Article 775 Spanish Criminal Procedure Act: First Appearance of the Accused and Address for Service

Article 775 of the Criminal Procedure Act governs the first appearance of the person under investigation before the judge. Three things happen there, and each has consequences. The judge informs the person, in the most comprehensible manner, of the acts attributed to him; the judicial officer informs him of his rights under article 118; and he is required to designate an address in Spain for service, or a person to receive it, with the express warning that service at that address will permit the trial to be held in his absence in the cases of article 786. For a foreign national, that designation determines whether he may be tried without being present.

Wording of Article 775 of the Spanish Criminal Procedure Act

Requirements and procedure

1. Information as to the acts attributed, given in the most comprehensible manner, which for a person who does not speak Spanish requires interpretation.
2. Prior information as to the rights of article 118, given by the judicial officer.
3. A requirement to designate an address in Spain, or a person to receive service, together with the express warning as to trial in absentia.
4. The opportunity to confer privately with the lawyer both before and after making a statement, subject only to the exception of article 527(c).

Defence strategy

The designation of an address and its consequences. This is the point that foreign clients least expect. Designating an address in Spain, or a person to receive service, permits the trial to proceed in absence where the penalty limits of article 787 are met. The decision is a strategic one: designating the lawyer’s office ensures that notifications are actually received and acted upon, whereas designating a holiday address at which nobody resides produces service that is formally valid and practically ineffective, which is how clients discover a conviction years later.

The quality of the information as to the acts attributed. The information must be comprehensible. Where it was read at speed, where no interpreter was present or where the interpreter translated only part, the appearance is defective, and the defect affects everything that follows including any order continuing the case as an abbreviated procedure. The recording of the appearance is obtained and compared with the record.

Private consultation with the lawyer. The right to confer privately both before and after the statement is unqualified except in the incommunicado cases of article 527(c). Where the client was taken directly into the courtroom without any opportunity to speak to his lawyer, or where the consultation took place in the presence of officers, the statement is challengeable. The complaint must be recorded at the time.

Changes in the object of the investigation. Paragraph 2 obliges the judge to inform the accused promptly of any relevant change. Where the classification was raised, where new acts were added or where the amount alleged increased materially without that communication, the defence has been prepared against a different case. Raising this at once, rather than at trial, ordinarily obliges the court to reformulate the attribution and to allow a fresh statement.

• Article 118: rights of the accused
• Article 787: attendance at trial and trial in absentia
• Article 779: closing the preliminary investigation
• Spanish-language entry

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.