Criminal defence lawyer in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat

What to know about criminal proceedings

Receiving a summons, or being under investigation, does not in itself determine the outcome of the proceedings, nor does it amount to a formal charge. What does shape what follows are the decisions taken at the outset.

Before taking any of them it is worth knowing which court is handling the proceedings, what stage they have reached and what consequences each step carries.

Territorial jurisdiction for the investigation

As a general rule, the investigation (instrucción) of criminal proceedings falls to the court of the judicial district (partido judicial) where the alleged offence was committed. In this area, municipalities do not all belong to the same district:

• L'Hospitalet de Llobregat — Tribunal de Instancia de L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Av. del Carrilet, 2, Building H (Ciutat de la Justícia), 08902 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
• Cornellà de Llobregat — Tribunal de Instancia de Cornellà de Llobregat. Ptge. de Domènech, 3, 08940 Cornellà de Llobregat.
• El Prat de Llobregat — Tribunal de Instancia de El Prat de Llobregat. Pl. de l'Amistat, 1, 08820 El Prat de Llobregat.
• Esplugues de Llobregat and Sant Just Desvern — Tribunal de Instancia de Esplugues de Llobregat. C. Tomás Bretón, 32-34, 08950 Esplugues de Llobregat.
• Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sant Climent de Llobregat, Santa Coloma de Cervelló and Torrelles de Llobregat — Tribunal de Instancia de Sant Boi de Llobregat. Palau de Marianao, s/n, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat.
• Gavà, Begues, Castelldefels and Viladecans — Tribunal de Instancia de Gavà. Pl. de la Lluita, 1, 08850 Gavà.
• Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Joan Despí, Molins de Rei, Sant Vicenç dels Horts, Cervelló, Corbera de Llobregat, Pallejà, La Palma de Cervelló, El Papiol and Vallirana — Tribunal de Instancia de Sant Feliu de Llobregat. C. de les Dàlies, 2-4, 08980 Sant Feliu de Llobregat.

The general rule admits exceptions

The place where the offence was committed is not the only criterion. Jurisdiction may fall to a different court, among other situations:

• Where jurisdiction is assigned to specialised sections, such as those dealing with violence against women.
• Where rules on connected offences (conexidad) require several facts to be investigated and tried together.
• In offences affecting several legal interests, or carried out across more than one judicial district.
• By reason of objective or material jurisdiction, which may assign the case to a court of another kind.

The final determination rests with the court itself, which may declare that it lacks jurisdiction and refer the proceedings elsewhere. For that reason the documentation should be examined before assuming which court is handling the case.

The change in the name of the courts

If you have recently received a summons (citación), it may refer not to a «Juzgado de Instrucción» but to a Tribunal de Instancia, specifying a section and a seat number.

This is not a different court from the one you expected. Organic Law 1/2025 of 2 January, on measures to improve the efficiency of the Public Justice Service, reorganised the former juzgados into tribunales de instancia structured in sections. Those that were mixed first-instance and investigating courts now form the civil and investigating section of the district court.

The change affects the internal organisation of the justice system. It does not alter the rights of the person under investigation or the procedural time limits.

What to note from the summons

• Read the summons carefully and note the date, the time, the court and the case number.
• Keep the summons and any document connected with the facts.
• Do not discuss the matter with the other party or post anything on social media.
• Contact a lawyer as soon as possible.
• Take advice before deciding whether to give a statement. The decision is yours, but it should be taken in full knowledge of the content of the proceedings and its possible consequences.

Investigation and trial are separate stages

The investigation takes place before the competent court of the judicial district. The trial falls to a different court, determined by the nature and seriousness of the alleged offence.

A case investigated in one municipality is therefore not necessarily tried in the same place.

Legal assistance in the first stages

Decisions taken in the first hours shape everything that follows.

Arrest takes place at police premises, which do not necessarily correspond to the competent judicial district. The rights of a person under arrest, and what those close to them can do, are set out in rights on arrest and in the criminal law guide, which follows the proceedings stage by stage.

If you have received a summons

The effect of a summons depends on the capacity in which you are called.

If you have been summoned as a suspect, the hearing and the rights attaching to it are explained in summoned as a suspect. If you have been summoned as a witness, summoned as a witness sets out the duty to attend and the cases in which it does not apply.

In fast-track proceedings the time limits are short: how a fast-track trial works.

Proximity

The firm is based in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and appears regularly before the courts of the city and of the judicial districts of the Baix Llobregat.

If your case is investigated or tried in Barcelona, see our page on criminal defence lawyer in Barcelona.