Injurias y Calumnias: Spain's Criminal Defamation Offences Explained (2026)

Injurias y calumnias are Spain's two criminal defamation offences, and almost everything about how they work surprises people coming from a common-law system: truth is a complete defence to one but rarely to the other, the police play almost no role, and the case dies after one year. This page goes through the elements, the penalties and the procedure, statute by statute.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

Calumnia: falsely accusing someone of a crime

Art. 205 of the Código Penal defines calumnia as the imputation of a crime made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth («temerario desprecio hacia la verdad»). Two things have to be present: the accusation must be of conduct that would itself be a delito, and the accuser must know it is false or not care whether it is.

Saying a neighbour «stole my car» when you know he did not is the textbook case. Calling someone incompetent, dishonest in a loose sense, or a bad professional is not calumnia, because no specific crime is being imputed; that conduct is assessed as injuria instead.

Truth is a complete defence. Art. 207 CP exonerates the accused of calumnia entirely if he proves the criminal act he imputed. This «exceptio veritatis» is what separates calumnia from injuria, where truth helps only in one narrow situation.

Injuria: the grave attack on dignity

Art. 208 CP defines injuria as an action or expression that damages another person's dignity, harming their reputation or attacking their self-esteem. The definition is broad, but the crime is narrow: only injurias that are, «by their nature, effects and circumstances, regarded by the public as grave» are an offence.

One more filter applies when the injuria consists of imputing facts (rather than pure insults or value judgments): it is not considered grave unless made with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth (art. 208 CP). Everyday rudeness, heated arguments and mild insults between strangers therefore stay out of the criminal courts, though they may still ground the civil action described below.

The one exception is the domestic sphere: a light injuria or unjust vexation against a partner, ex-partner or one of the family members listed in art. 173.2 CP remains a delito leve under art. 173.4 CP, punished with localización permanente, community work or a fine of one to four months, and prosecuted by a simple denuncia rather than a querella.

For injuria, truth is generally not a defence. Art. 210 CP admits the exceptio veritatis only when the imputation is directed against public officials over facts concerning the exercise of their office or the commission of administrative infractions. Between private individuals, proving that a dignity-wounding statement of fact is true does not by itself exonerate.

The penalties, and what a «fine of X months» means

Spanish criminal fines use the day-fine system (art. 50 CP): the court sets a number of months and a daily quota between 2 and 400 €, fixed by the offender's economic situation, with each month counted as 30 days. A «multa de 12 meses» at a 10 € daily quota is 3.600 €.

Two aggravators sit alongside the base penalties. Committing either offence for money or reward adds professional disqualification of six months to two years (art. 213 CP). And when the statement spread through a medium, the owner of that medium is jointly and civilly liable for the damage (art. 212 CP).

Publicidad reaches social media

Art. 211 CP deems calumnia and injuria committed with publicidad when spread «by print, broadcasting or any other medium of similar efficacy». Spanish courts have consistently applied that open-ended formula to websites, forums and social networks, which is why an accusation posted publicly online is treated as the aggravated, higher-fine variant rather than a private remark.

Prosecution: a querella, not a denuncia

Injurias and calumnias against private individuals are delitos privados (art. 215 CP). Nobody is punished except on a querella filed by the offended person or their legal representative. A police denuncia does not start these cases, and the fiscal does not pursue them on his own. The querella is a formal document that requires an abogado and a procurador.

The exception is offences against a funcionario público, autoridad or agente over facts concerning the exercise of their office: those are prosecuted ex officio, without querella or conciliación.

Because prosecution belongs to the victim, the case also ends when the victim wants it to: as a general rule, the perdón del ofendido extinguishes the criminal action (art. 215.3 CP, subject to the safeguard in art. 130 CP for victims who are minors or persons with disabilities). And statements made in court proceedings have their own gate: no action lies over injurias or calumnias «vertidas en juicio» without prior leave of the judge who heard the case (art. 215.2 CP, art. 805 LECrim).

The acto de conciliación: the step you cannot skip

Art. 804 of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal makes the querella against a private individual inadmissible unless it comes with a certificate showing the querellante held an acto de conciliación with the accused, or attempted one without success. The conciliación is a formal settlement appearance, today regulated in Título IX of the Ley 15/2015 de la Jurisdicción Voluntaria, and many disputes end there with a retraction or an agreement.

Plan around the calendar: injurias and calumnias prescribe in one year (art. 131 CP), among the shortest limitation periods in the Código Penal, so the conciliación request and the querella need to move without delay.

Retraction, judgment publication and the civil alternative

If the accused acknowledges the falsity before the court and retracts, the penalty drops one degree, and if the offended person requests it, the court orders the retraction published in the same medium and comparable space as the original statement (art. 214 CP). A conviction also carries its own publicity: reparation includes publishing the condemning sentence at the offender's cost (art. 216 CP).

Many reputation disputes never go criminal at all. Ley Orgánica 1/1982 makes imputing facts or expressing value judgments that damage someone's dignity an «intromisión ilegítima» in the right to honor (art. 7.7), actionable in the civil courts for four years (art. 9.5). Once the intrusion is proved, harm is presumed (art. 9.3), and the remedies include cessation, damages for daño moral valued partly by how far the statement spread, surrender of any profit made from it, and publication of the judgment. The Spain defamation section compares the two routes, and Spain's participant-recording doctrine means a conversation you took part in can generally be recorded and used as evidence of what was said.

One cross-over worth knowing: the Tribunal Supremo has repeatedly treated wrongful inclusion in a credit blacklist as an intrusion into honor under the same LO 1/1982, which is the basis of the compensation described on the ASNEF page.

This page is general legal information about Spanish criminal and civil law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case. The controlling texts are the current versions in the BOE.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between injuria and calumnia?

Calumnia is imputing a specific crime to someone knowing it is false or with reckless disregard for the truth. Injuria is any other action or expression that gravely damages a person's dignity, reputation or self-esteem. The practical differences: truth fully exonerates calumnia, while for injuria it only works against public officials over acts of their office, and calumnia with publicity can carry prison while injuria is punished with fines only.

Can I go to the police for injurias or calumnias?

A police denuncia does not start these cases. They are private offences, so the offended person must file a querella through a lawyer, and against a private individual the court will not admit it without a certificate showing an acto de conciliación was held or attempted. Only offences against public officials over acts of their office are prosecuted ex officio. The narrow exception is a light injuria in the domestic sphere (art. 173.4 CP), a separate delito leve that is prosecuted by denuncia.

What is the penalty for injurias or calumnias in Spain?

Mostly fines under the day-fine system. Calumnia spread with publicity carries prison of six months to two years or a fine of 12 to 24 months; without publicity, a fine of six to 12 months. Grave injuria carries a fine of six to 14 months with publicity, or three to seven months without. The daily quota is set between 2 and 400 € according to the offender's means.

Is an insult on social media a crime in Spain?

It can be, but only if it clears the gravity bar. Art. 211 CP treats anything spread by a medium of efficacy similar to print or broadcasting as made with publicidad, and courts apply that to social networks. But outside the domestic sphere of art. 173.4 CP, only injurias the public would regard as grave are criminal, so everyday online rudeness between strangers is normally not a delito, though it may still support a civil honor claim under Ley Orgánica 1/1982.

How long do I have to file a querella for injurias or calumnias?

One year. Art. 131 of the Código Penal sets the prescription period for injurias and calumnias at one year, among the shortest in Spanish criminal law. The civil action under Ley Orgánica 1/1982 is the longer alternative: it expires four years from when it could first be exercised.