Spain's Criminal Procedure Law (LECrim): What It Is and the Stages of a Criminal Case (2026)

If you have been summoned to testify, are under investigation for an offence, or simply want to understand how criminal justice works, it helps to know the law that governs everything: the Criminal Procedure Law (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal, LECrim). This article explains, in plain language, what it is and how criminal proceedings in Spain unfold step by step. For the detail of each stage we link to our specific guides.

What is the Criminal Procedure Law?

The LECrim is the law that governs criminal proceedings: the set of acts by which the State investigates an offence, tries the accused and, where appropriate, enforces the sentence. It was enacted by Royal Decree of 14 September 1882 and, despite its age, remains in force after countless reforms. It is a procedural law: it does not decide who is guilty, but sets the path to reach that decision with safeguards.

LECrim and Criminal Code: not the same thing

This is the most common confusion. The Criminal Code is the substantive law: it defines offences and their penalties (for example, what theft is and how many years it carries). The LECrim is the procedural law: it governs how that theft is investigated, how the trial is held and how the judgment is appealed. One says what is punished; the other, how it is tried.

The stages of a criminal case

Criminal proceedings in Spain are structured in three main stages, followed by the enforcement of the final judgment:

1. The investigation stage

This is the inquiry stage. It is led by the investigating judge, now integrated into the Investigation Sections of the Courts of Instance, with the Public Prosecutor as a party. Preliminary proceedings are opened, evidence is taken (statements, expert reports, searches) and the person against whom there are indications becomes the investigated party. If you are summoned at this stage, it is worth knowing what to do when summoned as a suspect.

The investigation has a maximum time limit: 12 months, extendable, under article 324 LECrim. During it the judge may order precautionary measures (pre-trial detention, bail, restraining orders under art. 544 bis), and safeguards apply such as the relatives' right not to testify (art. 416). If there are no sufficient indications, the case is dismissed.

2. The trial

Once the investigation ends and the trial is opened, the parties file their indictment and defence pleadings with the facts, the legal classification, the penalties sought and the evidence proposed. At the hearing, public and oral, evidence is taken (witnesses, experts, documents), the parties make their submissions and the accused has the last word. The court then delivers an acquittal or conviction, always respecting the presumption of innocence: reasonable doubt favours the defence.

3. The appeals

The judgment is not necessarily the end. An appeal lies to the higher court and, in the cases set by law, a cassation appeal before the Supreme Court, which unifies the interpretation of the law. The defence may also challenge decisions of the investigation through reform and appeal. Once the conviction is final, the enforcement stage begins, applying institutions such as the accumulation of sentences (art. 988 LECrim) or the suspension of the sentence.

Types of procedure

Not all offences are tried in the same way. The LECrim provides several tracks depending on gravity:

• Ordinary procedure (sumario): for the most serious offences, with a penalty above 9 years' imprisonment.
• Abbreviated procedure: the most common, for offences with a penalty of up to 9 years.
• Fast-track trial: urgent proceedings for flagrant or simple offences with a penalty of up to 5 years.
• Jury trial: for specific offences (homicide, trespass into a dwelling, bribery, forest fires, among others).
• Minor-offence trial: for petty infringements (the former misdemeanours).

Safeguards for the investigated party and the accused

The whole process rests on non-waivable rights: the right of defence and to a lawyer, the presumption of innocence, the right to silence and not to incriminate oneself, and the right to know the charge and to a fair trial. The role of the criminal defence lawyer is to ensure these rights are respected at every stage, from the first statement to the final appeal. The victim also has a dedicated statute of rights in the proceedings.

A reform under way: the prosecutor as investigator

The LECrim model is being transformed. There is a project to move the investigation away from the judge and to the Public Prosecutor, as in other European countries. We explain what the new prosecutor-led LECrim provides and when it would come into force. Until then, the system described in this article remains fully in force.