Law 23/2014 on Mutual Recognition

The law that makes criminal judgments circulate within the European Union: the European Arrest Warrant, the European Investigation Order, freezing, confiscation, financial penalties and the transfer of sentenced persons, with each instrument’s deadlines and refusal grounds.

What Law 23/2014 governs

Law 23/2014, of 20 November, on mutual recognition of criminal judgments in the European Union gathers into a single text all the instruments that allow a criminal decision issued by the judicial authority of one Member State to be enforced in another without intermediate conversion procedures. It replaces the scattered statutes that had transposed the European framework decisions one by one and, since the reform introduced by Law 3/2018, adds the European Investigation Order.

Its general rules are common to every instrument: orders are transmitted directly between judicial authorities using standardised certificates and, where the offence falls within one of the 32 categories of article 20 — participation in a criminal organisation, human trafficking, corruption, money laundering, fraud or drug trafficking, among others — the Spanish judge does not check double criminality. The general grounds for refusing recognition are exhaustively listed in articles 32 and 33: res judicata (non bis in idem), limitation of the penalty under Spanish law where jurisdiction was Spanish, an incomplete certificate, immunity, or a conviction rendered in absentia without the required safeguards.

For the defense, this law defines the playing field in any case with a European dimension: short, fixed deadlines, limited grounds of opposition, and a system completed by Organic Law 7/2014 on the exchange of criminal records between Member States. Each instrument is explained below with its articles and deadlines, verified against the consolidated BOE text.

Consolidated text (BOE)BOE-A-2014-12029

The European Arrest Warrant (EAW)

Title II · Arts. 34–62Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA

It is the law’s flagship instrument: the judicial decision by which one Member State requests the arrest and surrender of a person, either to prosecute conduct punishable by a maximum penalty of at least twelve months, or to enforce a sentence of no less than four months’ imprisonment (art. 37). Within the EU it entirely replaces extradition.

Surrender without a double-criminality check

Where the EAW is issued for an offence within one of the 32 categories of article 20.1, punishable in the issuing State by a custodial sentence or detention order with a maximum of at least three years, surrender is ordered without verifying that the conduct is also an offence in the executing State (art. 47.1). In all other cases, surrender may be made conditional on the conduct constituting an offence under the law of the executing State (art. 47.2).

Grounds for refusal

Mandatory (art. 48.1): a pardon granted in Spain for the same facts where they fell within Spanish jurisdiction, a final decision on the same facts in another Member State whose penalty has already been enforced or can no longer be enforced, and being under the age of criminal responsibility under Spanish law.
Optional (art. 48.2): criminal proceedings pending in Spain for the same facts; an EAW to enforce a sentence against a Spanish national — who may serve it in Spain if they do not consent to surrender —; and conduct committed outside the issuing State that Spanish law would not prosecute extraterritorially.
General (arts. 32 and 33): non bis in idem, limitation of the penalty under Spanish law where jurisdiction was Spanish, an incomplete certificate, immunity, and a conviction rendered in absentia without the statutory safeguards.

EAW deadlines (arts. 54 and 58)

Step	Deadline	Article
Decision on surrender where the requested person consents	10 days from the hearing	Art. 54.2
Final decision where there is no consent	60 days from the arrest	Art. 54.3
Extension on justified grounds	30 additional days	Art. 54.4
Physical surrender of the requested person	Within 10 days of the judicial surrender decision	Art. 58.1
New date if surrender proves impossible for reasons beyond the States’ control	New 10-day period from the date initially set	Art. 58.2

The law requires the EAW to be processed and executed as a matter of urgency (art. 54.1). Surrender may exceptionally be postponed on serious humanitarian grounds and must take place as soon as they cease to exist, within ten days of the new agreed date (art. 58.3).

EAW defense Guide: extradition and the EAW

The other mutual-recognition instruments

Título IV · Arts. 93–108

Probation decisions

Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA

Allows conditional release, suspended sentences, substituted penalties or conditional sentences issued in one Member State to be supervised in the State where the sentenced person habitually resides (art. 93).

