Understanding Official Misconduct and Legal Penalties
Prevarication of Officials and Other Unfair Conduct
Art 404. A public authority or official who knowingly commits injustice, prescribes an arbitrary decision in an administrative matter. Article 405. A public official or authority, in exercising their competence and knowing of their illegality, intends to appoint or gives possession to the exercise of a particular public office to any person without meeting the conditions established by law. Article 406. A penalty of a fine shall be imposed on the person accepting the proposal, appointment, or taking office mentioned in the previous article, knowing that no legally enforceable requirements exist.
Abandonment of Duty and Omission of the Duty to Pursue Art 407. 1. The authority or public official who neglects their duty in order not to impede or pursue any of the offenses covered in Titles XXI, XXII, XXIII, and XXIV shall face imprisonment and disqualification for public employment or office. If they fail to prevent the abandonment or do not pursue any other crime, they shall incur the penalty of disqualification for public employment or office. 2. The same penalties will be imposed, respectively, when the abandonment is not intended to execute the sentences for these crimes imposed by the competent judicial authority.
Art 408. The authority or officer who fails in the obligation of their office, intentionally fails to promote prosecution of crimes of which they become aware or responsible persons, shall incur the penalty of disqualification for public employment or office. Art 409. The authorities or public officials who promote, direct, or organize the collective abandonment of a manifestly unlawful public service shall be punishable by a fine and suspension from employment or public office. The public authorities or officials who merely participate in the collective or manifestly illegal abandonment of a public service essential to the serious detriment of the community shall also face a fine.
Disobedience and Refusal of Help Art 410. 1. Authorities or public officials who refuse to properly implement judgments, decisions, or orders from higher authority, issued within the scope of their competence and coated with the legal formalities, shall face a fine and disqualification for public employment or office. 2. Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, authorities shall not incur criminal liability or civil penalties for failing to comply with a mandate that would constitute a manifest infringement of clear and strict rules of law or otherwise generally available.
Art 411. The authority or public official who, having been suspended for any reason other than that expressed in paragraph two of the previous article, disobeys the orders of their superiors after they have disapproved the suspension, shall face fines and disqualification for public employment or office.
Art 412. 1. The public official who, as required by proper authority, does not provide suitable help for the Administration of Justice or other public service shall face fines and suspension from public employment or office. 2. If the required assistance comes from an outside authority, officer, or head of a police force, they shall face fines and suspension from public employment or office. 3. The authority or public official, required by an individual to provide any assistance to prevent a crime against the lives of people, who refrains from giving it, shall face a fine and disqualification for public employment or office. If it were a crime against integrity, sexual freedom, health, or personal freedom, they shall be sentenced to a fine and suspension from public employment or office. In the event that it were such a requirement to avoid any other criminal or wrongful act, the penalty shall be a fine and suspension from public employment or office.
Infidelity in the Custody of Documents and Violation of Secrecy Art 413. The authority or public official who knowingly steals, destroys, mutilates, or conceals, in whole or in part, documents whose care they are entrusted by virtue of their office shall face imprisonment, fines, and disqualification for public employment or office. Art 414. 1. The authority or public official who, by reason of their office, has been entrusted with the custody of documents for which the competent authority has restricted access, and who knowingly destroys or disables the means employed to prevent such access or consents to its destruction or misuse, shall face imprisonment or a fine and, in any case, disqualification for public employment or office. 2. The individual who destroys or mutilates the media referred to in the previous section shall face a fine.
Art 415. The authority or public official who, without authorization, allows access to secret documents whose care they are entrusted by virtue of their office shall face a fine and disqualification for public employment or office. Art 416. Those responsible for the accidental release or custody of documents, commissioned by the Government or public authorities or officials who have been entrusted by virtue of their office, shall be punished with imprisonment or a fine immediately below the listed penalties.
Art 417. 1. The authority or public official who discloses secrets or information of which they have knowledge by virtue of their office or position and should not be disclosed shall face a fine and disqualification for public employment or office. If the disclosure causes serious damage to the public or a third party, they shall face imprisonment and disqualification for public employment or office. If the secrets pertain to an individual, they shall face imprisonment, fines, and suspension from public employment or office.
Art 418. The individual who uses for themselves or a third party secret or privileged information obtained from a public official or authority shall face a fine of three times the profit made or facilitated. If it causes great harm to the public or to a third party, they shall face imprisonment.
Bribery Art 419. The authority or public official who requests or receives, in person or by proxy, a gift or present or accepts an offer or promise to perform an act or omission constituting a crime in the exercise of their office shall face imprisonment, a fine of three times the value of the gift, and specific disqualification from public employment or office, subject to the penalty for the crime committed because of the gift or promise.
