Criminal Law Reforms

Toughens the criminal response to multi-recidivism. Introduces an aggravated form of petty theft (6-18 months' prison) when three prior convictions concur, a new aggravated theft of mobile phones and devices with personal data (Art. 235 CP, 1-3 years' prison), a specific offence of fuel transport or storage for refuelling drug-trafficking vessels ("petaqueo", Art. 568.2 CP, 3-5 years' prison), and amends the recidivism regime (Art. 22.8) and the suspension of sentence (Art. 80.2.1). In the Criminal Procedure Law it expands the precautionary measures of Art. 544 bis and the standing of local councils under Art. 105.3.

Comprehensive reform of the judicial organization with direct impact on criminal proceedings. Creates Courts of Instance, modifies the Criminal Procedure Law regarding appeals and criminal enforcement, and introduces mandatory digitalization of criminal judicial proceedings.

Corrective reform of Organic Law 10/2022 (the "Only Yes Means Yes" law). It keeps the consent-based model and the unification of sexual abuse and sexual assault, but reinstates violence and intimidation as an aggravated subtype and raises the penalty ranges the previous reform had lowered for sexual assault (art. 178), rape (art. 179), where the penalty rises to six to twelve years in prison if violence or intimidation is used (four to twelve years for the basic offence), the aggravated subtypes (art. 180) and sexual assaults on children under sixteen (art. 181). It also amends arts. 132 (limitation periods), 173 and 189 bis CP, art. 14.3 of the Criminal Procedure Law and art. 10.2 of Organic Law 5/2000 on juvenile criminal liability. In force since 29 April 2023.

An ordinary —not organic— statute, often cited by mistake as "Organic Law 4/2023". It does not amend the Criminal Code: the wording in force of the discrimination aggravating circumstance (art. 22.4 CP) and of the hate offences (art. 510 CP) comes from Organic Law 6/2022, of July 12. It is listed here to keep it apart from Organic Law 4/2023, of April 27, which did amend the Criminal Code on offences against sexual freedom.

This is the statute that brought Directive (EU) 2019/713 on combating fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment into Spanish law: it rewrote arts. 248 and 249 CP, so that computer fraud and the fraudulent use of cards and other payment instruments now sit in art. 249. The same statute reforms embezzlement (arts. 432 to 434 CP, with the new art. 432 bis on temporary use) and public disorder (art. 557 CP), and repeals the chapter on sedition, made up of arts. 544 to 549 CP.

A single-article statute: it adds a point (c) to section 4 of art. 177 bis CP so that the penalty is raised by one degree where the trafficking victim is a person whose vulnerability was caused or aggravated by displacement arising from an armed conflict or a humanitarian catastrophe. It has nothing to do with fraud offences or means of payment: Directive (EU) 2019/713 was transposed by Organic Law 14/2022, of December 22.

Known as the "Only Yes Means Yes" law. Comprehensive reform of Title VIII of the CP: eliminates the distinction between sexual abuse and assault, unifying both under "sexual aggression." Introduces express consent and criminalises sexual street harassment in the second paragraph of art. 173.4 CP.

It transposes Directive (EU) 2019/1153 on the use of financial information to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute offences. Its substantive criminal content is concentrated in a single point: the sixth final provision rewrote section 2 of art. 234 CP so that theft of no more than €400 was no longer punished with a fine but with the prison sentence of section 1 where the offender had already been finally convicted of at least three offences under the same Title and of the same nature —even minor ones— and the accumulated amount exceeded €400, disregarding spent or spendable criminal records. In force since 29 August 2022. That recidivism regime for theft was later replaced by Organic Law 1/2026.

Adds anti-Roma grounds to the discrimination aggravating circumstance of art. 22.4 CP (age, aporophobia and social exclusion had been included since Organic Law 8/2021) and incorporates anti-Roma and aporophobia grounds into the hate offences of art. 510 CP, whose wording in force comes from this law.

Introduces article 172 quater CP, which punishes anyone who, in order to obstruct the exercise of the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, harasses a woman through annoying, offensive, intimidating or coercive acts that undermine her freedom, with 3 months to 1 year in prison or 31 to 80 days of community service. The same penalty applies to those who harass clinic staff. Prosecution does not require a prior complaint. The Constitutional Court upheld its constitutionality (Judgment 75/2024).

Reforms multiple CP articles to strengthen criminal protection of minors: extends statute of limitations for sexual offenses against minors, introduces pre-constituted evidence, creates new offenses for online instigation of minor suicide, and increases penalties for child pornography.

Repeals paragraph 3 of article 315 of the CP that criminalized coercion to strike. Decriminalizes informational pickets and pressure to support strike actions.

Modifies article 143 of the Criminal Code to decriminalize euthanasia and assisted suicide when legal requirements are met. Introduces a criminal liability exemption for healthcare professionals who provide lawful end-of-life assistance.

