Article 666 Spanish Criminal Procedure Act: Preliminary objections

Article 666 lists exhaustively the questions which may be raised as preliminary objections before the trial hearing: declinatory of jurisdiction, res judicata, limitation of the offence, amnesty or pardon, and the absence of the administrative authorisation required to prosecute.

Wording of Article 666 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act

Requirements and procedure

1. That the question raised be one of the five listed in the provision, since the list is exhaustive.
2. That it be raised within the period for the written statement of defence, in the terms of Articles 667 and following.
3. That it be dealt with in a separate file, with the intervention of all the parties.
4. That it be determined by a decision which, where the objection is rejected, does not prevent the question from being raised again at the trial hearing.

Defence strategy

Limitation of the offence. The plea of limitation requires the identification of the penalty frame in the abstract, of the date of commission and of the acts which genuinely interrupted the period. Raising it as a preliminary objection avoids a trial hearing which is unnecessary and, where rejected, preserves the point for the appeal.

Res judicata and identity of the object. The objection requires an identity of act and of person, and not an identity of legal classification. Producing the earlier judgment or order of free dismissal, and establishing the coincidence of the factual account, is the whole of the material upon which the objection rests.

Declinatory of jurisdiction. The plea covers both territorial and objective jurisdiction. Raising it at this stage prevents the consolidation of a defective forum, and the case law is restrictive as to any later challenge where the objection was available and was not raised.

Reiteration at the trial hearing. The rejection of a preliminary objection does not preclude the question. It must be reproduced at the outset of the trial hearing in order to preserve it for the appeal, and the omission of that step is a frequent cause of the loss of the ground.

• Article 650 LECrim: content of the written indictment
• Dismissal of criminal proceedings in Spain
• Limitation of criminal liability in Spain
• Criminal appeals in Spain

This entry is provided for information only and does not constitute legal advice. The application of any provision depends on the circumstances of the individual case and requires examination of the case file by a qualified lawyer.