Article 795 Spanish Criminal Procedure Act: Scope of the rapid procedure

1. Without prejudice to the provisions applicable to the other special procedures, the procedure regulated in this Title shall apply to the investigation and trial of offences punishable by a custodial penalty not exceeding five years, or by any other penalties, whether single, joint or alternative, whose duration does not exceed ten years, whatever their amount, provided that the criminal proceedings are commenced by virtue of a police report and that the judicial police have detained a person and brought that person before the duty court, or that, without detaining that person, they have summoned that person to appear before the duty court by reason of being named as the person reported in the police report, and that, in addition, any of the following circumstances is present:

1. That the offences be flagrant. For these purposes, a flagrant offence shall be taken to be one which is being committed or has just been committed when the offender is caught in the act. A person shall be taken to be caught in the act not only where the offender is detained at the moment of committing the offence, but also where detained or pursued immediately after committing it, if the pursuit continues or is not suspended while the offender does not place himself or herself beyond the immediate reach of those pursuing. A person shall also be regarded as caught in flagrante who is surprised immediately after the commission of an offence with effects, instruments or traces which permit the participation of that person in it to be presumed.

2. That the offence be one of the following:

a) Offences of injury, coercion, threats or habitual physical or psychological violence, committed against the persons referred to in Article 173.2 of the Criminal Code.

b) Offences of theft.

c) Offences of robbery.

d) Offences of theft and robbery for the use of vehicles.

e) Offences against road safety.

f) Offences of criminal damage referred to in Article 263 of the Criminal Code.

g) Offences against public health provided for in the second part of Article 368 of the Criminal Code.

h) Flagrant offences relating to intellectual and industrial property provided for in Articles 270, 273, 274 and 275 of the Criminal Code.

i) Offences of unlawful entry into a dwelling under Article 202 of the Criminal Code.

j) Offences of usurpation under Article 245 of the Criminal Code.

3. That the punishable act be one whose investigation is presumably simple.

2. The procedure regulated in this Title shall not apply to the investigation and trial of those offences which are connected with one or more other offences not covered by the preceding paragraph.

3. This procedure shall not apply in those cases in which it is appropriate to order the secrecy of the proceedings in accordance with the provisions of Article 302.

4. In all matters not expressly provided for in this Title, the rules of Title II of this same Book, relating to the abbreviated procedure, shall apply in a supplementary manner.

Working translation prepared by Société Juridique from the consolidated Spanish text published by the Official State Gazette. It has no official status: the only authoritative version is the Spanish original, available at the Official State Gazette and reproduced verbatim in our Spanish-language entry for this provision. Source: Royal Decree of 14 September 1882 approving the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act.