Article 204 Spanish Criminal Code: unlawful entry by officials

Article 204 of the Spanish Criminal Code aggravates unlawful entry into dwellings and premises when committed by an authority or public official outside the cases allowed by law and without a criminal-law ground: it imposes the penalty of Articles 202 or 203 in its upper half plus absolute disqualification of six to twelve years.

Wording of Article 204 of the Spanish Criminal Code

Elements of the offence

1. The status of authority or public official, acting as such.
2. Conduct defined in Articles 202 or 203: entry or remaining against the owner’s will.
3. Action outside the cases permitted by law.
4. Absence of a criminal-law ground authorising the entry, such as flagrancy or a judicial warrant.

Defence strategy

Establishing legal authorisation. Valid consent of the owner, flagrant crime or a judicial warrant exclude the offence. The official’s defence turns on documenting the enabling ground for the entry.

Examining urgency. Necessity and rescue situations decriminalise the entry; they are assessed as matters stood at the moment of acting, not with hindsight.

Separating disciplinary faults. An administrative irregularity does not equal the criminal intent to enter outside permitted cases; mistake as to the authorisation falls under Article 14.

Linking to unlawful evidence. For the person investigated in the underlying case, an illegal entry taints the evidence obtained; the official’s liability and the nullity of the search reinforce each other.

• Article 202: breaking into a dwelling
• Article 203: breaking into business premises
• Article 545: entry and search of dwellings
• Digital evidence in Spanish criminal proceedings

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.