Article 147 Spanish Criminal Code: The Offence of Bodily Harm (2026)
In this article
Key Takeaways
- Medical treatment = less serious offence
- First aid only = minor offence
- Aggravating factors: weapons, partner, children
- Self-defence may exclude liability
Article 147 of the Spanish Criminal Code is the basic offence of bodily harm: causing an injury that impairs another's bodily integrity or physical or mental health. Where the injury requires medical or surgical treatment beyond first aid, the penalty is 3 months to 3 years in prison or a fine of 6 to 12 months (Art. 147.1); where only first aid was needed, it is a minor offence punished with a fine (Art. 147.2). Aggravated forms (Arts. 148-150 CP) apply where weapons are used, the victim is a child or partner, or there is loss of an organ or serious disfigurement, and self-defence can exclude liability altogether.
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Article 147 of the Spanish Criminal Code is the basic provision for the offence of bodily harm. It punishes anyone who causes another an injury that impairs their bodily integrity or their physical or mental health. As assault and bodily harm defence lawyers, we explain its key features.
Art. 147.1 CP — Basic Offence
Article 147.1 of the Spanish Criminal Code punishes anyone who, by any means or procedure, causes another an injury impairing their bodily integrity or their physical or mental health, provided the injury objectively requires, in addition to first aid, medical or surgical treatment in order to heal. The penalty is 3 months to 3 years in prison or a fine of 6 to 12 months. Mere observation or medical monitoring of the injury does not count as treatment.
Art. 147.2 CP — Injuries of Lesser Gravity
Article 147.2 CP punishes anyone who causes another an injury not covered by the preceding paragraph: one resolved with first aid that required no medical or surgical treatment. The penalty is a fine of 1 to 3 months. Because it is a minor offence, article 147.4 CP requires a complaint by the injured person or their legal representative before it can be prosecuted.
Art. 147.3 CP — Battery without Injury
Article 147.3 CP punishes anyone who strikes or mistreats another without causing injury: the shove, the slap or the shaking that leaves no impairment of health. The penalty is a fine of 1 to 2 months. This too is a minor offence and, under article 147.4 CP, is only prosecutable on a complaint by the injured person or their legal representative.
The Key Threshold: Treatment vs. First Aid
The element that decides the classification is whether the injury needed only first aid or, in addition, medical treatment. Case law treats stitches, plaster immobilisation or a rehabilitation regime as treatment. Simple observation or an initial dressing is not. This distinction is argued through the forensic medical report.
Aggravated Bodily Harm (Arts. 148 to 150)
- Art. 148: prison of 2 to 5 years where weapons or dangerous means are used, there is cruelty, or the victim is a child under 14, a person with a disability or the offender's partner.
- Art. 149: prison of 6 to 12 years for the loss of a principal organ or limb, a sense, impotence, sterility or serious disfigurement.
- Art. 150: prison of 3 to 6 years for the loss of a non-principal limb or for disfigurement.
Self-defence changes everything
If the injury was caused while repelling an attack, the defence of self-defence may apply, excluding criminal liability altogether. It is one of the first avenues to assess.
Defence Strategies
- Self-defence or necessity: the conduct was justified.
- Disputing the forensic report to deny genuine medical treatment and downgrade the type.
- Mutually accepted brawl: nuancing authorship and the dynamics of events.
- No intent: reclassifying the facts as negligent injury, with a lower penalty.
- Compensation for the victim, triggering the mitigating factor of Art. 21.5.
Charged with an offence of bodily harm?
From a fight to a serious charge: the strategy depends on the forensic report and the dynamics of events.
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Frequently asked questions
What does article 147 of the Criminal Code say?
It punishes injuries that require medical or surgical treatment in addition to initial care, with imprisonment of 3 months to 3 years or a fine. If the injury only needed initial care, with no subsequent treatment, it is a minor offence punished with a fine (art. 147.2 CP).
When do injuries amount to an offence rather than a minor offence?
The dividing line is medical treatment: if recovery required medical or surgical treatment (sutures, a cast, prescribed rehabilitation), it is an offence under 147.1; if initial care was enough (dressings, observation), it is a minor offence punished with a fine.
Does an assault causing injuries lead to prison?
It can, but not always: with a penalty below 2 years and no criminal record, suspension of the prison sentence is usually granted. The penalty depends on the seriousness, the means used and the aggravating circumstances (treachery, cruelty or the use of weapons or dangerous objects).
How is a bodily harm charge defended?
By disputing authorship, self-defence (art. 20.4 CP) or a mutually accepted fight, the true severity of the injury and the actual need for treatment, and by challenging the medical reports. Repairing the harm operates as a mitigating circumstance.
What penalties does the Spanish Criminal Code set for each type of bodily harm?
The basic offence of article 147.1 CP punishes injuries requiring medical or surgical treatment with 3 months to 3 years in prison or a fine of 6 to 12 months. Injuries of lesser gravity under article 147.2 CP and battery without injury under article 147.3 CP carry a fine only (1 to 3 months and 1 to 2 months respectively). The aggravated types raise the penalty sharply: article 148 CP (2 to 5 years), article 150 CP for the loss of a non-principal organ or limb or for disfigurement (3 to 6 years) and article 149 CP for the loss of a principal organ or limb, a sense, impotence, sterility, serious disfigurement or serious somatic or mental illness (6 to 12 years).
When is bodily harm aggravated under article 148 of the Spanish Criminal Code?
Article 148 CP allows the penalty for the basic offence to be raised to 2 to 5 years in prison where circumstances of greater gravity apply: the use of weapons, instruments, objects, means, methods or forms specifically dangerous to the victim's life or health; cruelty or treachery; a victim under 14 or a person with a disability in need of special protection; a victim who is or has been the offender's wife or a woman linked to him by an analogous emotional relationship; or a particularly vulnerable victim living with the offender. Its application is discretionary: the court weighs the actual gravity of the facts and the outcome before imposing the aggravated penalty.
What is the limitation period for an offence of bodily harm in Spain?
Article 131 CP sets the limitation period by reference to the maximum penalty for the offence. Bodily harm under article 147.1 CP (maximum three years) and the aggravated form of article 148 CP (maximum five years) become time-barred after five years; article 150 CP after ten years; and the most serious injuries of article 149 CP (maximum twelve years) after fifteen years. The minor offences of articles 147.2 and 147.3 CP become time-barred after one year.
What is the difference between first aid and medical treatment in bodily harm cases?
The line between the offence of bodily harm and conduct of lesser gravity lies in whether the injury objectively required medical or surgical treatment in addition to first aid, as article 147.1 CP demands. First aid is the initial medical act of diagnosis and care (cleaning and dressing a wound, for instance) and is not enough on its own for the basic offence. There is treatment where, after that first act, healing requires a subsequent planned and objectively necessary intervention such as sutures, immobilisation in plaster, prescribed rehabilitation or surgery; mere monitoring or a symptomatic prescription does not amount to treatment.
Can an assault causing injuries be prosecuted without a complaint from the victim?
Bodily harm under article 147.1 CP and the aggravated types are public offences prosecuted ex officio, so the Public Prosecutor can act even if the victim files no complaint. By contrast, injuries of lesser gravity under article 147.2 CP and battery under article 147.3 CP are minor offences which, under article 147.4 CP, are only prosecutable on a complaint by the injured person or their legal representative. Where the assault takes place in a gender-based or domestic violence context under article 153 CP, prosecution is ex officio and no prior complaint is required.
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