Compensation for wrongful convictions in Spain

Abstract

The Spanish regulation of the patrimonial responsibility of the State regarding the administration of justice covers three cases for compensation: a) judicial error; b) irregular functioning of the administration of justice; and c) unfair detention on remand (cases of detention on remand followed by acquittal). On the one hand, a great debate has focused on the scope of application of the third assumption because, over the decades, there have been very controversial judicial pronouncements, both by the Supreme Court and by the European Court of Human Rights, in affairs related to Spain. And it has finally resulted in the Spanish Constitutional Court declaring the Spanish norm partially unconstitutional, forcing the courts of justice to reinterpret Article 294 of the Organic Law 6/1985, 1 July, of the Judiciary (hereinafter LOPJ) until the legislator reforms the norm. On the other hand, another serious defect of the State liability system is the absence of a concrete legal framework to calculate the compensation of the damage caused by last instance judicial decisions or irregular functioning of the administration of justice.