INDULT

The pardon is one of the causes of extinction of criminal liability and is regulated in the Law of June 18, 1870. This is an exceptional measure that allows the Government to pardon a person who has been sentenced for committing a crime, thus preventing him from serving the sentence imposed, reducing its duration or substituting it for a lighter sentence. The pardon thus makes it possible to assess circumstances that the Courts cannot take into account when deciding whether or not to convict a certain person.

To whom may a pardon be granted?

Only to those persons who have been sentenced by a final judgment for the commission of a crime, who are at the disposal of the sentencing Court and who are not repeat offenders (although if they are repeat offenders, they may be granted a pardon if there are reasons of justice, equity or public convenience). However, pardon is not applicable to those convicted of certain crimes, such as the crime of rebellion, crimes against the Crown….

Types of pardon

A pardon may be total, in which case it entails the remission of all the penalties to which a subject has been sentenced, or partial, which entails the remission of some of the penalties imposed or part of them.

Who can apply for a pardon?

This may be requested by the family members of the convicted person, any other person acting on their behalf, the sentencing Court itself, the Supreme Court, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Government or the Treatment Board of the penitentiary establishment in which they are serving their sentence.

Procedure for processing the pardon

First, the corresponding application must be submitted to the Ministry of Justice, the sentencing court, the corresponding penitentiary center or the Government Delegation of the province where the convicted person is located. This application is forwarded to the Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the formation and processing of the file. This file is then sent to the sentencing Court for a report, which is not binding on the Government, so that the latter may grant the pardon, even if the Court’s report is unfavorable. Finally, the decision on the granting or denial of the pardon corresponds to the Council of Ministers, although it is formally granted by the King.

Effects of the pardon

The granting of a pardon entails the pardon of all or part of the sentence. In the case of a fine, the pardon exempts from the payment of the outstanding amount, but, as a general rule, it does not imply the return of the amounts already paid. Furthermore, the pardon does not affect the civil liability or the procedural costs, which must be paid by the convicted person, nor does it entail the extinction of the criminal record, which can only be cancelled once the legally established time periods have elapsed.

What are the differences between pardon and amnesty?

A pardon entails the pardon of the sentence, while an amnesty entails the pardon of the crime and, therefore, only the latter entails the extinguishment of the criminal record. In addition, the pardon affects a specific person, while the amnesty affects a plurality of persons.