Parole in Spain

Since Ley Orgánica 1/2015, libertad condicional stopped being the fourth grade of classification and is now governed as a form of suspension of the enforcement of the remainder of the prison sentence. The change is not merely a matter of wording.

The most important consequence concerns time: if parole is revoked, the time spent outside does not count as time served (art. 90.6 CP). The person returns to prison with the same sentence outstanding as on the day they were released.

The second is that it is granted for a suspension period, which the law sets at between two and five years and which can never be shorter than the sentence outstanding. During that period the person is subject to the conditions set by the court.

Art. 90.2 allows suspension to be granted before the ordinary point. This is the form known as libertad condicional adelantada a los 2/3, early parole at two thirds. It requires:

Much of the case is won or lost here. That second requirement is not evidenced simply by having held a prison job, but by certificates of participation, reports from the professionals involved, completed courses and treatment programmes.

This form does not apply to people convicted of terrorism offences or offences committed within criminal organisations.

Art. 91 covers two situations in which the law does not require any minimum portion of the sentence to have been served:

Paragraph 2 requires the file to be sent to the court with whatever urgency the case demands, and art. 196 RP requires a medical report to be attached, or a birth certificate in the case of those over seventy. Where a prisoner is in this situation, the decisive factor is usually speed.

Paragraph 3 covers the most extreme situation: where the danger to the prisoner's life, because of illness or advanced age, is evident from a medical opinion, the court can order suspension without waiting for the remaining formalities, considering only whether there is any relevant dangerousness. In exchange, the person is required to provide information on how their illness develops.

The file is prepared by the prison's Junta de Tratamiento (Treatment Board) and sent up to the court. Art. 195 RP sets out what it must contain:

The decision rests with the prison supervision court. One recent change is worth noting: following Ley Orgánica 1/2025, the former Juzgados de Vigilancia Penitenciaria have been absorbed into the Tribunales de Instancia as Prison Supervision Divisions. The name and structure change; the powers and the prisoner's rights do not.

Gathering these speeds up the work. If you do not have everything, we obtain it.

Every file is different. The dates, the classification, civil liability, the programmes completed and the family situation produce very different pictures, and a case can only be properly assessed after reading it in detail.

At Bataller Abogados we are a boutique firm in Barcelona with more than twenty-five years of experience. The team is made up of Mariam Bataller Pardo, founder, Montse Pijoan i Almaraz and Laura Bardaji Salinas. We work in every prison in Catalonia and Spain, and we are available 24 hours a day.

You can see our other areas of work in prison law, or read about our work as prison lawyers in Barcelona.

Call us on +34 696 967 181 or +34 937 490 708, email info@bbabogadas.com, or use the contact form. We are at C/ Aribau 205, 2nd floor, 08021 Barcelona. Tell us the situation and we will tell you frankly what can be worked on.