Art 420. The authority or public official who requests or receives, in person or by proxy, a gift or promise to implement a wrongful act in the exercise of their office which constitutes an offense shall face imprisonment and disqualification for public employment or office, and imprisonment and disqualification for public employment or office if they do not execute the act. In both cases, a further fine of three times the value of the gift shall be imposed.
Art 421. When the gift requested, received, or promised is intended to induce the authority or public official to abstain from an act that should be practiced in the exercise of their office, they shall face a fine of twice the value of the gift and specific disqualification from public employment or office.
Art 422. The provisions of the preceding articles shall also apply to jurors, arbitrators, experts, or any persons participating in the exercise of public functions. Art 423. 1. Those who offer gifts, presents, or promises to corrupt public officials or authorities shall be punished with the same penalties of imprisonment and fines. 2. Those who turn requests from public authorities or officials into lesser offenses shall face penalties as prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
Art 424. When intimidation alters bribery in a criminal case in favor of the defendant by their spouse or other person linked in a stable manner by similar emotional relationship, or any ascendant, descendant, or sibling, the penalty of a fine shall be imposed on the briber.
Art 425. 1. The authority or public official who allows any gift or present or offer or promise to perform an act proper to their office or as a reward for an act already performed shall face a fine of three times the value of the gift and suspension from public employment or office. 2. In the case of a reward for an act already done, if this is a criminal offense, imprisonment, fines, and disqualification for public employment or office shall be imposed.
Art 426. The authority or public official who allows any gift or gift offered to them in view of their function or to achieve an act not prohibited by law shall face a fine.
Art 427. There shall be no punishment for the crime of bribery for those who have accessed a particular application of an occasional gift or present made by an authority or public official and denounces the fact that the authority has the duty to conduct its inquiry, before the opening of the relevant proceedings, if they have not been more than ten days from the date of the facts.
Influence Peddling Art 428. The public official or authority who influences another public official or authority to gain an advantage in the exercise of their powers or any other situation arising from their personal or hierarchical relationship shall face imprisonment, a fine of twice the target profit obtained, and specific disqualification from public employment or office. If they have received the benefit sought, penalties will be imposed in the upper half.
Art 429. The individual who influences a public official or authority taking advantage of any situation arising from their personal relationship to obtain a resolution that can generate, directly or indirectly, an economic benefit for themselves or a third party shall face imprisonment and a fine of twice the target profit obtained. If they have received the benefit sought, penalties will be imposed in the upper half.
Art 430. Those who offer to perform the acts described in previous articles, on request of a third gift, present, or other compensation, or accept an offer or promise, shall face imprisonment. In any of the cases referred to in this Article, the judicial authority may also impose the suspension of the activities of the partnership, corporation, organization, or office and the closure of their premises open to the public.
Art 431. In all cases under this chapter and the previous, gifts, presents, or gifts shall be forfeited.
From the Embezzlement Art 432. 1. The authority or public official who, for profit, steals or agrees that someone else with the same intent, subtracts public funds or property for which they are responsible by reason of their duties shall face imprisonment and absolute disqualification. 2. A penalty of imprisonment from four to eight years and disqualification for a period of ten to twenty years shall be imposed if the embezzlement is of particular gravity, regardless of the amounts stolen and damage or interference caused to public service. The same penalties apply if misappropriated items have been declared of historical or artistic value, or if they were aimed at alleviating public effects. 3. When calamity abduction does not reach the amount of 4,000 euros, penalties of fines from two to four months or imprisonment from six months to three years and suspension from public employment or office for a period of three years shall be imposed.
Art 433. The authority or public official who uses non-public funds or effects imputed to them by reason of their duties shall face fines and suspension from public employment or office. If the guilty party does not restore the misappropriated amount within ten days of the initiation of the process, the penalties will be imposed as stated in the previous article.
Art 434. The authority or public official, for profit, who causes serious injury to the public by giving a private application to movable or immovable property belonging to any administration or government entity shall face imprisonment and disqualification for public employment or office.
Art 435. The provisions of this chapter are extensive: for those responsible for any concept of funds, revenues, or government effects, as well as for legally designated individuals, flow or effects depositories, administrators, or trustees of money or property seized, seized, or deposited by public authority, even if belonging to individuals.
Fraud and Extortion Art 436. The authority or public official, speaking on grounds of office in any of the acts of procurement or effects on settlements or public assets, who consults interested parties or uses any other artifice to defraud any public body shall face imprisonment and disqualification for public employment or office.
