Criminal law in Andorra

Andorra applies a formal codified criminal-law system based mainly on the Codi penal and the Codi de procediment penal. The legality principle requires a criminal rule before punishment, and courts cannot create offences through analogy. Criminal responsibility follows the culpability principle and may depend on an intentional act or, only where the relevant rule expressly provides for it, negligence. The rules also address when criminal law applies in time and territory and prevent a person from being prosecuted or punished twice for the same matter under the ne bis in idem principle. Criminal liability can arise from an act or an omission. An offender and an accomplice may receive different treatment, while an attempt or assistance can reduce the applicable penalty; negligence offences generally apply only to the principal offender. The main categories are delictes majors, delictes menors and contravencions penals. The protected interests include life and prenatal life, physical and moral integrity, freedom, protection from torture, gender-based and domestic violence, trafficking, coercion and stalking, sexual integrity, children and family life, honour, privacy and the home. They also include theft, robbery, extortion, fraud, computer fraud, property and intellectual property, consumer and company interests, taxes, customs and social contributions, labour protection, weapons, public safety, traffic, health, drugs, environmental protection, animals, forests, elections, discrimination, public order, terrorism, corruption, offences against justice, money laundering and international core crimes. A suspected offence can be reported through a denúncia to the police, the Ministeri Fiscal or the Batllia. A querella is a formal criminal complaint that may be needed for certain semi-public or private offences. The Ministeri Fiscal conducts public criminal prosecutions and may also bring a civil claim connected with the offence. The Cos de Policia must promptly notify the Fiscalia of a criminal fact, while the Batllia directs the investigation. Specialist police units investigate people and assets, technical and digital offences, forensic evidence, public health matters and road accidents. Evidence obtained unlawfully has no legal effect. In an immediate police emergency, the emergency number is 110. The police may arrest someone on a judicial or prosecutorial order, during an attempted offence, in flagrante delicto or when there is a justified suspicion. In urgent cases, an oral order must be recorded in writing within two hours. The police must transfer the detainee to the relevant authority or release the person within 48 hours, and the Batlle must decide within 24 hours after the transfer. The detainee must receive understandable information about the accusation and the reason for detention. Rights include silence, protection against self-incrimination, correction of a statement, a defence lawyer or abogado de oficio, contact with a trusted person or family member, a free interpreter and access to a forensic and personal doctor. A personal doctor must be available within 45 minutes, although the detainee may bear that doctor's cost. Questioning may last up to four hours at a time, requires a one-hour break and must be followed by eight continuous hours of rest in each 24-hour period. A person subjected to an alcohol test has the right to request a blood test. After preliminary investigation, the Batllia may archive the matter, close it provisionally, open a sumari or refer it for trial. The Tribunal de Corts hears delictes majors and delictes menors collegially, contraventions penals through a single judge and matters concerning enforcement of criminal sentences. The criminal chamber of the Tribunal Superior de Justícia hears appeals. An ordreça penal may be used for contraventions and delictes menors and for delictes majors carrying a maximum sentence of four years. It can impose up to half of the statutory maximum penalty; without an objection it becomes enforceable, while an objection leads to a court hearing. A special settlement may apply to selected delictes majors with a maximum penalty above four and up to eight years, with a one-month period for the victim to join or comment. Oral trials are generally public, but the court may exclude the public to protect participants. Judgments are generally issued within 15 days, and appeal periods depend on the decision; after L19/2026, some current periods are 15 days. State-funded defence and legal aid can cover representation before the police or a court, court fees and security, approved expert and procedural costs and copies. Access generally requires Andorran nationality or a valid residence or work permit, financial insufficiency and a request to the competent judge or court before or during the proceedings. Economic violence is considered in the assessment. Victims of human trafficking can qualify regardless of nationality, residence status or income. The court should decide within three working days, and the appointed lawyer should be designated within two working days after notification. A legal-expenses insurance policy covering the matter can exclude state legal aid. The Col·legi Oficial d’Advocats provides the police duty service. Pre-trial detention generally may last up to four months. For delictes menors, one two-month extension is possible, after which release is mandatory. For delictes majors, one four-month extension and a second two-month extension are possible, with an exceptional third two-month extension for serious offences listed by law. Bail may consist of cash or a bank guarantee and must be proportionate. The authorities may seize assets proportionately