Updated to LO 1/2026 and LO 1/2025 · Reviewed July 2026 · Author: Francisco Javier Martín Porras, criminal lawyer and court expert · SCJE team
No criminal decision is final until the appeals are exhausted: reform and appeal during the investigation, appeal against judgments, cassation before the Supreme Court and, as the last cartridge, the review of final convictions. Every remedy has fatal time limits (from 3 to 10 days) and fixed grounds that demand technique, not vehemence. We comment on the complete system after the reforms that generalised the second instance.
In brief. In brief. Reform: 3 days, before the same judge; appeal: 5 days, before the Provincial Court. Appeal against judgments of the criminal court: 10 days, on the grounds of art. 790.2. Cassation: preparation within 5 days; infringement of law, constitutional provision and procedural defects. Review (art. 954) reopens final convictions with new facts or evidence.
The Spanish system of criminal remedies runs from reform and appeal against the investigating judge’s decisions (3 and 5 days), through appeal against judgments (10 days, on the grounds of art. 790.2 LECrim), to cassation before the Supreme Court (preparation within 5 days, for infringement of law, procedural defects or violation of a constitutional provision) and, exceptionally, the review of final convictions under art. 954 when new facts or evidence show innocence. Every remedy has fatal time limits and fixed grounds: choosing the wrong vehicle or missing the deadline closes the door, because the calendar is as important as the argument.
Our practice: preservation of grounds from the first instance, because what was not objected to cannot be raised in cassation; appeals with requests for evidence in the second instance (art. 790.3) where appropriate; cassation for cassational interest in minor offences and judgments of the criminal courts (art. 847.1.b); and review and amparo as the national closing strategy before Strasbourg.
| Remedy | Legal basis | Time limit | Grounds or scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Arts. 216 et seq. LECrim | 3 days | Optional, before the same judge; cheap re-examination filter |
| Appeal against orders | Arts. 216 et seq. and 766 LECrim | 5 days | Only in the cases provided: detention, dismissal, precautionary measures |
| Appeal against judgments | Art. 790 LECrim | 10 days | Procedural breaches, error in assessing evidence, infringement of rules |
| Evidence on appeal | Art. 790.3 LECrim | With the appeal brief | Only evidence wrongly denied or impossible at trial |
| Appeal to the High Court | Art. 846 ter LECrim | 10 days | Against first-instance judgments of the Provincial and National Courts |
| Cassation | Arts. 847 to 906 LECrim | 5 days to prepare | Infringement of law, procedural defects, constitutional violation |
| Cassational interest | Art. 847.1.b LECrim | 5 days to prepare | Judgments of the criminal courts, only art. 849.1, to unify doctrine |
| Review | Arts. 954 to 961 LECrim | No fixed limit | New facts or evidence, declared falsehoods, ECtHR judgments |
Summary drawn from the Spanish source page for orientation purposes. The applicable provisions are those in force at the relevant time; each case requires individual analysis by a criminal lawyer.
Original commentary by the firm, checked against the reference work in our library: Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal Comentada, Lefebvre-El Derecho, 13th edition, May 2026. Every remedy has fatal time limits and fixed grounds that demand technique, not vehemence: what was not preserved at first instance cannot be raised in cassation, and the design of each appeal conditions the next one.
The time limits run from notification to your court agent or lawyer: 10 days for appeal against judgments, 5 to prepare cassation. When a client arrives “with last week’s judgment”, the first thing we check is the date stamp.
Detention, closures and precautionary measures are appealed within days. The direct appeal gains time; adhesion to the opponent’s appeal reactivates claims out of time.
Three exceptional routes: review under art. 954, the incident of nullity of proceedings, and amparo before the Constitutional Court within 30 days. Exceptional does not mean impossible: they are prepared with the same seriousness as a trial.
Art. 847.1.b opened cassation to judgments of the criminal courts for cassational interest: the route to unify doctrine in “minor” offences where the Provincial Courts disagree.
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