Right of access to essential elements to challenge the legality of police arrest and constitucional guarantees affected

Abstract

This study focuses mainly on the new right of access to the essential elements to challenge the legality of police arrest and on the affection of some constitutional guarantees related to it. The guarantees of the criminal arrested provided for in art. 17 Spanish Constitution of 1978 (EC) and developed fundamentally in the Criminal Procedure Law (LECrim), until the 2015 reforms, did not fully comply with the most recent regulations of the European Union (EU). Though LLOO 5/2015, of April 27 and 13/2015, of October 5, some discrepancies arose in the interpretation and application of some of them, especially in relation to the new of access to the elements of the essential actions for challenge the legality of the arrest against access to the report before to the arrestee’s statement at the police headquarters. These controversial situations have been addressed by the National Commission for the Coordination of the Judicial Police (CNCPJ), the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) and the Constitutional Court (TC).