Modifies articles 142 and 152 CP to precisely define serious and less serious recklessness in driving. Creates new article 382 bis CP criminalizing hit-and-run with victims. Increases penalties for negligent homicide and injuries with vehicles.

The major procedural reform on safeguards and technological investigation. It strengthens the rights of the suspect and the detainee (arts. 118, 520 and 527 LECrim): information about the accusation, access to the essential elements of the case file and a private interview with the lawyer before giving a statement. For the first time it comprehensively regulates technological investigation measures (arts. 588 bis to 588 octies LECrim): interception of communications, capture of images and sound, tracking devices, searches of devices and remote searches of computers, subject to the principles of speciality, necessity and proportionality. It introduces the online undercover agent (art. 282 bis), restricts incommunicado detention (art. 509) and replaces the term "imputado" with "investigado" or "encausado".

Twin reform of LO 13/2015 focused on speeding up proceedings. For the first time it sets maximum time limits for criminal investigations (art. 324 LECrim: 6 months for ordinary cases and 18 months, extendable, for complex ones — a regime later replaced by Law 2/2020, which set a general 12-month extendable limit). It generalises the second instance in criminal cases (appeal before the High Courts of Justice against judgments of the Provincial Courts), broadens the cassation appeal, creates the procedure for acceptance of a penal order and the autonomous confiscation procedure, and reforms the joinder rules to avoid sprawling mega-cases.

The most comprehensive CP reform since 1995. Introduces reviewable life imprisonment for extremely serious crimes. Abolishes Book III on misdemeanors, converting some into minor offenses. Reforms corporate criminal liability (art. 31 bis). Modifies sentence suspension and substitution. Updates corruption, intellectual and industrial property offenses, and extended confiscation. In the public-health chapter it relocates the sports doping offence: it repeals the former art. 361 bis and moves it to art. 362 quinquies, which is where the wording in force comes from.

Reforms offenses against the Public Treasury and Social Security. Creates the aggravated tax fraud offense (Art. 305 bis CP) —amount over €600,000, organization, or use of opaque structures or territories, with 2 to 6 years in prison—, strengthens full and truthful tax regularization as a ground for exemption (Art. 305.4 CP), and introduces aggravated Social Security fraud (Art. 307 bis) and benefit fraud (Art. 307 ter). Adjusts corporate criminal liability (Art. 310 bis) and false accounting (Art. 433 bis).

Introduces corporate criminal liability in Spain for the first time (art. 31 bis CP). Creates human trafficking offenses (art. 177 bis) as an autonomous type. It also creates the offences of criminal organisation (art. 570 bis) and criminal group (art. 570 ter), which until then did not exist as free-standing offences: this is the reform the membership-of-a-criminal-organisation offence comes from. Criminalizes workplace and real estate harassment. Reforms computer crimes and intellectual property offenses. Introduces supervised release for sexual and terrorism offenses.

Establishes a term-based system for voluntary termination of pregnancy. On the criminal side, it reforms article 145 CP (abortion performed outside the cases permitted by law) and adds article 145 bis CP (abortion performed within the legal grounds but failing to meet requirements or safeguards). The woman is decriminalized within the term-based system. It was later reformed by Organic Law 1/2023.

Comprehensive reform of road safety offenses (arts. 379-385 CP). It criminalizes driving at grossly excessive speed (exceeding the limit by 60 km/h on urban roads or 80 km/h on interurban roads) and driving with a breath alcohol rate above 0.60 mg/l —1.2 g/l in blood— with no need to prove impaired driving. It criminalizes driving after losing all licence points or under judicial deprivation of the licence (art. 384 CP) and keeps the refusal to undergo alcohol and drug testing as a standalone offense (art. 383 CP). It entered into force on 2 December 2007, except for the second paragraph of art. 384, in force since 1 May 2008.

Substantial CP reform introducing the day-fine system (Art. 50) and amending the rules on subsidiary personal liability for unpaid fines (Art. 53). It also reformed the road safety offence of Art. 379 CP.

Converts former misdemeanor domestic abuse into criminal offenses. Increases penalties for habitual violence and repeat minor offenses. Introduces criminal deportation of foreigners as a substitute for prison sentences under 6 years.

Historic criminal reform against gender-based violence. Increases penalties when the victim is or was the spouse or intimate partner of the aggressor (arts. 148, 153, 171, 172 CP). Creates Courts for Violence against Women. Introduces protection orders and specific criminal precautionary measures.

Introduces the "security period" (art. 36.2 CP): for sentences over 5 years, third-degree prison leave cannot be granted until half the sentence is served. Raises the maximum effective sentence limit to 40 years for terrorism and organized crime.

Establishes the criminal liability regime for minors aged 14 to 18. It replaces penalties with measures of a punitive-educational nature (custody, supervised release, community service, etc.), governed by the best interests of the minor. It assigns the investigation to the Public Prosecutor and the trial to the Juvenile Courts. Minors under 14 fall outside the criminal system and are referred to administrative protection.