ACCELERATION OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN SPAIN

Spain is not exempt from the present phenomenon of the great slowness of criminal procedure. Since 1978 democratisation, several reforms have tried to achieve an adequate duration of a process, mainly in the phase of investigation, but not only, as the excessive delay in resolving appeals or cassation is also worrying. In complicated cases, we may be speaking of a total duration of 5 to 7 years or even greater sometimes. Nevertheless, none of the reforms, even the last one of 2002, were successful because they did not undertake a structural, global, in-depth change of the Criminal Justice. The latest reform has tried more successfully to create summary proceedings causing sometimes reduction of guarantees. This requires much greater renumeration of personnel (judges, public prosecutors and police above all), the increase that has not been achieved in an adequate way.