Covers conditional release, full or partial suspension of the sentence, substitution of the penalty and conditional sentences (art. 93.1).
Before the decision is forwarded, the sentenced person is asked whether they wish to return to or remain in their State of residence.
The aim is for obligations and conduct rules to be served where the person lives, aiding reintegration.

Título X · Arts. 186–223

European Investigation Order

Directive 2014/41/EU · Law 3/2018

A criminal-law decision issued or validated by the competent authority of a Member State to have one or more investigative measures carried out in another Member State and obtain evidence for criminal proceedings (art. 186). It was not in the original law: Law 3/2018 introduced it, replacing the former European Evidence Warrant.

The decision to recognise and execute the order must be taken within 30 days of receipt, extendable by up to a further 30 (arts. 208.1 and 208.2).
The investigative measure must be carried out within 90 days of the recognition decision (art. 208.4).
Evidence gathered by the executing State is valid in Spanish proceedings provided it does not conflict with the fundamental principles and procedural safeguards of the Spanish legal system (art. 186.1).

Título VII · Arts. 143–156

Freezing orders and securing of evidence

Framework Decision 2003/577/JHA

Interim measures preventing property located in another Member State from being hidden, transferred or destroyed while confiscation is decided, or securing sources of evidence relevant to the proceedings.

They may be issued by the Judges or Courts hearing the case and, for securing evidence, also by the Prosecutors directing the investigation (art. 144).
It is a provisional measure: the final destination of the assets is decided later, through a confiscation order or their return.
The refusal grounds of an incomplete certificate and of territoriality do not apply to these measures (art. 32.5).

Título VIII · Arts. 157–172

Confiscation orders

Framework Decision 2006/783/JHA

Execution in another Member State of the final penalty or measure imposed by a court resulting in the definitive deprivation of property linked to one or more criminal offences (art. 157).

It reaches any type of property: proceeds of crime, instrumentalities or property of equivalent value.
The order must be final and stem from proceedings for a criminal offence.
The art. 20 catalogue applies: for listed offences there is no double-criminality check.

Título IX · Arts. 173–185

Financial penalties

Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA

Cross-border collection of a fine imposed by a final decision on a natural or legal person for a criminal offence or for an administrative offence appealable before a criminal court (art. 173).

It includes fines from other States for traffic offences where they can be appealed before the criminal courts.
For financial penalties, art. 20.2 extends the list of offences exempt from the double-criminality check (road-traffic conduct, smuggling, etc.).
The general refusal grounds of arts. 32 and 33 apply (non bis in idem, limitation, immunity or in absentia trials without safeguards).

Título III · Arts. 63–92

Transfer of sentenced persons

Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA

Recognition of a final judgment imposing a custodial sentence or measure so that it is served in another Member State — usually that of nationality or residence — where this aids the sentenced person’s social rehabilitation (art. 63).

It only applies to sentences wholly or partly pending execution; those already served are governed by Organic Law 7/2014 (art. 63.2).
If the sentenced person is in the issuing State, transfer to Spain must take place within 30 days of the recognition order becoming final (art. 88).
The order sets the total period of custody left to serve, deducting time already served in the issuing State.

Títulos V y VI · Arts. 109–142

Other instruments in the law

FD 2009/829/JHA · Directive 2011/99/EU

The law also governs alternative measures to pre-trial detention (Title V) and the European Protection Order (Title VI), completing the mutual-recognition system.

Supervision measures replacing pre-trial detention: the suspect may await trial in their State of residence under supervision (art. 109).
European Protection Order: extends to another Member State the protection measures imposed in favour of a victim or potential victim who moves there (art. 130).

The European Investigation Order was incorporated by Law 3/2018, of 11 June, which amended Law 23/2014 to transpose Directive 2014/41/EU. Law 3/2018 text (BOE) BOE-A-2018-7831

Organic Law 7/2014: EU criminal records (ECRIS)

Organic Law 7/2014, of 12 NovemberBOE-A-2014-11713

Law 23/2014 is completed by Organic Law 7/2014, which governs two things: the exchange of criminal-record information between the Spanish Central Register of Convicted Persons and the registers of the other Member States through the ECRIS system, and the effects that convictions handed down in other Member States produce in new criminal proceedings in Spain (transposing Framework Decision 2008/675/JHA).

