What does the new reform of the Criminal Procedure Law consist of?

Reform of the Criminal Procedure Law by Royal Decree Law 5/2023

On June 28, 2023, Royal Decree-Law 5/2023, of June 28, was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). in which various procedural measures are regulated that modify the regulations governing the process in the different jurisdictional orders.

At Nieto Enríquez Criminal Lawyers, a criminal law firm in Barcelona , ​​we analyze the reforms of the Criminal Procedure Law and their impact on judicial proceedings, as well as the main changes introduced by Royal Decree-Law 5/2023.

Specifically, it includes a reform of the Criminal Procedure Law , which will come into force within 30 days, and which includes the following new features:

1. Amendment of article 746 LECrim

A series of measures are introduced that allow for a better reconciliation of personal and family life with the professional performance of lawyers, solicitors and graduates before the Courts. In this regard, Article 746 of the Criminal Procedure Law is amended, adding to section 4 of the provision a new paragraph relating to the suspension of the oral trial in cases of sudden illness, death, hospitalization or surgery for serious cause of a relative up to the second degree by consanguinity or affinity of the lawyer of any of the parties . Thus, section 4 is worded as follows:

“The oral proceedings shall also be suspended when any member of the Court, the Prosecutor or the defense counsel of any of the parties suddenly becomes ill to the point that they cannot continue to take part in the proceedings or the latter cannot be replaced without serious inconvenience to the defense of the interested party. The same shall apply, in the case of the defense counsel of any of the parties, in the event of death or hospitalization or surgery for a serious cause, of a relative up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity.”

Furthermore, a new section is added to the same precept that provides for the suspension of appointments by designation through the duty roster and in the case of the birth having occurred or begun suddenly or without enough time for another lawyer to take charge of the matter and prepare it. In this regard, the new section establishes the following:

“7. If the legal professional has been appointed through the court-appointed system, the proceedings will only be suspended for the time it takes the relevant professional association to appoint a new professional, in order to avoid causing prejudice to the party. If the suspension is requested because childbirth has occurred or begun suddenly, or without sufficient time for another lawyer to take charge of the case and prepare it, the hearing will be suspended for the minimum time necessary, taking into account its complexity.”

On the other hand, it should be noted that in article 179 of the LEC (which applies supplementarily to the LECrim) the leave for birth and care of a minor is regulated as a cause of suspension of the course of the proceedings and not only of the hearings or other appointments.

2. Amendment of articles 855 and 858 LECrim

Given the situation in the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court, the regulations governing criminal appeals are modified, introducing a series of filters consisting of:

1. Require that the document include a brief extract of the grounds for cassation that are intended to be argued , as well as citing the substantive provision of the Penal Code that is considered to have been violated . In this way, a new formal burden is introduced for potential appellants in cassation. To this end, Article 855 of the LECrim is amended by adding the following section:

“When it is intended to file an appeal against a judgment issued on appeal by a Provincial Court or the Criminal Chamber of the National Court for violation of law, the appellant must submit a document stating, in separate paragraphs, with the greatest clarity and conciseness, the concurrence of the required requirements, identifying the substantive precept or precepts that are considered to have been infringed and explaining succinctly the reasons that support such infringement.”

2. To expressly provide that the Provincial Court or the Criminal Chamber of the National Court may consider the appeal not prepared, in the event that the ground or grounds are alleged by a different means than that provided for in article 849.1 of the LECrim (error of Law) or the substantive precept of the Criminal Code that is considered to have been violated is not cited . The following paragraph is added to Article 858 of the LECrim:

“When it comes to an appeal in cassation against a judgment issued on appeal by a Provincial Court or the Criminal Chamber of the National Court, the Court shall deny, by reasoned order, the preparation when grounds other than those provided for in article 849.1 are alleged, a substantive precept allegedly infringed is not identified, the required brief extract is not included, or its content departs from the scope of article 849.1.”

3. Amendment of Article 882 of the Criminal Procedure Law

Article 882 of the LECrim eliminates the possibility of challenging the challenge to the appeal , which previously only occurred when the party was the appellant. Thus, the precept is worded as follows:

“Within the period specified for the preparation of the note by article 880, the Prosecutor and the parties shall be informed and may challenge the admission of the appeal or the joinder thereof. If they challenge it, they shall attach to the challenge document as many copies of it as there are other parties, to whom the lawyer of the Administration of Justice shall immediately deliver it.”

4. Amendment of Article 889 of the Criminal Procedure Law

Finally, a new section is introduced in Article 889 of the LECrim concerning the inadmissibility in certain cases of the appeal in cassation provided for in Article 847.1 a) of the LECrim, that is, the appeal in cassation for violation of law and for breach of form against the judgments issued in sole instance or on appeal by the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Superior Courts of Justice, and against the judgments issued by the Appeal Chamber of the National Court. Specifically, the following paragraph is added to the provision:

“ The inadmissibility of the appeal in cassation in the case provided for in article 847.1.a) may be agreed by a succinctly reasoned order provided that there is unanimity due to lack of relevance for cassation and the custodial sentence imposed, or the sum of the custodial sentences imposed, is not greater than five years, or any other sentences of a different nature have been imposed, whether single, joint or alternative, whatever their amount or duration .”

Therefore, the powers of inadmissibility of appeals of the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court are extended for reasons of expediency, even in cases that are presented as objectively serious according to the claims exercised by the parties. It should be remembered that the modifications relating to appeals will only apply to those submitted after the entry into force of Royal Decree-Law 5/2023. Appeals filed before its entry into force will continue to be processed in accordance with the previous procedural legislation.

As usual, this law has been amended again; you can read our article on the new update to the Reform of the Criminal Procedure Law through Royal Decree-Law 6/2023