Article 557 Spanish Criminal Code: Public disorder

Article 557 punishes those who, acting in a group and with the aim of attacking public peace, carry out acts of violence or intimidation against persons or property, obstruct public thoroughfares endangering life or health, or invade premises disrupting essential services.

Wording of Article 557 of the Spanish Criminal Code

1. Those who, acting in a group and with the aim of attacking public peace, carry out acts of violence or intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to three years:

a) Against persons or property; or

b) by obstructing public thoroughfares causing a danger to the life or health of persons; or

c) by invading installations or buildings seriously disrupting the effective operation of essential services in those places.

2. The acts described in the preceding paragraph shall be punished with imprisonment of three to five years and special disqualification from public employment or office for the same period where they are committed by a multitude whose number, organisation and purpose are apt seriously to affect public order. Where the perpetrators hold public authority, the disqualification shall be absolute for a term of six to eight years.

3. The penalties of the preceding paragraphs shall be imposed in their upper half upon the participants who carried dangerous instruments or upon those who carried out acts of pillage.

These penalties shall be applied in the next higher degree where firearms were carried.

4. Incitement, conspiracy and the proposal in respect of the conduct provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article shall be punished with the penalties of the next lower degree or of the two next lower degrees to those respectively provided for.

5. Whoever, in a crowded place, causes a stampede, rush or other analogous reaction in the public which places the life or health of persons in a situation of danger shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.

6. The penalties indicated in this article shall be imposed without prejudice to those which may correspond for the specific acts of injury, threats, coercion or damage which have been carried out.

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: Organic Law 10/1995 of 23 November, the Spanish Criminal Code.

Sentencing range. Imprisonment of six months to three years, rising to three to five years where the acts are committed by a multitude apt seriously to affect public order, imposed in the upper half where dangerous instruments were carried and in the next higher degree where firearms were carried.

Elements of the offence

Action in a group, which requires a plurality of persons acting with a common purpose.
The aim of attacking public peace, which is a subjective element distinct from the individual acts carried out.
One of the three forms of conduct of paragraph 1, namely violence or intimidation against persons or property, the obstruction of thoroughfares with danger to persons, or the invasion of premises disrupting essential services.
For the frame of paragraph 2, a multitude whose number, organisation and purpose are apt seriously to affect public order.

Defence strategy

Individualisation of the conduct. The offence does not admit collective attribution. Establishing which specific act each accused carried out, and that mere presence at the scene or participation in a demonstration is not conduct within the provision, is the central task of the defence.

The aim of attacking public peace. The provision requires that specific aim. Acts carried out in the course of a lawful demonstration, or as a spontaneous reaction to an incident, lack it, and the offence is not made out however serious the individual acts may be.

Carrying a dangerous instrument. Paragraph 3 requires the instrument to have been carried by the participant concerned. Objects found at the scene, or carried for a lawful purpose, do not satisfy the aggravation, which raises the penalty by half a frame or a full degree.

Concurrence with the specific acts. Paragraph 6 permits the accumulation with the injuries, threats or damage actually caused. Delimiting what is absorbed by the disorder and what is punished separately prevents a double assessment of the same conduct.

Are you under investigation or facing charges in Spain? Société Juridique acts for foreign nationals throughout Spain, with offices in Alicante and Madrid and a 24-hour custody line. +34 669 30 21 13 or enquire online.

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.

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