Article 557 Spanish Criminal Code: Public disorder

Frequently asked questions

What penalty does Article 557 of the Spanish Criminal Code provide for public disorder?

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.

What are the elements of the offence under Article 557 of the Spanish Criminal Code?

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.

What defence strategy applies to a charge under Article 557 of the Spanish Criminal Code?

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.

Is the English text of Article 557 of the Spanish Criminal Code official?

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.