenged Under Art. 379.2 CP

A roadside saliva drug test is only a preliminary screening: without lab confirmation or proven impairment, a positive result is challengeable and not a conviction.

June 20, 2026
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Road Safety

Drink-Driving With an Accident and Injuries: The Concurrence of Arts. 379.2, 142 and 152 CP

Drink-driving and causing an accident with injured people is two crimes in Spain: Art. 379.2 CP plus the result offence (142 or 152 CP). Art. 382 sets the penalty.

June 20, 2026
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road safety

Your Rights at a Traffic Stop in Spain: A Driver's Practical Guide

Your rights at an alcohol or drug checkpoint in Spain: information, a blood counter-analysis, the double reading, legal assistance and limits on searching the car.

June 20, 2026
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Corporate Crimes

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Corporate Crimes

Crimes in the Family Business in Spain: the Art. 268 CP Family Exemption

Art. 268 CP exempts property offences between close relatives from punishment, but in a family business it rarely resolves the case: where the company is the injured party the exemption does not apply, and the corporate offences of Arts. 290 to 294 CP fall outside it. Limits, characterisation, Art. 296 CP and lines of defence.

August 18, 2026
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Corporate Crimes

Denial of Shareholder Rights in Spain: Art. 293 CP Explained

Art. 293 CP punishes with a fine of six to twelve months the director who, without legal cause, denies or prevents a shareholder from exercising the rights of information, participation in management or control of company business, and pre-emptive subscription. Elements of the offence, boundaries with Arts. 290 to 294 CP and the director's defence.

August 17, 2026
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Corporate Crimes

Accused of Unfair Administration in Spain: What to Do

A partner or the company has reported you for unfair administration: what to do, when a management decision is a crime (Art. 252 CP), the line with a commercial dispute, and how the defence is built.

July 23, 2026
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Corporate Crime

Abusive Shareholder Resolutions: Article 291 of the Criminal Code

Article 291 CP punishes those who, abusing their majority, impose abusive resolutions to the detriment of the other shareholders and without any benefit to the company.

June 17, 2026
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Corporate Crime

Obstructing Supervision or Inspection (Art. 294 CP)

What obstruction of inspection or supervisory activity is under Art. 294 CP: who is liable, in which regulated markets, the penalties, and how it is defended.

June 17, 2026
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Corporate Crime

False Accounts: The Offence of Art. 290 of the Criminal Code

Article 290 CP punishes the director who falsifies the annual accounts or other company documents in a way capable of causing financial harm.

June 14, 2026
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Forgery & Counterfeiting

10 articlesView all →
Criminal Code

False Certificates (Arts. 397-399 CP): Penalties by Who Issues Them

False certificates carry lighter penalties than ordinary document forgery. We explain what Arts. 397 to 399 CP punish depending on whether the offender is a doctor, an official or a private individual.

July 14, 2026
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Criminal Code

Use of a False Document (Arts. 393 and 396 CP): The Penalty for the User, Not the Forger

Knowingly using a false document is a crime even if you did not create it. We explain the penalties under Arts. 393 and 396 CP, always one degree lower than the forger's, and the knowledge requirement.

July 14, 2026
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Document Forgery

Article 392 CP: Document Forgery by a Private Individual (Material vs Ideological)

Art. 392 CP punishes a private individual who materially forges a public, official or commercial document, not a mere lie in its content. Six months to 3 years in prison plus a fine of 6 to 12 months.

June 23, 2026
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Counterfeiting

I Received a Counterfeit Note in Good Faith and Spent It: Is It a Crime? (Art. 386 CP)

Paying with a counterfeit note without knowing it was fake is not a crime. It is only an offence to pass it on once you know it is counterfeit, and with a far lower penalty than the forger's (3-6 months or a fine), not the 8-12 years of the maker.

June 23, 2026
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document forgery

Forgery of Postage Stamps and Stamped Effects (Art. 389 CP)

Article 389 CP punishes forging or distributing postage stamps and stamped effects in Spain. Offence, penalties by role and value, and lines of defence.

June 20, 2026
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Usurpation of functions

Usurpation of public functions (Art. 402 CP): when impersonating an authority or public officer is a crime in Spain

What Art. 402 CP punishes, how it differs from the improper use of a uniform (402 bis) and from professional intrusion (403), and how this charge is defended.

June 20, 2026
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Public Order

18 articlesView all →
Art. 561 CP

Article 561 of the Spanish Criminal Code: false alarms and hoax emergency calls

Reporting a danger that does not exist and thereby mobilising police, firefighters or rescue services has its own offence in Spain: article 561 CP. Its decisive element is not the lie itself but the actual mobilisation of the emergency services that follows from it.