Art 437. The authority or public official who requires, directly or indirectly, duties, tariffs, or fees for minutes that are not due or amounts greater than those legally appointed shall be punished, notwithstanding that reimbursements are required, with penalties and suspension from public employment or office.
Art 438. The authority or public official abusing their office, commits a crime of fraud or misappropriation, shall incur the penalties respectively prescribed for them, in the upper half, and disqualification for public employment or office for a period of two to six years.
When is the Crime of Theft Committed? Simply touching the item outside the owner’s domain area, in general, items should be incorporated into the heritage of the active subject.
Is Punishment Permissible for Attempt? Yes, under Articles 62 of the CP. The authors of attempted crimes shall be liable to a penalty lower by one or two degrees than that prescribed by law for the offense, to the extent that it considers appropriate, taking into account the inherent danger of the attempt and the degree of execution.
And the Preparation for Their Actions? No, according to Art. 269 of CP. The provocation, conspiracy, and incitement to commit crimes of theft, extortion, embezzlement, or misappropriation shall be punished with a penalty lower by one or two degrees of the crime in question.
Is it Punishable to Commit Theft if the Victim is a Relative? No, according to Article 268 of the CP. Spouses who are not legally separated or in the process of separation, divorce, or annulment of their marriage, as well as ascendants, descendants, and siblings by nature or by adoption, are exempt from criminal liability and civil subject only to property crimes caused between them, provided that no violence or intimidation is fulfilled.
Why Does the Criminal Code Provide Specific Aggravation When Theft is Committed in an Inhabited House? The basis of the aggravation is the possible risk to people and the severity of the injury to privacy. The rationale lies in the injury to personal or family privacy and the increased risk involved in achieving a home, which can lead to encounters with its inhabitants, risking personal legal interests.
Is There a Lack of Theft of Use? If less than 400 euros and there is no violence or force, it would be a lack of theft under Art. 623 CP.
Theft and Lack of Use? Theft of use of a vehicle when it is non-profit and is returned within 48 hours is the only theft that is not a crime, but a lack.
What is Typical Behavior of Driving a Stolen Car? The typical action of Art. 244 includes driving the vehicle, and only insofar as they have participated in such removal might be considered perpetrators. If they incorporate the use of the vehicle after the seizure, they do not respond as authors, but in any case as accessories or recipients.
Disappointment. Scam. Art. 248 SECTION. 1. Those who commit fraud, for profit, using deception sufficient to produce error in another, prompting them to make a disposition or alien to their own detriment. 2. Those who, for profit, and using computer manipulation or any similar device, obtain the non-voluntary transfer of any financial asset to the detriment of third parties.
Art. 249 Imprisonment from six months to three years if the amount defrauded exceeds 400 euros. For the determination of the penalty, the amount of the fraudulent act, the financial loss caused to the injured party, the relationship between them and the fraudster, the means employed, and many other circumstances may be used to assess the severity of the offense.
Art 250. 1. Imprisonment of one to six years and a fine of six to twelve months if: 1. Burden on other vital necessities, housing, or other assets of recognized social utility. 2. Simulation is carried out with employment litigation or other procedural fraud. 3. Is made by check, promissory note, bill of exchange in white or fictitious business exchange. 4. Abuse was perpetrated against another firm, or subtracting, hiding, or disabling, in whole or in part, any process, file, protocol, or public or official document of any kind. 5. Burden on property that integrates the artistic, historical, cultural, or scientific. 6. Particularly serious, taking into account the value of the fraud, the extent of the damage, and the economic situation that leaves the victim or their family. 7. Abuse committed personal relationships between the victim and the fraudster, or taking advantage of this business or professional credibility.
Art 251. Shall be punished with imprisonment from one to four years: 1. Anyone who falsely attributes authority over a movable or immovable property disposal that is lacking, either for not having ever had it, having already exercised it, or by the debtor disposed of, to the detriment of this or a third party. 2. He who disposes of a movable or immovable property, hiding the existence of any load thereon, or who, having disposed of it as free, again imposes taxes or arrendare to another, to the detriment of the latter or a third party. 3. Which confer to the detriment of another contract simulated.
Art 623. Shall be punished with permanent placement of four to twelve days or a fine of one to two months: 4. Those who have committed fraud, misappropriation, or theft of electricity, gas, water, or other item, energy, or fluid, or telecommunication equipment in an amount not exceeding 400 euros.
