Criminal Lawyers in Retraction

The legal way to avoid conviction

Retraction of false testimony (Article 462 of the Spanish Criminal Code (CP)) exempts from punishment a witness who, having given false testimony in criminal proceedings, corrects it in time and in due form, stating the truth so that it takes effect before judgment is handed down in the proceedings concerned. The exemption applies specifically to criminal proceedings and no longer applies once the false testimony has already caused another person's deprivation of liberty: in that case, the penalties are imposed one degree lower. A late retraction no longer exempts from punishment, but it can support an appeal or the review of the judgment. At Alonso Sala we advise on the precise procedural moment to retract for maximum benefit, and we ensure that the correction is complete as to the substantial facts.

You gave false testimony and want to correct it: what happens now and how long you have

Art. 462 CP contains a strict statutory exemption: anyone who, having given false testimony in criminal proceedings, retracts in due time and form, stating the truth so that it takes effect before judgment is delivered, is exempt from punishment. If the false testimony has already caused someone to be deprived of liberty, the corresponding penalties are imposed reduced by one degree. Two limits shape the whole strategy. The first is temporal: the retraction must arrive before judgment and have real effect in the proceedings. The second is one of scope: the exemption is designed for criminal proceedings, so correcting a statement in a civil or employment case does not remove liability, although it may count as the mitigating factor of confession or of repairing the harm (Arts. 21.4 and 21.5 CP).

What to do (and what not to do) before making a statement

Speak to a lawyer before writing a single line to the court. Arts. 118 and 520 LECrim protect silence and a prior confidential meeting with your lawyer. A poorly framed correction does not trigger Art. 462 CP and does confess the earlier false testimony: here the order and the form matter as much as the content.
Check the procedural stage the case has reached. The exemption requires the truth to take effect before judgment. Knowing whether the trial is listed, awaiting judgment or already decided determines whether the Art. 462 CP route is still open or whether the work has to be done with mitigating factors.
Retract before the court hearing the case, not before the parties. The correction must be filed in the proceedings where the testimony was given, in writing or as a formal statement. Telling a party's lawyer or a relative does not meet the requirement of due time and form.
Gather what supports the true version. Messages, documents, receipts or witnesses that explain why you testified as you did and what actually happened. An unsupported retraction is received as a change of strategy and loses its effect.
Do not warn whoever asked you to testify that way. If someone induced you, their conduct falls under Art. 461 CP, which imposes the same penalties on anyone who knowingly presents false witnesses. Warning them compromises your own retraction and can be read as collusion.

Retraction in Perjury: Regime of Art. 462 CP and Procedural Strategy

Retraction by the witness or expert who has testified falsely is one of the few absolutory excuses in the Spanish Criminal Code, with direct and non-discretionary effect. Art. 462 CP provides that whoever gave false testimony in criminal proceedings and retracts in time and form, telling the truth so that it takes effect before judgment is rendered in the proceedings concerned, shall be exempt from punishment. Only where the false testimony has already caused another person to be deprived of their liberty does the exemption give way to the penalties one degree lower. The protected legal interest is the administration of justice, and the legislator positively values rectification so the court may rule on truthful data. Consolidated case-law demands three cumulative requirements: temporal opportunity, truthfulness of the rectification and spontaneity.

Retraction Requirements

The temporal opportunity requirement demands that retraction take place before the trial court renders first-instance judgment in the proceedings where the lie was told. Once judgment is rendered, subsequent rectification loses the exempting effect of Art. 462 CP, although it may operate as a general mitigating circumstance of confession (Art. 21.4 CP) or reparation of the harm (Art. 21.5 CP) if their conditions concur. The truthfulness requirement demands that what is stated in the retraction be the actual historical truth; a false or partially mendacious retraction does not activate mitigation. The spontaneity requirement, the most jurisprudentially debated, excludes retractions forced by the imminence of discovery or by confrontation with overwhelming documentary evidence; the Supreme Court assesses case by case whether retraction stems from internal repentance or merely from factual impossibility of maintaining the lie.