September 5, 2026
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Undercover Agent

Undercover Agents in Spain (Art. 282 bis LECrim): Requirements, Limits and Entrapment

Police infiltration is available only in investigations into organised crime and only with a reasoned decision. The requirements of Art. 282 bis LECrim, the assumed identity, the agent immunity, the online undercover agent, and the line between entrapment and lawful evidence gathering.

September 5, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 568 Spanish Criminal Code: Possession and Storage of Explosives · Penalties and Defence (2026)

Art. 568 CP: unauthorised possession, storage, manufacture or transport of explosive, flammable, incendiary or asphyxiating substances, with imprisonment of 4 to 8 years for promoters and 3 to 5 years for cooperators.

July 14, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Disrespecting a Police Officer or an Authority: Is It a Crime? (Art. 556 CP)

Disrespecting a police officer has been decriminalised since LO 1/2015: it is an administrative offence under Art. 37.4 LO 4/2015 (fine of EUR 100 to 600). Art. 556.2 CP only punishes disrespect towards the authority; serious resistance, disobedience and assault remain crimes.

July 14, 2026
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Weapons

Weapon Possession Laws in Spain: A Guide to Arts. 563-570 CP

What weapon possession law says in Spain: prohibited weapons and unlicensed firearms (Arts. 563-564 CP), stockpiling of weapons and munitions (Arts. 566-567 CP) and explosives (Art. 568 CP), with the penalties for each.

July 14, 2026
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Weapons

Are Stun Guns or Tasers Legal in Spain?

Stun guns and tasers are prohibited weapons in Spain: possession by private citizens can be an offence under Article 563 CP, with 1 to 3 years in prison.

July 5, 2026
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Drug Trafficking

18 articlesView all →
Cannabis

Is CBD Legal in Spain? Sale, Flower, Cultivation and Driving (2026)

CBD is not a controlled narcotic, but its sale, flower products, cultivation and driving after using it sit between what is permitted, what is administrative, and Art. 368 CP. A clear criminal-law guide.

July 31, 2026
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Public Health

Pharmaceutical Crimes in Spain: Unauthorised Medicines, Counterfeits and Anabolic Steroids (Arts. 361 to 362 quinquies CP)

Guide to pharmaceutical crimes under arts. 361 to 362 quinquies CP: unauthorised and counterfeit medicines, anabolic steroids, penalties and defense.

July 18, 2026
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Criminal Code

Hashish and Marijuana Trafficking (Art. 368 CP): Penalties and Large Quantity

Cannabis trafficking is punished more leniently than cocaine or heroin because it does not cause serious harm to health. We explain the penalties under Art. 368 CP, the large-quantity (notoria importancia) threshold, and why it is calculated on net weight, not THC content.

July 14, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 368 Spanish Criminal Code: The Drug Trafficking Offence (2026)

Article 368 of the Spanish Criminal Code: drug trafficking penalties by substance (3-6 or 1-3 years), the mitigated subtype of 368.2 and the aggravated forms of articles 369 and 370.

July 2, 2026
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Drug Trafficking

Arrested with Drugs at a Spanish Airport: What to Do and How to Defend It

Being arrested at Barajas or El Prat with drugs —as a 'courier' or for transport, including body-packing— is an offence against public health (Art. 368 CP), often aggravated. The defence focuses on lack of knowledge of the load, the lawfulness of the search and the evidence.

June 22, 2026
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Drug Trafficking

Illegal Search and Seizure in Drug Cases in Spain

In drug cases the evidence almost always comes from a search. If the search of the car, the home or the person was carried out without safeguards, the evidence may be excluded (Art. 11.1 LOPJ) and drag down everything derived from it.

June 22, 2026
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Public Administration

12 articlesView all →
Crimes against Public Administration

Illegal Exactions in Spain: Art. 437 CP and Improper Charges by Officials

Art. 437 CP punishes the official who demands fees, tariffs or professional bills that are not owed or that exceed the legal amount. No custodial penalty, suspension rather than disqualification, an offence complete on the demand and time-barred after five years: the elements, the boundaries and the lines of defence.

August 18, 2026
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Crimes against Public Administration

Public Officer Fraud in Spain: Art. 436 CP in Public Procurement

Art. 436 CP punishes the official who colludes with interested parties or uses any other device to defraud a public entity. It is complete without any loss, it fixes a penalty of its own for the colluding private party, it becomes time-barred after ten years, and it must be told apart from bribery, misconduct in office and embezzlement.

