CRIMINAL OFFENCE
COMMITTED IN SPAIN
The two scenarios that Anglo-Spanish Law comes across are: (1) you are in England and you have received some paperwork from Spain that would indicate that criminal proceedings are being taken against you.
(2) Your child is in prison in Spain awaiting trial.
The first scenario almost certainly means that the charges are either not very serious or they are serious but that the evidence is or was, at the time of bail being granted, very thin.
The second scenario is that your child is facing some very serious charges and the Spanish judiciary thinks that, on the evidence that they have currently got, the evidence is strong enough to warrant holding your child in custody pending a trial.
The service that Anglo-Spanish Law can provide
(i) Look at such paperwork as might be available, and, if necessary, translate some or all of it into English.
(ii) Take statements from witnesses, including from the accused. Although the "crime" will have been committed in Spain, quite understandably people tend to stick to their own language group, resulting in most of the witnesses usually being English, and, often, based in England, not Spain.
Furthermore, the first language of most abogados (Spanish lawyers) in Spain is Spanish. It can be incredibly valuable to have an abogado whose first language is English take statements from English speakers even when the English speaker is based in Spain.
(iii) Consider which expert evidence might be of assistance, and give appropriate instructions.
(iv) Liaise with the Spanish lawyer in Spain who'll be handling the Spanish end of the matter.
The Cost
Whilst there is Spanish legal aid for an accused with no income or assets, it is very limited in scope. Spanish legal aid covers some very basic representation by an abogado and a procurador in Spain, but it does not cover taking statements from witnesses, liaising with a Spanish lawyer based in Spain, or instructing the accused's own experts.
Costs orders of a very limited nature might be made in favour of an accused who is acquitted, but no costs are awarded in favour of an accused who is not acquitted, even if the accused got a much lower sentence than they would otherwise have got if not properly defended.
Furthermore, a costs order against an impecunious accuser is not worth the paper it is written on.
In short, no meaningful costs orders are normally made in Spanish criminal proceeding. Parents will normally have to shoulder the entire cost of defending their children themselves, with no possibility of recovering a penny from anyone.
However, some compensation is paid by the Spanish State to those who have been remanded in custody and subsequently acquitted.
The good news is that the hourly charging rate of Anglo-Spanish Law for this kind of work is deliberately kept at a very low £65.00 an hour (with no VAT needing to be added on top because Anglo-Spanish Law is not yet VAT registered) in an effort to keep the cost affordable for most working parents.
For detailed terms and conditions of business please phone Mr Wagner on 01433-631508 preferably between 9.30 am and 2.00 pm Monday to Friday.
Anglo-Spanish Law does not accept liability for the acts and omissions of others. Spanish abogados and procuradores may need to be instructed, as will often be medical personnel and/or other experts. Clients dissatisfied with the service provided by these independent experts must proceed directly against the independent expert, and not against Anglo-Spanish Law.