Practical Effects on the Penalty

The practical effects of timely retraction are substantial. Where the false testimony was given in criminal proceedings and the correction arrives in time, the effect is not a reduction but exemption from punishment: neither the aggravated penalty of Art. 458.2 CP (1-3 years' prison and a 6-12 month fine) nor that of the basic offence of Art. 458.1 CP is imposed at all. The only modulation the provision contemplates is a deprivation of liberty already suffered by another person as a result of the false testimony: in that case the penalties one degree lower apply — against the 1 to 3 years' prison of Art. 458.2 CP, 6 months to 1 year. Retraction also prevents the aggravation in the second paragraph of Art. 458.2 CP, which raises the penalties by one degree where a conviction results from the testimony, since avoiding that conviction removes the premise of the aggravation. Moreover, timely rectification reduces civil liability by lowering the patrimonial and moral damages actually caused.

Defence Strategy

The defense strategy for a potential retraction rests on four technical axes. First, the prior risk-benefit analysis: retraction entails recognition of the original false testimony, facilitating conviction for the attenuated offence; counsel must assess whether evidence of the lie is sufficient and whether the attenuated penalty is preferable to a possible acquittal on reasonable doubt. Second, procedural formalisation: retraction may be made orally at trial (most recommended for its spontaneity effect) or by written submission to the court before judgment, ensuring reliable dating. Third, concurrence with other mitigators: Art. 462 CP retraction may accumulate with Art. 21.4 confession, Art. 21.5 reparation and even Art. 21.6 undue delay, adding sentence-reducing effects. Fourth, protection against reprisals: if the witness retracts after being induced by third parties, they may request the protective measures for threatened witnesses (Organic Law 19/1994).

Current Forensic Practice

In current forensic practice, effective retractions are relatively rare because they demand a delicate combination of sincere repentance, early legal advice and willingness to face the consequences of recognition. Organic Law 1/2025 on Justice Service Efficiency has consolidated mechanisms for full recording and digital access to the file that allow the witness to assess the solidity of the evidence against them before deciding to rectify. Recent Supreme Court case-law has clarified that spontaneity must be assessed by material rather than merely formal criteria, and that legal assistance to articulate the retraction does not deprive it of spontaneous character. At Alonso Sala, we advise each retraction decision with an exhaustive technical-procedural analysis: review of available evidence, assessment of alternative defence viability (lack of intent, material irrelevance, Art. 416 LECrim dispensation), preparation of the rectification on the most favourable terms and articulation of the defence for the final phase of proceedings, with over 15 years' experience in offences against the administration of justice.

False Testimony and False Accusation: Penalties and Defence

False testimony (Arts. 458 to 462 CP) and false accusation or denunciation (Art. 456 CP) turn on two elements: intent — knowing that one is departing from the truth — and the relevance of the statement to the ruling. As criminal defence lawyers specialising in offences against the administration of justice, we work on both fronts and, where the case is criminal and no judgment has yet been handed down, on the retraction of Art. 462 CP.

Penalty Table: False Testimony and False Accusation (Arts. 456-462 CP)

Offence	Article	Penalty
False testimony by a witness in judicial proceedings (basic offence)	Art. 458.1	Imprisonment 6 months – 2 years and fine 3 – 6 months
False testimony against the defendant in criminal proceedings for an offence	Art. 458.2	Imprisonment 1 – 3 years and fine 6 – 12 months; penalties one degree higher if a conviction results
Experts and interpreters who maliciously depart from the truth in their report or translation	Art. 459	The above penalties in their upper half plus special disqualification 6 – 12 years
Altering the truth through reticence, inaccuracies or by withholding relevant facts	Art. 460	Fine 6 – 12 months and, where applicable, suspension of 6 months to 3 years
Knowingly presenting false witnesses or mendacious experts and interpreters	Art. 461.1	The same penalties laid down for the witness, expert or interpreter
False accusation and denunciation	Art. 456.1	Serious offence: imprisonment 6 months – 2 years and fine 12 – 24 months. Less serious offence: fine 12 – 24 months. Minor offence: fine 3 – 6 months
Retraction in criminal proceedings, before judgment is handed down	Art. 462	Exemption from punishment; penalties one degree lower where the false testimony has already caused a deprivation of liberty

Defence Strategies in False Testimony

Timely retraction (Art. 462 CP)

Whoever gave false testimony IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS and retracts in time and form, telling the truth before judgment is handed down, is exempt from punishment. The exemption belongs to criminal proceedings, not to any procedure: outside them a correction can only be weighed as a general mitigating circumstance of confession (Art. 21.4 CP) or reparation of the harm (Art. 21.5 CP).