August 18, 2026
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Crimes against Public Administration

Breach of Document Custody by Public Officials in Spain: Arts. 413-416 CP

Art. 413 CP punishes with one to four years in prison, a fine of seven to twenty-four months and special disqualification of three to six years the authority or public official who knowingly removes, destroys, renders useless or conceals documents in their custody. Concept of document, direct intent, boundaries and a ten-year limitation period.

August 17, 2026
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Crimes against Public Administration

Prohibited Negotiations by Public Officials in Spain: Art. 439 CP in Practice

Art. 439 CP punishes the official who, having to intervene by reason of office, exploits that position to secure a share in the business. Elements of the offence, Arts. 440 and 441 CP, the duty to abstain, boundaries with bribery and misconduct in office, and why the limitation period is ten years.

August 17, 2026
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Public Administration

Malfeasance vs Influence Peddling: Differences and the Extraneus

Art. 404 against arts. 428 to 430 CP: who can be a principal, whether a decision is needed, penalties and completion. And where a private individual stands.

August 7, 2026
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Electoral Crimes

Electoral Crimes in Spain (LOREG): Who Is Liable and Defence

Electoral offences sit in the LOREG, not in the CP. Who is liable (polling station members, officials, agents, private individuals), conduct, penalties and defence.

August 4, 2026
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Territory & Environment

12 articlesView all →
Flora and Fauna

Flora and fauna offences (arts. 332-336 CP): illegal hunting, fishing and prohibited methods in Spain

Hunting or fishing outside the rules is not always an administrative fine. Arts. 332 to 336 CP punish conduct affecting protected species, poaching on someone else’s shoot and the use of poison or non-selective methods, with disqualification from hunting or fishing even when the sentence is a fine.

September 5, 2026
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Planning Malfeasance

Planning malfeasance (art. 320 CP): when the official who reports, votes or fails to inspect is liable

Art. 320 CP does not punish the person who builds but the public official who reports favourably on an unlawful licence, votes for it, conceals the breach during an inspection or fails to inspect when required. What the offence requires, what it carries and why it takes fifteen years to become time-barred.

September 5, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Damage to Historical Heritage (Art. 323 CP): Graffiti, Monuments and Listed Sites

Art. 323 CP: why damaging a monument or spraying graffiti on a listed heritage site is a standalone offence, what penalty it carries, and how it differs from ordinary criminal damage.

July 14, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Looting of Historical Heritage (Art. 323 CP): Archaeological Sites and Metal Detectors

Art. 323 CP: what archaeological looting is, why using metal detectors on protected sites is a criminal offence, what penalty it carries and how it is defended.

July 14, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Articles 319 and 320 Spanish Criminal Code: Illegal Building and Planning Malfeasance (2026)

Articles 319 and 320 CP: penalties for illegal building on protected and non-developable land in Spain, court-ordered demolition, and the planning malfeasance of public officials.

July 2, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Articles 351 and 352 Spanish Criminal Code: Arson and Forest Fires (2026)

Articles 351 to 358 bis of the Spanish Criminal Code: arson endangering people (10 to 20 years), forest fires (1 to 5 years plus a fine), the aggravated offence and fires caused by gross negligence…

July 2, 2026
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Criminal Procedure

150 articlesView all →
Procedural Law

The Abbreviated Criminal Procedure in Spain (Arts. 757-793 LECrim)

The route through which most criminal cases in Spain are processed. Scope, preliminary proceedings, intermediate stage, preliminary hearing, trial and appeals, with the differences from ordinary committal proceedings and from fast-track trials.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 118 LECrim

Article 118 LECrim: the Right of Defence of a Suspect in Spain

Article 118 LECrim sets out when the right of defence begins and what it contains: information about the facts, access to the case file before making a statement, a lawyer of free choice, a private interview, silence and the privilege against self-incrimination. We go through the wording and the practical traps of each letter.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 509 LECrim

Article 509 LECrim: Incommunicado Detention and Custody in Spain

Being held incommunicado is the most restrictive measure that can be ordered against a detained or imprisoned person. Article 509 LECrim subjects it to two closed grounds, a reasoned court order and a five-day limit. We explain which rights may be removed through Article 527 LECrim, which may not, and what guarantees survive.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 66 CP

Article 66 of the Spanish Criminal Code: rules for setting the sentence

The penalty range attached to an offence is only the starting point. Article 66 CP holds the eight rules that force the court to move within that range in a specific way depending on the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and it is what turns "six months to three years" into an actual sentence.

