Skip to content

Where are you from?

Choose your province and we will tell you how the deputies and senators you elected vote, one by one.

 

We remember it in this browser. If you create an account, we keep it there.
Sign in

Type a law, a topic, a person or a province.

What it is

Proposal to let Spanish courts try international crimes without limits

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Withdrawn

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 19 February 2016. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario de Esquerra Republicana.

Official title: Private member's organic bill amending Organic Law 6/1985, of July 1, on the Judiciary, regarding the improvement of universal jurisdiction.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000010· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The proposal explains that universal justice allows Spain to try very serious crimes such as genocide or torture even when committed abroad and even when the victims are not Spanish. It notes that reforms in 2009 and 2014 greatly limited this possibility.
  2. The bill would allow Spanish courts to try crimes committed outside Spain by Spaniards or by foreigners who later acquired Spanish nationality, under certain conditions: the act must be a crime where it was committed, the victim or the Public Prosecutor's Office must file a complaint, and the offender must not have already been tried or served the sentence there.
  3. It would also list crimes Spanish courts could pursue even when committed by Spaniards or foreigners abroad: genocide, terrorism, torture, piracy, human trafficking, forced disappearance, violence against women and others.
  4. A paragraph of Article 23 of the organic law A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes. on the Judiciary would be deleted, and the law would take effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado).

Who it affects

  • Victims of international crimes: They could turn to Spanish courts even if they are not Spanish or do not live in Spain.
  • People suspected of these crimes: They could be tried in Spain even if the acts happened abroad and they are not Spanish.
  • Public Prosecutor's Office and victims: They would be the ones able to file criminal complaints in these cases.

Words worth knowing

Justicia o jurisdicción universal (universal justice)
The idea that a country's courts can try very serious crimes even when committed in another country and the victims are not from that country.
Genocidio (genocide)
The crime of deliberately killing or destroying a human group because of its origin, ethnicity or religion.
Lesa humanidad (crimes against humanity)
Very serious crimes committed on a massive or systematic scale against civilians, such as murder or deportation.
Ministerio Fiscal (Public Prosecutor's Office)
The public body that represents the State's interests in criminal trials.
Querella (criminal complaint)
A written filing by which a person asks a judge to open a criminal case for a crime.
organic law
A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is withdrawn.

  1. Introduced19 February 2016Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted23 February 2016The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 5 official steps on a timeline
Feb 2016Mar 201611. 19 February 2016: Presentación22. 23 February 2016: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 23/02/2016 hasta 26/02/201633. 23 February 2016: Calificación44. 26 February 2016: Gobierno Contestación desde 26/02/2016 hasta 05/04/201655. 5 April 2016: Concluido - (Retirado) desde 05/04/2016 hasta 08/04/2016

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

Whoever introduced it withdrew it, or it was merged into another one. It goes no further.

It was presented again:

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

Read the full method · Report an error