A Private Prosecution (Querella) Was Filed Against Me in Spain: What to Do

Being notified that a private prosecution (querella) has been admitted against you understandably causes alarm. Unlike a simple police report, a querella requires a lawyer and a court agent (procurador) and makes the person who files it an active party from day one — which usually also means the case arrives better prepared and documented. This guide focuses on the specific stage that follows admission: what deadlines the court works with, what the first summons looks like, and what you should avoid doing.

What to Do and What Not to Do

In the first hours after receiving the notice:

• Do: keep the notice and, if you have access to it, the full complaint with its supporting documents.
• Do: contact a criminal lawyer immediately, before the date set for your first statement.
• Do: gather and organise documentation, communications and witnesses related to the facts alleged against you.
• Do: attend the court summons on the date and time given.
• Don't: contact the private prosecutor or their circle to "clear things up".
• Don't: delete, alter or destroy documents, messages or emails related to the facts.
• Don't: give a statement to the court or the police without a lawyer present.
• Don't: ignore the summons — unjustified non-appearance worsens your procedural situation.

What Admission of the Complaint Means

The competent investigating judge examines the querella and, if the facts are capable of constituting a crime and none of the grounds for refusal apply (Art. 313 LECrim — the facts not amounting to a crime, or the complaint's own account showing that no crime occurred), admits it and opens proceedings. Admission does not mean the court has taken the facts as proven: it opens an investigation to clarify them, with the private prosecutor already a party from the outset — which in practice usually means a more active investigation than one triggered by a simple report. You can read more on the difference between the two routes in our report vs. private prosecution guide, which also explains the third way Spanish criminal proceedings can start: a police report (atestado), drawn up by the police on their own initiative following an intervention or their own investigation, without any report or complaint from a private party.

The Notice: Why It Can Take Time

Normally, admission is notified to you together with the summons to give a statement. But the investigating judge can declare the proceedings wholly or partly secret (Art. 302 LECrim) for up to one month, extendable, when necessary for the investigation to succeed. If this happens, you may receive no notice at all until secrecy is lifted or until you are summoned directly — which can feel like "finding out late": it is not a system failure, it is a legal safeguard for ongoing steps (for example, searches or the interception of communications).

The First Summons: Your Statement as the Person Under Investigation

Once notified, the court will set a date for your first statement as the "investigado" (the person under investigation, formerly called "imputado"). Before that date you must have appointed a lawyer of your choice — or, failing that, one will be assigned by the duty scheme — and a court agent (procurador). At that hearing you will be informed of the facts alleged against you and of your rights: to remain silent, not to incriminate yourself, not to confess guilt, and to be assisted by a lawyer throughout. What that statement covers, how to prepare for it, and what questions are foreseeable are explained in detail in our court summons as a suspect guide, which also applies when the reason for the summons is an admitted private prosecution.

Formally Joining the Case with a Lawyer and Court Agent

Unlike someone facing a simple police report, a person facing a private prosecution deals from the outset with an active party (the private prosecutor) with full procedural standing. It is worth formally joining the case with a lawyer and a procurador as soon as possible — not only on the date of the summons. Joining early gives access to the case file (unless proceedings are secret), allows you to propose evidence in your defence, and lets your defence plan its strategy in advance rather than reacting on the spot.

Can the Complaint Be Dismissed?

Yes. Admission opens the investigation; it does not prejudge the outcome. If, once the investigative steps are carried out, there are no reasonable indications that a crime was committed or that the person under investigation took part in it, the case is dismissed (Arts. 637 et seq. LECrim in ordinary proceedings; Art. 779.1 LECrim in abbreviated proceedings, which applies to the majority of less serious offences). An active technical defence from the first statement onward — proposing evidence, offering exculpatory material, challenging the strength of the facts set out in the complaint — improves the chances of the case being dismissed before it reaches trial.

Why Waiting Is a Mistake

The private prosecutor has already invested time and legal advice in preparing their complaint: they start with a head start in preparation. The sooner you have technical defence in place, the sooner it can study the exact content of the complaint, anticipate the investigative steps likely to be proposed, and prepare your first statement — the procedural moment where much of the defence's account is set — rather than improvising it.

The right of any citizen to bring the criminal action through a private prosecution, without needing to be the direct victim, is governed by Article 270 LECrim.