September 5, 2026
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Article 757 LECrim

Article 757 LECrim: the scope of the abbreviated procedure in Spain

Article 757 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act decides which track a criminal case follows: up to nine years of custodial penalty, the abbreviated procedure; above that, the ordinary procedure. Steps, deadlines, the moment for a plea agreement and, in part, the trial court all depend on that boundary.

September 5, 2026
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Art. 779 LECrim

Article 779 LECrim: the Order Transforming a Case Into Abbreviated Proceedings

Article 779 LECrim contains the five possible ways out of preliminary proceedings. The fourth is the transformation order, the ruling that closes the investigation, fixes the punishable acts and identifies who they are imputed to. We explain each of the five decisions, their requirements and what happens next.

September 5, 2026
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Crimes Against Justice Administration

13 articlesView all →
Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 451 Spanish Criminal Code: Accessory After the Fact (Encubrimiento) (2026)

Article 451 of the Spanish Criminal Code: the offence of encubrimiento (accessory after the fact), its three forms, the penalty cap of art. 452 and the family exemption of art. 454.

July 2, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 455 Spanish Criminal Code: Taking the Law Into Your Own Hands (2026)

Article 455 of the Spanish Criminal Code: enforcing your own right by force, the fine of 6 to 12 months, the weapons aggravation and the line separating it from robbery and coercion.

July 2, 2026
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False Testimony

False Testimony in Civil and Employment Cases (Art. 458 CP)

Lying as a witness in a civil or employment trial is a crime in Spain. We examine Art. 458 CP and its penalties, why the Art. 462 CP exemption does not reach civil cases, and how the defence is built.

June 20, 2026
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Crimes Against the Administration of Justice

Retraction of False Testimony (Art. 462 CP)

A witness who lied but corrects course in time can be exempt from punishment. We examine Art. 462 CP, its requirements, its limits and the keys to the defence.

June 20, 2026
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false testimony

Inducement to False Testimony: Presenting False Witnesses (Art. 461 CP)

Knowingly presenting false witnesses or lying experts is a crime in Spain. We examine Art. 461 CP, the mirror penalties, the aggravated offence and the defence.

June 20, 2026
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Complaint

I Was Falsely Accused and the Case Was Dismissed: Can I Sue?

How to prosecute a false accusation (art. 456 CP) after a dismissal: the requirement of a final decision, proving intent, what you can claim, and the alternative of calumny.

June 12, 2026
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Prison Law

18 articlesView all →
Sentence Enforcement

Enforcing a Criminal Judgment in Spain: Finality, Sentence Computation and Incidents

What happens once a criminal judgment becomes final: the declaration of finality, sentence computation, the decision on suspension or substitution by expulsion, formal requirements, committal to prison and the incidents of the enforcement file.

September 5, 2026
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Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice and Victim-Offender Mediation in Spain: When It Applies and What It Changes

Mediation does not make criminal proceedings disappear, but it produces measurable effects: the mitigating circumstance of reparation, a condition of suspension under Article 84.1.1 CP and, for juveniles, discontinuance of the file. Requirements under Article 15 of Law 4/2015, timing, and the bar in gender violence cases.

September 5, 2026
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Penitentiary Law

Prison Disciplinary Proceedings in Spain: Offences, Sanctions and Appeals to the Supervision Judge (2026)

Prison disciplinary offences and sanctions under Art. 42 LOGP, procedural safeguards, written statement of charges and appeals to the Prison Supervision Judge.

July 18, 2026
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Prison Law

Prison Transfer in Spain: Who Decides It and How to Request One (2026)

Who decides prison transfers in Spain, how to request one on family grounds and how to fight a refusal: petition, JVP complaint and judicial review.

July 18, 2026
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Prison Law

A Family Member in Pretrial Detention in Spain: Money, Packages and Visits

Your relative has been remanded into pretrial detention in Spain: how to send money through the inmate's account, what you can and cannot put in a package, and how to arrange a visiting-room or contact visit.

July 11, 2026
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Prison Law

Prisoner Transfer from Spain: Serving Your Sentence in Your Home Country (2026)

How a foreign national convicted in Spain can be transferred to serve the sentence at home: the EU route (Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA, Law 23/2014) and the Strasbourg Convention route for the UK and non-EU states.

July 3, 2026
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Cybercrime

26 articlesView all →
Fraud

Generative AI Scams: Deepfakes, CEO Fraud and Defence in Spain

Fake videos in investment ads, impersonated video calls and AI-cloned websites. Which offence applies, what penalties follow and how each position is defended.

August 4, 2026
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Digital Evidence

The E-Evidence Regulation: European Production Orders for Your Data from 18 August 2026

Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 applies from 18 August 2026: a judicial authority in one Member State can order your provider to hand over data in ten days. What it covers, and how the defence responds.