False testimony and mistake of fact

The offence requires knowledge of the falsity. If the witness stated what they sincerely believed, even if inaccurate, there is no intent and no offence. The defence focuses on establishing their actual state of knowledge.

Relevance of the statement

Not every inaccuracy is punishable: the lie must bear on points capable of influencing the decision. Incidental discrepancies or matters of detail do not make out the offence.

Departing from the truth versus faulty memory

The passage of time, the stress of the hearing or suggestive questioning explain contradictions without any need for intent. Psychological expert evidence on the witness’s memory can be decisive.

Presenting false witnesses (Art. 461 CP)

Whoever knowingly presents mendacious witnesses, experts or interpreters is liable to the same penalties. Establishing whether there was a prior arrangement or a mere procedural proposal marks the difference between conviction and no offence at all.

Deprivation of liberty and conviction: two opposite effects

They should not be confused. Under the retraction of Art. 462 CP, the fact that the false testimony had already caused another person to be deprived of their liberty does not harden the response: it bars the exemption, but the penalties one degree LOWER are imposed. The hardening — penalties one degree HIGHER — is triggered by a different scenario: a conviction resulting from the testimony given against the defendant (Art. 458.2, second paragraph). Establishing the absence of a causal link between the statement and the conviction is a central line of defence.

FAQ: Retraction in Perjury

What is the retraction of Art. 462 CP?

The voluntary correction of a false statement given in criminal proceedings, telling the truth so that it takes effect before judgment is delivered. It does not erase the offence, but it leaves the witness exempt from punishment: it is an absolutory excuse.

When must I retract to obtain the benefit?

Before judgment is delivered at first instance in the proceedings where the false statement was given. After judgment, retraction no longer produces the exemption under Art. 462 CP.

Does retraction erase the offence?

No. False testimony is completed with the untruthful statement. Retraction is an absolutory excuse: a post-offence circumstance that removes the punishment without erasing the offence.

How much does retraction reduce the penalty?

In criminal proceedings it does not reduce it: it removes it. Art. 462 CP leaves the witness who retracts in time exempt from punishment. Only where the false testimony has already deprived another person of their liberty are the penalties one degree lower imposed: against the 1 to 3 years of Art. 458.2 CP, 6 months to 1 year.

What requirements must retraction meet?

Three: it must be timely (before judgment), truthful (the correction must be the truth) and spontaneous (not prompted by the imminence of being discovered).

Does retracting after judgment achieve anything?

Not for the exemption under Art. 462 CP. However, it may support an appeal or an extraordinary application for review if the judgment rested on the false testimony.

Can I retract partially?

Yes. Case law accepts partial retraction: the witness benefits regarding the facts he corrects but not those he maintains falsely. The exempting effect reaches only what has been corrected.

Does retraction protect against the 'mirror penalty'?

If the witness retracts before judgment and avoids the wrongful conviction of the defendant, the mirror penalty of Art. 458.2 CP does not apply (there was no conviction based on the false testimony).

Can an expert retract?

Yes. An expert who corrects his false report before judgment can benefit from Art. 462 CP with the same effect as a witness: exemption from punishment.

How is retraction formalised?

It can be done orally at the trial or by a written submission to the court. It is advisable that the date and exact content of the correction be reliably recorded.

Can I still be convicted if I retract?

In criminal proceedings, where the retraction meets the requirements of Art. 462 CP, the witness is exempt from punishment. The real risk is a different one: retracting means admitting that one lied, so that if the court finds the correction late or untruthful, that admission makes conviction easier. The timing and wording should be assessed with counsel.

Is retraction a confession?

In practice yes: by retracting, the witness acknowledges that his original statement was false. The decision to retract should therefore be assessed with a lawyer who weighs the risks and benefits.

Do I need a lawyer to retract?

It is not mandatory but highly advisable. Retraction has complex legal implications (an admission of guilt) that should be professionally assessed before proceeding.