Remand in Spain and the state's liability: two reforms that remain outstanding

Abstract

This article examines the controversial measure of remand in Spain in the light of two striking facts: firstly, the ubiquity of this preventative measure in judicial practice (at the beginning of the year, 16% of the prison population were pretrial detainees) and, secondly, a compensation system based on state liability that, in the case of acquittal, has proven ineffective since 1985 and that has recently been shaken to its core by judgements of the European Court of Human Rights and the declaration by Spain's own Constitutional Court of the unconstitutionality of a number of provisions of Article 294 of the country's Organic Law on Judicial Powers. In addition to reviewing the developments leading up to the current situation, the article sets out the parameters for the debate on how to properly tackle two legislative reforms that now appear more pressing than ever.