Article 351 Spanish Criminal Code: Arson endangering life or physical integrity

Article 351 punishes causing a fire which entails a danger to the life or physical integrity of persons with imprisonment of ten to twenty years, with a possible reduction of one degree, and refers the acts to the criminal damage of Article 266 where no such danger exists.

Wording of Article 351 of the Spanish Criminal Code

Elements of the offence

1. The causing of a fire, which requires an autonomous propagation of the flames and not merely a localised burning.
2. A danger to the life or physical integrity of persons, which is a concrete and not an abstract danger.
3. Intent covering both the fire and the creation of that danger, negligent conduct falling under Article 358.
4. The absence of that danger, which refers the acts to the criminal damage of Article 266.

Defence strategy

Concrete character of the danger. The case law requires a concrete danger to determinate persons and not the abstract possibility of harm. Establishing that the building was empty, that the fire was confined and that no person was within its reach is what refers the conduct to Article 266.

Reduction for lesser magnitude of the danger. The provision itself permits the penalty of the next lower degree. Expert evidence on the propagation, on the materials involved and on the actual distance to occupied areas is the material upon which that reduction is obtained, and the reduction is substantial.

Reclassification as negligence. Where the fire resulted from an imprudent act, and not from an intention to burn, Article 358 applies with a far lower frame. The origin of the fire, established by expert evidence, is habitually the decisive issue.

Voluntary desistance and mitigation. Where the perpetrator acted to extinguish the fire or to warn the occupants, that conduct may amount to a mitigating circumstance of reparation and, in some cases, to a desistance affecting the very existence of the danger.

• Article 263 CP: criminal damage
• Article 352 CP: forest fires
• Arson and fire offences in Spain
• Criminal damage 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.