Criminal Procedure Law
Royal Decree of September 14, 1882. Current consolidated text with all articles of the Spanish criminal procedure.
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The Criminal Procedure Law (LECrim), enacted by Royal Decree of 14 September 1882, is the statute governing Spanish criminal proceedings: how crimes are investigated, what rights protect the suspect and the victim, when arrest, pre-trial detention and other precautionary measures apply, and how the trial, the appeals and the enforcement of judgments unfold. Despite its nineteenth-century origin, it has been amended many times —notably the 2015 reforms on suspects' rights and technological investigation measures— and remains the backbone of day-to-day criminal practice in Spain.
The current consolidated text is organised into seven books: general provisions (arts. 1 to 258), the judicial investigation (arts. 259 to 648), the trial (arts. 649 to 749), special procedures —including the abbreviated procedure and speedy trials— (arts. 750 to 846), appeals (arts. 846 ter to 961), the trial of minor offences (arts. 962 to 977) and the enforcement of judgments (arts. 983 to 999). The index below links the articles most often consulted in practice; the browser further down gives access to the full text.
Index by book: key articles
Book I — General provisions
Arts. 1–258
Book II — The judicial investigation
Arts. 259–648
- Art. 259Duty to report a crime
- Art. 270Criminal complaint (querella)
- Art. 282Judicial police
- Art. 299Scope of the investigation
- Art. 302Secrecy of the investigation
- Art. 326Crime-scene inspection
- Art. 334Physical evidence (corpus delicti)
- Art. 324Maximum length of the investigation
- Art. 416Relatives' exemption from testifying
- Art. 489Arrest
- Art. 490Citizen’s arrest
- Art. 491Justification of a citizen’s arrest
- Art. 492Cases where the police must arrest
- Art. 495No arrest for minor offences
- Art. 496Handover of the detainee within 24 hours
- Art. 49772-hour judicial deadline after handover
- Art. 502Pre-trial detention
- Art. 503Requirements for pre-trial detention
- Art. 504Length of pre-trial detention
- Art. 505Pre-trial detention hearing
- Art. 509Incommunicado detention
- Art. 520Rights of the detainee and access to a lawyer
- Art. 520 bisExtended detention (terrorism cases)
- Art. 544 bisRestraining and residence prohibitions
- Art. 544 terProtection order
- Art. 545Entry and search of the home
- Art. 588 bis aTechnological investigation: guiding principles
- Art. 634Types of dismissal
- Art. 637Final dismissal
- Art. 641Provisional dismissal
Book III — The trial
Arts. 649–749
Book IV — Special procedures
Arts. 750–846
- Art. 757Scope of the abbreviated procedure
- Art. 775First appearance of the suspect
- Art. 779Orders closing the preliminary investigation
- Art. 786Trial hearing; trial in absentia
- Art. 787Guilty plea (abbreviated procedure)
- Art. 790Appeal (abbreviated procedure)
- Art. 792Appeal judgment (abbreviated procedure)
- Art. 793Annulment remedy for in-absentia convictions
- Art. 795Scope of speedy trials
- Art. 796Urgent measures by the judicial police
- Art. 797Urgent measures before the duty court
- Art. 798Ruling of the duty court
- Art. 799Deadline for urgent measures
- Art. 800Preparation of trial (speedy trial)
- Art. 801Speedy-trial plea deal: one-third reduction
- Art. 802Trial and judgment (speedy trial)
- Art. 803Appeal in speedy trials
Book V — Appeals
Arts. 846 ter–961
Book VII — Enforcement of judgments
Arts. 983–999
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Source: Official State Gazette (BOE). Current consolidated text. Last updated per official publication. BOE-A-1882-6036
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