SECTION II. Appropriation Abuse. Art. 252. Shall be punished with the penalties of Art 249 or 250, where appropriate, those against another who has taken over or distracted money, securities, or other movable thing or financial asset received in deposit or administration fee or other capacity obligation to produce or deliver or return, or denies receiving them when the appropriate amount exceeds four euros. Such penalty shall be in the upper half in the case of filing necessary or miserable.
Art 253. Shall be punished by a fine of three to six months, if profit was taken over something lost or of unknown owner, provided that in both cases the value of the appropriate exceeds 400 euros. If it were things of artistic, historical, cultural, or scientific value, the penalty shall be imprisonment from six months to two years.
Art. 254. Shall be punished with a fine of three to six months if, having been wrongly transferred money or other movable property, having been denied or confirmed the error, it returns it, provided that the amount received exceeds 400 euros. Again, the control section 623 completes the transcribed.
Art 623. Shall be punished with permanent placement of four to twelve days or a fine of one to two months: 4. Those who have committed fraud, misappropriation, or theft of electricity, gas, water, or other item, or fluid energy, or telecommunications terminal equipment in an amount not exceeding 400 euros.
6.3 .- The Embezzlement of Electricity and the Like. Art 255. Shall be punished by a fine of three to twelve months for committing fraud worth over 400 euros, using electricity, gas, water, telecommunications, or other item, or fluid energy of others, by any means: 1. Using mechanisms to perform fraud. 2. Altering or maliciously installing meters. 3. Using any other clandestine means.
Art 256. Anyone who makes use of any telecommunications terminal equipment, without the consent of its owner, causing damage to it exceeding 400 euros, shall be punished by a fine of three to twelve months. Finally, the repeated Art. 623 in its number 4 provides a fault behavior typified in Articles 255 and 256.
DAMAGES. Art. 263. Who causes property damage not covered under other titles of this Code shall be punished by a fine of six to twenty-four months, considering the economic condition of the victim and the amount of damage, if it exceeds 400 euros.
Art. 264. 1. Shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months who causes the damage expressed in the preceding article, if any of the cases concur: 1. They go to prevent the free exercise of authority or in revenge for its determinations, but the crime was committed against public officials, whether against individuals who, as witnesses or otherwise, have contributed or could contribute to the implementation or application of laws or general provisions. 2. Being caused by any infection or spread of cattle. 3. Poisonous substances are used or corrosive. 4. Affecting property or use of public domain or communal. 5. They ruin the injured or placement in economic plight. The same penalty shall be imposed on it by any means to destroy, alter, disable, or otherwise damage data, programs, or contained in electronic documents outside networks, media, or computer systems.
Art. 265. He who destroys, injures so seriously or mutilates for the service, even temporarily, works, facilities, or military installations, naval vessels, military aircraft, vehicles, or military transmission, war material, supplies, or other means or resources allocated to serve the Armed Forces or the Security Forces shall be punished with imprisonment from two to four years if the damage exceeds fifty thousand pesetas.
Art. 266. 1. Shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years if he commits the damage referred to in Article 263, by fire or causing an explosion or by any means of similar destructive power, or endangering the life or integrity of people. 2. Shall be punished with imprisonment of three to five years and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months who commits the damage referred to in Article 264, in any of the circumstances mentioned in the previous paragraph. 3. Shall be punished with imprisonment of four to eight years if he commits the damage referred to in Articles 265, 323, and 560, in any of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 of this article. 4. In any of the cases referred to in the preceding paragraphs, when the damages are committed provoking explosions or using other means of similar destructive power, moreover, would endanger the life or integrity of persons, the penalty shall be imposed in case of fire half will superior. In implementing the provisions of article 351.
Art. 267. Damage Caused by Negligence in an Amount Exceeding €80,000 Shall be punishable by a fine of three to nine months, reflecting the importance of the same. The breaches referred to in this article shall be prosecuted only upon complaint of the aggrieved person or their legal representative. The prosecution may also be terminated when it is a minor or a person incapable. In these cases, the forgiveness of the aggrieved person or their legal representative shall extinguish the criminal action or penalty, without prejudice to the second paragraph of Item 4. Article 130 of this Code.
Art. 268. 1. Are exempt from criminal liability and subject only to civil spouses who are not legally separated or in the process of separation, divorce, or annulment of their marriage, as well as ascendants, descendants, and siblings by nature or by adoption, as well as related in the first degree if they lived together, property crime that was caused to each other, provided that no violence or intimidation is fulfilled. 2. This provision does not apply to strangers or those who participate in the crime.
Art. 269. The provocation, conspiracy, and incitement to commit crimes of theft, extortion, embezzlement, or misappropriation shall be punished with a penalty lower by one or two degrees related to the crime.