Case law

Criminal safeguards before the Constitutional Court

A selection of guarantees and issues with criminal implications.

All file · 200 Supreme Court · 100 Constitutional Court · 100

The dThe Supreme Court chips are editorial synthesis supported by official CGPJ notes; the resolution identified by ECLI is linked and, when available in the file, its official PDF. The Constitution retains its published synthesis. Each matter should be read with the law applicable to its facts and subsequent reforms.

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100 Resolutions

Constitutional Court · Road safety

STC 40/2024: Transfer for alcohol testing

Violation of the rights of defence, in relation to the right to personal liberty, and the presumption of innocence: proof of alcoholemia performed without police detention and in the absence of a police...

ECLI:ES:TC:2024:40

Constitutional Court · Road safety

STC 55/2015: Trial Recording and Evidence

Alleged violation of the rights to the effective judicial protection and the presumption of innocence: lack of documentation of the oral hearing not causing defencelessness, control of judicial evaluation...

STC 55/2015

Constitutional Court · Gender violence and protection

STC 41/2025: Dispensed to testify and couple

Alleged violation of the rights to a trial with all guarantees, to the ordinary judge predetermined by law and to the presumption of innocence: assessment of the testimony of those who, being a couple...

ECLI:ES:TC:2025:41

Constitutional Court · Gender violence and protection

STC 153/2023: Annulment and cassation incident

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection (access to legal remedy): Inadmissibility of the incident of nullity of proceedings founded, immotivately, on the origin of appeal on points of law ...

ECLI:ES:TC:2023:153

Constitutional Court · Gender violence and protection

STC 78/2021: Criminal action after filing

Violation of the right to criminal legality: conviction imposed for failure to comply with a measure taken in criminal proceedings that had been discontinued.

ECLI:ES:TC:2021:78

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 108/2024: Repeal a judgment of acquittal

Violation of the rights to effective judicial protection (resolution based on law) and the presumption of innocence: STC 72/2024 (revocation of judgment of acquittal based on a discrepancy...

ECLI:ES:TC:2024:108

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 105/2024: Investigation of prison injuries

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection, in relation to the right to physical and moral integrity: insufficient investigation of a complaint of injuries and ill-treatment that are said to be a ...

ECLI:ES:TC:2024:105

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 87/2024: undercover agent and privacy

Alleged violation of the rights to privacy, to the effective judicial protection and to a process with all guarantees: evidence provided by undercover agent that does not affect privacy and having...

ECLI:ES:TC:2024:87

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 48/2024: mitigating circumstance of undue delay

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection in relation to the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex: application as qualified of the mitigating circumstance circumstance of delays ...

ECLI:ES:TC:2024:48

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 33/2024: Assaults in police custody

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection, in relation to the right to physical and moral integrity: insufficient investigation of a complaint of assaults that are said to have suffered under the conditions of ...

ECLI:ES:TC:2024:33

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 92/2023: Cameras in a private garage

Violation of the personal right to privacy; alleged violation of the right to the effective judicial protection (access to the remedy): capture of images inside a private garage taken to ...

ECLI:ES:TC:2023:92

Constitutional Court · Scams and heritage

STC 64/2023: limitation of sentences

Violation of the right to criminal legality, in relation to the rights to effective judicial protection and to personal freedom: judicial decisions that do not satisfy the canon reinforced in mater...

ECLI:ES:TC:2023:64

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 59/2023: Impartiality and Expert Evidence

Alleged violation of the rights to judicial impartiality, to the effective judicial protection and to the presumption of innocence: intervention of the judge in the oral hearing that did not compromise her neu...

ECLI:ES:TC:2023:59

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 32/2023: Deprivation of liberty for extradition

Violation of the right to personal liberty: cars that do not compute the period of deprivation of liberty that the Colombian and Spanish authorities used to process and resolve the process of imprisonment.

ECLI:ES:TC:2023:32

Constitutional Court · Threats and coercion

STC 29/2023: Legal aid in criminal cases

Violation of the rights of defence and legal aid: lack of provision of counsel in criminal cases where legal aid is not mandatory.

ECLI:ES:TC:2023:29

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 124/2022: Journalist injuries and investigation

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection: insufficient investigation of injuries suffered by those who covered, as journalists, the clashes between demonstrations and protests.

ECLI:ES:TC:2022:124

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 41/2022: Translation of the Criminal Sentence

Violation of the rights to the effective judicial protection (access to the legal remedy) and to a process with all guarantees: lack of translation of the sentence handed down on appeal that deprived the...

