Article 172 Spanish Criminal Code: The Offence of Coercion (2026)

Article 172 of the Spanish Criminal Code governs the offence of coercion, which protects a person's freedom to act. It punishes anyone who, through violence, prevents another from doing what the law does not forbid or compels them to do what they do not wish. As criminal defence lawyers, we explain its key features.

What Article 172 Says

Coercion is committed by anyone who, without lawful authorisation, prevents another by violence from doing what the law does not forbid, or compels them to do what they do not wish, whether just or unjust. Penalty: prison of 6 months to 3 years or a fine of 12 to 24 months.

The Requirement of Violence

• Physical force on the person.
• Force on things (vis in rebus): for example, changing a lock or cutting off a supply to bend another's will.
• Compulsive intimidation equivalent to force.

Difference From Threats

The key is timing: threats (Art. 169) announce future harm; coercion imposes a conduct in the present, immediately. In a threat the victim keeps a margin of decision; in coercion they are bent at once.

Aggravated Types and Real-Estate Harassment

The penalty is imposed in its upper half where the coercion aims to prevent the exercise of a fundamental right. Article 172.1 specifically punishes real-estate harassment: coercion aimed at preventing a person from the lawful enjoyment of their home. Article 172.2 covers minor coercion against a partner or especially vulnerable person.

Defence Strategies

1. Lawful authorisation: the offender acted under a right or a court ruling.
2. No violence: the conduct did not reach the coercive intensity required.
3. Downgrading to minor coercion under paragraphs 2 or 3 of Article 172.
4. Atypicality: this was a neighbour or civil dispute with no criminal relevance.
5. Evidence: working on reasonable doubt where there are no witnesses or documents.