Updated to LO 1/2026 and LO 1/2025 · Reviewed July 2026 · Author: Francisco Javier Martín Porras, criminal lawyer and court expert · SCJE team
For the convicted person, the real process begins with finality: sentence liquidation, payment demands, imprisonment or suspension, prison classification, leave permits, open regime, conditional release. Enforcement is a discipline of its own where every month is fought for, and where passivity costs years. We comment on the complete circuit, from the enforcing court to the prison supervision judge.
In brief. In brief. Enforcement belongs to the sentencing court; prison life, to the supervision judge. The sentence liquidation deducts pre-trial detention and measures endured. Imprisonment can be avoided or delayed: suspensions, deferrals, a pardon in process. Classification in grades decides permits, regime and semi-liberty.
Once the judgment is final, the enforcement order opens: enforcement belongs to the sentencing court (arts. 983 to 985 LECrim), while prison life is governed by the General Penitentiary Act and its Regulation under the control of the prison supervision judge. The circuit runs through the sentence liquidation with credit for pre-trial detention and measures endured, the accumulation of sentences under art. 988 LECrim and art. 76 CP, the new single 10-day brief of art. 988 bis introduced by LO 1/2025, suspension or substitution of custodial penalties, classification in grades, leave permits, open regime and conditional release under art. 90 CP.
Our enforcement method: review of every liquidation, because credits under arts. 58-59 and accumulations under art. 76 hide real months; suspensions under art. 80 requested and documented before the imprisonment demand; the initial classification worked from day one, because open regime does not arrive by itself; and appeals before the supervision judge and the Provincial Court on permits and progressions.
| Stage | Legal basis | Content | What is won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finality and enforcement order | Arts. 983 to 985 LECrim | Enforcement by the sentencing court, only after finality | Premature enforcements halted with certification of pendency |
| Sentence liquidation | Art. 988 LECrim and arts. 58-59 CP | Computation with credit for detention and measures endured | Real months deducted in every reviewed liquidation |
| Accumulation of sentences | Art. 988 LECrim and art. 76 CP | Cap of triple the most serious penalty for connectable facts | Sums of 15 years can become 6 or 9 |
| Single 10-day brief | Art. 988 bis LECrim (LO 1/2025) | Suspension, instalments and all requests in one document | Prepared before finality, it avoids imprisonment by oversight |
| Payments and instalments | Arts. 990 et seq. LECrim | Demands, deferrals, insolvencies, personal liability | Allocation order and instalments negotiated with margin |
| Suspension and expulsion | Arts. 80 and 89 CP | Suspension at enforcement; substitutive expulsion with hearing | Requested before the demand; art. 89 works both ways |
| Classification and permits | LOGP and Prison Regulation | Grades, permits from one quarter, six-month reviews | Board decisions appealed before the supervision judge |
| Conditional release | Art. 90 CP | Three quarters (or two thirds advanced), prognosis, civil liability | Fine calculation of dates; revocation risk always advised |
Summary drawn from the Spanish source page for orientation purposes. The applicable provisions are those in force at the relevant time; each case requires individual analysis by a criminal lawyer.
Original commentary by the firm, checked against the reference work in our library: Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal Comentada, Lefebvre-El Derecho, 13th edition, May 2026. There are years of liberty hidden in non-accumulated liquidations and unappealed Board decisions: enforcement is litigated with the same technique as the trial.
If the penalty is suspendable (up to 2 years, first offence), the suspension is requested before any demand: while it is decided, there is no imprisonment. Never fail to appear: it turns the enforcement into an arrest warrant.
The accumulation of art. 988 LECrim applies the cap of triple the most serious penalty: sums of 15 years can become 6 or 9. Old enforcement orders are reviewed: there are years of liberty hidden in non-accumulated liquidations.
Permits from one quarter of the sentence in second grade with good conduct; progressions reviewable every 6 months. Files with guarantors, courses and employment ties progress; unreasoned denials are revoked on appeal.
Substitutive expulsion requires a hearing and proportionality: proven roots exclude it, and for those who prefer expulsion to prison, it is requested. Art. 89 is a two-way tool.
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