during the proceedings. For delictes majors, imprisonment can reach 25 years, except for genocide and crimes against humanity, and a fine can reach 300,000 euros or four times the damage or benefit when that amount is higher. Additional sanctions can remove driving, weapons, professional, public procurement or other rights. For delictes menors, the maximums include two years of imprisonment, 24 weeks of weekend arrest, six months of house arrest and a fine of 60,000 euros or three times the relevant value, damage or benefit. For contraventions penals, the maximums include eight weeks of arrest, one month of house arrest and a fine of 6,000 euros or twice the relevant value, damage or benefit. Courts may also order community work, contact or residence bans, driving, weapons, hunting, fishing or procurement exclusions, and confiscation of instruments, products or proceeds of crime while protecting good-faith third parties. Foreign offenders may face expulsion after serious offences. Companies and other legal entities may receive sanctions such as dissolution, suspension for up to six years, closure, fines, judicial administration, publication of the judgment or exclusion from public procurement or benefits. Limitation periods generally reach 30 years where the maximum sentence is at least 10 years, 10 years for other delictes majors, four years for delictes menors and six months for contraventions penals and insult offences. Torture, genocide and crimes against humanity do not become time-barred. Rehabilitation is possible under statutory conditions. Good conduct can reduce the remaining sentence by up to four days per month where therapy, reintegration or resocialisation is effective, and otherwise by up to three days per month. In suitable cases, the remaining sentence may be served under house arrest with electronic monitoring after at least half of a fixed prison sentence, subject to exclusions. A victim may become an actor civil within the time limit set by the Fiscalia. Criminal and civil claims can be combined in the criminal case, while a separate civil action generally follows after the criminal proceedings end. The services SAVVG for gender-based violence, SAVVDF for domestic or family violence and SAVTEH for human trafficking provide multidisciplinary, free and confidential support. The information and advice service is available at 181, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Victims can receive protection, information, guidance, legal advice and recovery support. A court may impose a contact ban for up to 12 years after a delicte major and up to six years after a delicte menor. Compensation, restitution and material or non-material damages can be dealt with as civil consequences connected with the criminal proceedings. Youth criminal justice applies from age 12 until a person is under 18. A child under 12 is not criminally responsible. The Tribunal de Corts, Batllia and Fiscalia have youth responsibilities, and a case may be archived when the conduct is not criminal or educational measures are sufficient. Conditional closure can include educational, disciplinary or community obligations and compensation for the victim, sometimes requiring the consent of the young person or representative. Measures focus on inclusion and reintegration and can include closed, semi-open or open placement, weekend arrest, probation and supervision. Closed and semi-open placement are available only from age 14, and provisional placement also requires the statutory conditions and a minimum age of 14. Young people retain rights to dignity, education, confidentiality, psychological and social support, contact with a lawyer, the court and the Fiscalia, complaints and appeals. The Àrea de Justícia Juvenil advises courts and the Fiscalia, supervises cases and open measures, organises community work and supports prevention and alternative rehabilitation, including responses to public alcohol or drug use or possession by minors. Andorran criminal traffic offences are separate from administrative traffic violations under the Codi de la circulació. Driving with more than 0.8 g/l alcohol in an ordinary vehicle or more than 0.5 g/l in a special vehicle or passenger or heavy transport vehicle can trigger criminal sanctions, including imprisonment or arrest, driving disqualification and a fine from 300 to 6,000 euros. Refusing the test is itself criminal. Reckless driving can lead to three months to three years of imprisonment, a driving ban from one to six years and a fine from 300 to 6,000 euros. The police may provisionally retain a driving licence under L19/2026, while the Batlle must confirm or revoke that measure within a maximum of 10 days. Digital offences include unauthorised access to a protected information system, unlawful interception, computer fraud involving an unauthorised transfer of assets, money or virtual currency where the damage exceeds 600 euros, attacks that disrupt, delete or make an information system or non-public data unavailable, and falsification or manipulation of computer data, websites or cards. Unauthorised access and certain system attacks can carry three months to three years of imprisonment; serious system attacks can carry three to six years and a fine of up to four times the damage. Identity theft under Article 448 can carry up to two years. An attempt is criminal where the applicable rule provides for it, and the Unitat d’Investigació Criminal Tècnica handles technical investigations and forensic analysis. No general criminal-procedure fee was established in the available research; fines depend on income, damage or benefit, instalment payments may be possible and legal costs remain a risk when legal aid does not apply.