Recidivism: final convictions from other Member States produce the same legal effects as a Spanish conviction in new proceedings — including the recidivism aggravating circumstance — provided the conduct was punishable under Spanish law and the conviction is officially recorded via ECRIS or judicial assistance (art. 14.1). The judge and the prosecutor obtain these records ex officio (art. 15).
Limits (art. 14.2): foreign convictions do not allow earlier Spanish judgments to be reviewed, nor do they alter sentence-accumulation orders under article 988 of the Criminal Procedure Law — a frequent battleground for the defense.
Expungement (art. 14.4): records arising from other States’ convictions entered in the Central Register are deemed expunged under the time limits of Spanish law, unless the convicting State communicates their cancellation first. This is the doorway to neutralising their effects in later proceedings.
Temporal scope: the exclusion of convictions predating 15 August 2010 contained in the sole additional provision was removed by Organic Law 4/2024, of 18 October.

Criminal record expungement Organic Law 7/2014 (BOE)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the European Arrest Warrant and extradition?

The European Arrest Warrant is an entirely judicial procedure between EU Member States: the warrant is transmitted directly between judicial authorities, with fixed deadlines and limited refusal grounds, and no political phase. Extradition applies with third States and is processed under international treaties and the 1985 Passive Extradition Act, with government involvement.

What maximum time limits does the law set for deciding an EAW?

If the requested person consents to surrender, the judicial decision must be taken within ten days of the hearing (art. 54.2). Without consent, the final decision must be issued within sixty days of the arrest (art. 54.3), extendable by a further thirty on justified grounds (art. 54.4). Physical surrender takes place within ten days of the judicial surrender decision (art. 58.1).

Can I be surrendered for conduct that is not an offence in the executing State?

Yes, in certain cases. Where the offence falls within one of the 32 categories of art. 20.1 (participation in a criminal organisation, human trafficking, corruption, money laundering, fraud or drug trafficking, among others) and is punishable in the issuing State with a maximum penalty of at least three years, surrender is ordered without a double-criminality check (art. 47.1). Outside that catalogue, surrender may be made conditional on the conduct being an offence under Spanish law (art. 47.2).

Can the surrender of a Spanish national be refused?

Art. 48.2.b) allows execution to be refused where the EAW was issued to enforce a custodial sentence and the requested person is a Spanish national, unless they consent to serving the sentence in the issuing State; absent consent, the sentence must be served in Spain. There are also mandatory grounds (a pardon in Spain, a final decision on the same facts in another Member State and being under the age of criminal responsibility, art. 48.1) and the general grounds of arts. 32 and 33.

Does a conviction handed down in another Member State count for recidivism purposes?

As a general rule, yes. Under art. 14 of Organic Law 7/2014, final convictions from other Member States produce in new criminal proceedings the same effects as a Spanish conviction — including the recidivism aggravating circumstance — provided the conduct was punishable under Spanish law and the conviction is officially on record through the exchange of criminal records (ECRIS). However, those records are deemed expunged under Spanish law unless the convicting State communicates otherwise (art. 14.4).

What is the European Investigation Order?

It is the criminal-law decision by which one Member State asks another to carry out investigative measures and gather evidence for criminal proceedings (art. 186). It was incorporated into Law 23/2014 by Law 3/2018, which transposes Directive 2014/41/EU and replaced the former European Evidence Warrant. Recognition must be decided within 30 days — extendable by another 30 — and the measure carried out within 90 days (art. 208).

European Arrest Warrant DefenseLegal assistance against a European Arrest Warrant ExtraditionsDefense in active and passive extradition proceedings Extradition TreatiesExtradition treaties country by country, with BOE links Criminal Record ExpungementHow to expunge criminal records, including European ones Guide: extradition and the EAWPractical article on how they are processed and how to fight them Criminal Law ReformsFull timeline of reforms with BOE links

Informational content for general guidance, based on the consolidated text published in the State Official Gazette (Law 23/2014, BOE-A-2014-12029; Organic Law 7/2014, BOE-A-2014-11713; Law 3/2018, BOE-A-2018-7831). Applying these instruments to a specific case requires a lawyer’s analysis.

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