Criminal Appeal in Spain: Practical Guide 2026

# Criminal Appeal in Spain: Practical Guide 2026

Spain's Law 41/2015 introduced full second-instance review in criminal proceedings, universalizing the apelación appeal against first-instance criminal judgments. Before this reform, defendants convicted by a Provincial Court (Audiencia Provincial) could only appeal directly to the Supreme Court via casación.

Appeal structure

District court / Criminal court → Audiencia Provincial; Audiencia Provincial → TSJ; TSJ → Tribunal Supremo (Sala 2ª).

Appealable resolutions

Judgments: all Tribunal de Instancia de lo Penal judgments are appealable to the Audiencia Provincial (Art. 790.1 LECrim). Provincial Court judgments are appealable to the TSJ.

Orders (Art. 766 LECrim): remand, provisional release, free dismissal (sobreseimiento libre), evidence denial, precautionary measures.

Deadlines

Sentences from the Criminal Court: 10 business days from notification (Art. 790.1 LECrim). Provincial Court sentences: 10 business days (Art. 846 bis a). Orders: 5 business days (Art. 766.2). These are strict preclusion deadlines, late appeals are inadmissible (STS 2ª 15 January 2020).

Grounds for appeal (Art. 790.2 LECrim)

1. Breach of procedural guarantees causing defense prejudice.
2. Error in evidence assessment (documentary/expert evidence more fully reviewable than personal testimony).
3. Infringement of constitutional or legal rules (incorrect legal classification, wrong penalty determination).

Suspensive effect

Criminal appeals have suspensive effect: the sentence is not enforced while the appeal is pending (Art. 794 LECrim). Exception: remand orders are immediately enforceable.

Lexiel locates TSJ criminal appeal case law, verifies deadlines and drafts appeal briefs with precise identification of Art. 790.2 LECrim grounds.