August 3, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 264 Spanish Criminal Code: Computer Damage and Sabotage (2026)

Article 264 of the Spanish Criminal Code punishes deleting, damaging or altering another's data without authorisation. The aggravated forms, system sabotage (264 bis) and why ransomware adds extortion.

July 2, 2026
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Data protection

Creating an AI nude from a real photo: unlawful processing of personal data

Spain's data protection authority treats generating and sharing an AI nude from a real photo as unlawful processing of personal data, and also a crime.

June 24, 2026
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Money Mule

Fake 'Payment Manager' Job Offer: How You Are Turned Into a Money Mule

Fake 'payment manager' or 'financial agent' job offers are the usual way to recruit money mules without their knowledge. If you fell for one, that prior deception is the basis of your defence.

June 22, 2026
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Money Mule

Money Mule in Spain: What Criminal Risk You Face and How to Defend It

Lending your account to receive and forward money from a scam is not a stand-alone offence: it is prosecuted as money laundering (Art. 301 CP), participation in the fraud or receiving stolen goods. The key is whether you knew the origin of the money.

June 22, 2026
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Privacy & Confidentiality

9 articlesView all →
Art. 197 CP

Installing a Tracking App on Your Partner's Phone: Why It's a Crime and the Penalty

Tracking and partner-control apps are marketed as family safety tools, but installing one without consent on someone else's phone fits Art. 197 CP, carrying imprisonment of one to four years. What exactly is punished, when it is aggravated, and why evidence obtained this way is useless in court.

August 27, 2026
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Medical Records

Unlawful Access to Medical Records: Art. 197.2 CP in Spain

Looking up someone else's medical record or health data without authorisation: Art. 197.2 CP, the Art. 197.5 aggravation, the file controller and the data-protection boundary.

August 12, 2026
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Criminal Law Dictionary

Article 199 Spanish Criminal Code: Breach of Professional Secrecy · Penalties and Defence (2026)

Art. 199 CP: revealing another person's secrets learned through one's occupation or work, the aggravated form for the professional with a duty of secrecy, the prior report requirement and the penalties.

July 13, 2026
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Industrial Espionage

Industrial Espionage (Art. 278 CP) in Spain: Criminal Defence

Industrial espionage (Arts. 278-280 CP) protects trade secrets with penalties of up to 4 years in prison.

May 14, 2026
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Offences Against Privacy

Disclosure of Secrets: 2026 Guide (Phones, Emails and the Workplace)

When is it an offence to look at your partner's phone or read an employee's emails? We analyse Art.

February 6, 2026
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Privacy

Disclosure of Secrets: Digital Privacy and the Workplace

Circulating an intimate video, accessing your partner's email or stealing your company's client list. It is all in Art.

January 16, 2026
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Crypto Scams

11 articlesView all →
Economic Crime

The EU Asset Recovery and Confiscation Directive (2024/1260): What Changes Before November 2026

Directive (EU) 2024/1260 must be transposed by 23 November 2026: asset recovery offices, non-conviction-based confiscation and confiscation of unexplained wealth linked to organised crime.

August 3, 2026
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Cryptocurrencies

Seizure and Freezing of Crypto Assets in Spanish Criminal Proceedings (Art. 127 et seq. CP)

How crypto assets are confiscated and frozen in a Spanish criminal case: Articles 127 to 127 octies CP, the limbs of the measure, securing and defence.

June 20, 2026
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Cryptocurrency

Your Crypto Platform Loses Its Licence on 1 July 2026: What to Do

On 1 July 2026 the Spanish MiCA transition ends: only authorised CASPs may operate. How to check your platform and claim your funds if they are withheld.

June 12, 2026
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Cryptocurrency

Emerging Crypto-Asset Crimes: Digital Euro, Smart Contracts, DAOs and Influencers (2026 Guide)

Complete guide to the new criminal risks of the crypto ecosystem: the Digital Euro and money laundering, smart contracts with backdoors, liability in DAOs, influencer promotions and AI voice-cloning vishing.

June 11, 2026
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Fraud

Recovering Money from a Cryptocurrency Scam: Legal Guide 2026

Have you been scammed with Bitcoin, fake investments or fraudulent trading platforms? We explain the real legal routes to recover your money and the…

March 18, 2026
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Money Laundering

Cryptocurrency and Money Laundering in Spain: Criminal Risks

Owning, trading, or transferring cryptocurrency in Spain carries criminal risks that many investors ignore.

February 26, 2026
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