24-hour criminal lawyer in Madrid: assistance on arrest

Also searched as: 24 hour lawyer Madrid · arrested in Madrid lawyer · emergency criminal lawyer Madrid · English speaking lawyer police station Madrid · duty solicitor Madrid

People who search for a 24-hour criminal lawyer in Madrid usually do so from a police station waiting room, from a duty court corridor or from home after a call they were not expecting. This page explains what will happen over the following hours, what rights the detainee has and exactly what the lawyer does, under article 520 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act (LECrim) and the practice of the Madrid duty courts. We conduct the assistance in English.

Where arrests take place in Madrid and where the detainee is taken

In the capital most arrests are made by the National Police, which holds the detainee at the district police station or at the central premises of the unit drawing up the report. The municipal police intervene in arrests in flagrante delicto and hand the person over to the National Police. In the municipalities of the region, jurisdiction is shared between the National Police and the Guardia Civil. The detainee remains in police custody until released or brought before the investigating section on duty of the Court of First Instance of Madrid or of the relevant judicial district. Two exceptions: under a European Arrest Warrant the person is brought before the Central Investigating Judge of the Audiencia Nacional within seventy-two hours (article 50 of Act 23/2014), and under a provisional arrest request for extradition, before the duty Central Investigating Judge within twenty-four hours (article 8 of Act 4/1985).

The rights of the detainee

Article 520.2 requires the detainee to be informed in writing, in simple language and in a language they understand, of the facts alleged, the reasons for the arrest and their rights: to remain silent, to decline to answer particular questions or to give a statement only before the judge; not to incriminate themselves; to appoint a lawyer and be assisted without undue delay; to access the elements of the file essential to challenge the detention; to have a relative informed of the detention and the place of custody; to make a telephone call to a third party; to be assisted free of charge by an interpreter; and to be examined by the forensic doctor. A foreign national is additionally entitled to have their consulate notified and to receive a consular visit. British nationals should note that the Embassy in Madrid can be notified at their request but does not provide legal representation.

Appointing the lawyer and the three-hour rule

The detainee appoints their lawyer freely and no officer may recommend one (article 520.5). The police immediately inform the Madrid Bar of the name of the lawyer appointed or of the request for a duty lawyer; the lawyer appointed must attend with the utmost promptness and always within three hours of receiving the instruction, failing which the Bar appoints a duty lawyer. Relatives frequently contact the firm before the detainee has been able to appoint anyone: in that case the lawyer contacts the police station and the detainee confirms the appointment. A lawyer of your choice may replace the duty lawyer who intervened earlier at any time.

What the lawyer does at the police station

Under article 520.6, the assistance consists of requesting that the detainee be informed of their rights and medically examined where appropriate; intervening in the statement, identification parades and reconstructions; having any incident recorded in the minutes; informing the detainee of the consequences of consenting or refusing the procedures proposed; and meeting the detainee in private, including before any statement is taken. In practice the decision the lawyer helps to take at the police station is the most important of the whole proceedings: whether to give a statement or to exercise the right to silence and reserve the statement for the court, when the full file will be known. In the vast majority of cases, and subject to exceptions assessed one by one, the advice is not to give a statement at the police station.

The seventy-two-hour limit and habeas corpus

Detention may not last longer than strictly necessary for the enquiries and, in any event, within seventy-two hours the detainee must be released or brought before a judge (article 520.1). If that limit is exceeded, if the arrest lacked legal grounds or formalities, or if the detainee’s rights are not respected, Organic Law 6/1984 allows a habeas corpus application to obtain immediate production before a judge, who rules on the lawfulness of the deprivation of liberty.

The hearing before the duty judge and pre-trial detention

Once produced before the judge, unless released without bail, the detainee is summoned as soon as possible and within seventy-two hours to the hearing under article 505, at which the prosecutor or the accusing parties may request pre-trial detention or release on bail. The suspect appears with their lawyer, argues and proposes evidence. Pre-trial detention requires, under article 503, that the offence carries a maximum penalty of two years or more, or less where there are unexpunged convictions for an intentional offence; that there are sufficient grounds to believe the suspect responsible; and that detention serves a legitimate purpose such as preventing flight, assessed on the nature of the facts, the severity of the penalty and the family, employment and financial situation. Article 502.2 adds that it is only ordered when objectively necessary and no less onerous measure achieves the same ends. For a foreign resident, a documented address in Madrid, employment or business activity and family ties are the arguments that weigh most, and we ask the family to gather them while the detainee is still at the police station; surrender of the passport, periodic reporting and bail are the usual alternatives.

Fast-track trial at the duty court itself

Where the offence carries up to five years’ imprisonment and there is flagrante delicto or another circumstance under article 795, the case may follow the fast-track procedure and be resolved at the duty court itself. Article 801 allows a plea with a one-third reduction of the sentence where the sentence sought does not exceed three years and, once reduced, two years. It is a decision to be taken with the police report read and with advice from someone who knows the practice of the Madrid courts, not under the pressure of the moment, particularly because a conviction creates a criminal record that affects residence and nationality applications.

Informative page prepared by Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert. It does not constitute legal advice and does not replace consultation with a lawyer on the specific case.

Last reviewed: 25 September 2026.