ECLI:ES:TC:2022:41

Constitutional Court · Criminal execution

STC 33/2022: limitation of penalties and interruption

Violation of the right to criminal legality in relation to the rights to effective judicial protection and personal liberty: judicial decisions that do not satisfy the canon reinforced in mater...

ECLI:ES:TC:2022:33

Constitutional Court · Criminal execution

STC 32/2022: Suspension of prison and compensation

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection (motivation) in relation to the rights to personal liberty and due process: revocation of the suspension of prison sentence to the non-existence of...

ECLI:ES:TC:2022:32

Constitutional Court · Scams and heritage

STC 11/2022: Criminal Rating and Law of defence

Alleged violation of the rights to a trial with all guarantees, not to testify against oneself and the presumption of innocence; alleged violation of the right to effective judicial protection ...

ECLI:ES:TC:2022:11

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 166/2021: Investigation of police abuse

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection without defencelessness in relation to his right not to be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment: insufficient investigation of a criminal offence.

ECLI:ES:TC:2021:166

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 165/2021: Conviction without prosecution

Violation of the rights to the defence and to a trial with all guarantees: conviction for a crime to which he had been acquitted at the trial and without a petition from the prosecution party.

ECLI:ES:TC:2021:165

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 132/2021: Aggravated sentence on appeal

Violation of the rights to the effective judicial protection (reformatio in peius) and to a trial with all guarantees: sentence that aggravates the sentence imposed on the basis of the existence of a mistake...

ECLI:ES:TC:2021:132

Constitutional Court · non-payment of maintenance

STC 57/2021: Judicial review of procedural decisions

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection (access to jurisdiction): resolution that, in application of the legal precept annulled by STC 151/2020, of 22 of October, prevents the jud...

ECLI:ES:TC:2021:57

Constitutional Court · Scams and heritage

STC 103/2019: Exhausting the judicial process before amparo

Alleged violation of the right to effective judicial protection (access to justice): Inadmissibility of the constitutional protection appeal filed without having exhausted the previous judicial remedy.

ECLI:ES:TC:2019:103

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 78/2019: mistake as to unlawfulness on appeal

Violation of the rights to a trial with all guarantees and to the defence: sentence on appeal imposed on the basis of reconsideration of the concurrence of a circumstance, the existence of ...

STC 78/2019

Constitutional Court · Scams and heritage

STC 61/2019: Test omitted from computer failure

Violation of the rights to judicial protection without defencelessness and to the presumption of innocence: preterition of evidence resulting from the defective functioning of the computer platform and of the office of...

ECLI:ES:TC:2019:61

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 37/2018: Personal test in cassation

Violation of the rights to a trial with all guarantees and to the defence: conviction in cassation imposed on the basis of a new assessment of personal evidence carried out without guarantee of immediacy...

ECLI:ES:TC:2018:37

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 36/2018: Personal test and direct examination of the evidence by the trial court

ECLI:ES:TC:2018:36

Constitutional Court · Criminal execution

STC 25/2018: Statute of limitations for related offences

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection in relation to the rights to liberty and to criminal legality: unreasonable application of the doctrine on criteria for the calculation of the time...

ECLI:ES:TC:2018:25

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 146/2017: mistake as to unlawfulness and appeal

Violation of the rights to a trial with all guarantees and to the defence: sentence in cassation imposed on the basis of reconsideration of the concurrence of a circumstance, the existence of a...

ECLI:ES:TC:2017:146

Constitutional Court · Scams and heritage

STC 22/2017: limitation and Constitutional Doctrine

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection: Appeal judgement departing from a repeated and known doctrine of Constitutional Court (STC 63/2005).

ECLI:ES:TC:2017:22

Constitutional Court · Scams and heritage

STC 51/2016: Constitutional doctrine and limitation

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection (law-based decision): Judgments that consciously depart from a well-known and repeated doctrine of Constitutional Court (STC 6...

STC 51/2016

Constitutional Court · Injury and integrity

STC 223/2015: Aggravated sentence upon appeal

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection: Judgment that, partially estimating the appeal filed exclusively by the defendant, aggravates the sentence imposed by the defendant.

STC 223/2015

Constitutional Court · Robbery and theft

STC 63/2015: Reasons for the statute of limitations

Violation of the right to effective judicial protection in relation to the rights to personal liberty and criminal legality: judicial decisions that do not satisfy the canon of motivation strengthen the right to...

STC 63/2015

Constitutional Court · Public health

STC 33/2015: Confession at the police station

Alleged violation of the rights to the effective judicial protection, to a trial with all guarantees and to the presumption of innocence: value of self-incriminating statements rendered in dilig...

STC 33/2015