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Public Administration
12 articles on public administration: penalties, case law and defense strategy. See the practice area →
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Crime of Influence Peddling: Articles 428 to 430 of the Criminal Code
Influencing an official by exploiting a personal or hierarchical relationship to obtain a resolution carrying an economic benefit is punished by arts. 428 to 430 CP.
Transnational Bribery of Foreign Officials: Article 286 ter of the Criminal Code
Article 286 ter CP punishes bribing foreign or international officials to obtain or retain a contract or competitive advantage in international economic transactions.
Embezzlement of Public Funds: The Offence of Art. 432 CP
Art. 432 CP punishes the authority or official who, for profit, appropriates the public assets in their charge. Penalties and lines of defence.
Article 417 CP: Disclosure of Secrets and Restricted Data by Public Officials
The offence under Article 417 CP: disclosure of secrets by public officials, penalties, special disqualification, moral damages and how it differs from Article 197 CP.
Article 404 Spanish Criminal Code: Administrative Malfeasance (2026)
Article 404 of the Spanish Criminal Code: what administrative malfeasance is, what an arbitrary decision means, why it carries only disqualification and how…
Crimes Against Public Administration: A Practical Legal Guide
Malfeasance, bribery, embezzlement... We analyse the main offences affecting public officials and authorities and the defence strategies.
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