Audiencia Nacional Lawyers in Marbella

Drug Trafficking Carried Out by Criminal Organizations

Defense in cases involving offences against public health under Articles 368 et seq. of the Criminal Code, in connection with Article 65.1.d) LOPJ — jurisdiction that is triggered when the conduct is carried out by an organized group and produces effects in places belonging to different Audiencias Provinciales (provincial courts) — including international maritime, air, and land trafficking operations.

• STS 703/2024, de 4 de julio: the Criminal Chamber confirms Spanish jurisdiction over a Polish-flagged sailing vessel intercepted in international waters off Cartagena carrying 4,760 kg of hashish, clarifying the operation of Article 23.4.d) LOPJ in connection with the international treaties and normative instruments that confer jurisdiction on Spain.
• STS 950/2013, de 5 de diciembre: sets out the Second Chamber's settled doctrine on the structural elements of a criminal organization under Article 570 bis of the Criminal Code — temporal stability, division of roles, and coordination among its members — decisive for distinguishing principal and joint-principal liability from mere cooperation or a peripheral role of the person under investigation, with a direct bearing on the sentence to be imposed.

Passive Extradition and the European Arrest Warrant

Defense before the Sections of the Criminal Chamber with jurisdiction over passive extradition and the execution of European Arrest Warrants, under the European Convention on Extradition of 13 December 1957 and its Additional Protocols, Law 4/1985 of 21 March on Passive Extradition, Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA, and Law 23/2014 of 20 November on the mutual recognition of criminal judgments within the European Union.

• STC 26/2014, de 13 de febrero, Pleno (Melloni case): sets out the constitutional doctrine on the limits to surrender in execution of a European Arrest Warrant when the conviction was handed down in a trial held in the requested person's absence, and on the scope of the right of defense within the framework of mutual recognition of criminal judgments in the European Union.

Economic and Financial Offences of Particular Seriousness

Defense in cases involving economic and financial offences of particular seriousness, in particular those producing effects in places belonging to different provincial courts (Audiencias Provinciales), as well as in cases relating to offences against the Crown and against senior State institutions, under Article 65.1.c) LOPJ.

• ATS 20329/2025, de 21 de febrero: systematizes the criteria for attributing jurisdiction to the Audiencia Nacional under Article 65.1.c) LOPJ in fraud and swindling offences, setting the indicative quantitative threshold of "serious impact" on the national economy at around €7,000,000 and clarifying the scope of the requirement that a "large number of persons" be affected across the territory of more than one Audiencia.

Terrorism Offences

Defense in terrorism cases under Article 65.1.a) LOPJ, from the pre-trial investigation phase through to trial, including the jurisdictional disputes that frequently arise over the legal characterization of the facts.

• STS 1108/2024, de 2 de diciembre (case of the murder of the sacristan of Algeciras): confirms that the jurisdiction of the Audiencia Nacional in terrorism matters is determined by the legal characterization advanced by the prosecuting parties and not by the final outcome of the trial, such that once trial has been opened for a terrorism offence, jurisdiction lies exclusively with the Audiencia Nacional.

Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: Maritime Piracy and Trafficking in International Waters

Defense in cases involving offences committed outside national territory whose prosecution falls under Spanish jurisdiction pursuant to Article 23 LOPJ, with particular relevance to maritime piracy, drug trafficking carried out in international waters, and cooperation with Eurojust and Europol.

• STS 703/2024, de 4 de julio, y STS 593/2014, de 24 de julio: both confirm the jurisdiction of the Spanish courts over vessels without Spanish flag intercepted in international waters — the latter concerning a vessel boarded in the Alboran Sea carrying 16,057.71 kg of hashish — on the basis of Article 23.4.d) LOPJ in connection with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1988 Vienna Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which authorize the boarding, visit, and inspection of suspect vessels on the high seas.

Evidentiary Regime for Evidence of Foreign Origin

Scrutiny of the incorporation into Spanish proceedings of evidence obtained abroad: verification of the formal channel used, confirmation that the measure was carried out in accordance with the safeguards of the originating legal system and in compliance with the minimum standards of Spanish law, and examination of the translation and legalization of the documentation submitted, in accordance with the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 or, failing that, through consular legalization.

• STS 475/2018, de 17 de octubre: analyzes the validity requirements for communications interceptions carried out abroad in execution of a letter rogatory, on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition under Law 23/2014, and the specific statutory grounds on which their incorporation into Spanish proceedings may be challenged.

Comprehensive Review of the Case File

The first task in any case heard before the Audiencia Nacional is the complete review of the case file — often made up of tens of thousands of pages, police reports, letters rogatory, telephone interceptions, and international cooperation proceedings. There is no technical defense without command of the case file, and no command of the case file without personal reading by the attorney who signs the submission.

Thorough Statutory and Case-Law Grounding

Every procedural submission filed before the Sections of the Criminal Chamber is built on the express citation of the applicable substantive and procedural law, the international treaties that apply, and the case law of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and the European Court of Human Rights, with the relevant passages reproduced verbatim and reasoned as to their applicability to the facts of the case. In a court such as the Audiencia Nacional, the technical quality of the submission is inseparable from the outcome.

A Three-Pronged Approach

• Substantive defense: examination of the applicable offence and all of its elements, objective and subjective; analysis of the iter criminis and the degree of completion; determination of the form of participation — principal liability, joint-principal liability, necessary cooperation, or complicity — with sentencing consequences under Articles 28, 29, and 63 of the Criminal Code; examination of the concurrence of statutory provisions and offences; presence of circumstances modifying criminal liability; and any applicable statute of limitations under Articles 130 to 133 of the Criminal Code.
• Procedural defense: concerning the regularity of the measures carried out, the chain of custody, telephone interceptions, and acts of international cooperation, including scrutiny of evidence of foreign origin and of the handling protocols for information obtained through police cooperation channels.
• Formal defense: concerning the documentation in the case file and its adequacy to establish the legal requirements for the judicial action taken.

None of the three levels is subordinate to the others.

Coordination With International Cooperation

In matters with a multi-jurisdictional dimension, the firm's work draws on specific operational knowledge of Europol's SIENA channels, the regime governing Interpol notices and diffusions, and the timeframes and formal requirements of letters rogatory under Article 177 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

Our Standard of Client Communication

In-person or video-conference meetings, with an interpreter, translation of the relevant documentation into the client's language, and a technical explanation of the procedural scenario, the foreseeable timeframes, and the decisions that fall to the client at each stage.