Application of Legislation, Criminal Cases, Court Rulings
Supreme Court of Spain
In Spain, there are a number of authorities dedicated to the protection of human rights. First of all, it is CERED, the Spanish Equality Authority. According to Article 33 of Law 62/2003, the Council seeks to fulfill three main tasks: (i) to provide independent assistance to victims, (ii) to conduct analyses and studies and publish independent reports, and (iii) to promote equality and to make recommendations and proposals on equality and non-discrimination. In 2016, CERED assisted victims in 631 cases through its Racial or Ethnic Discrimination Victim Assistance Network, which consists of eight specialized NGOs with 87 offices across the country.
In 2016, CERED assisted victims in 631 cases through its Racial or Ethnic Discrimination Victim Assistance Network.
Already in 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance believed that "anti-discrimination legislation is not effective enough and that its implementation must be improved." That statement remains valid.
Law 62/2003 of December 30, 2003 on fiscal, administrative and social measures does not have much jurisprudence. In this regard, there have been reports of "serious difficulties in bringing cases before the courts" for victims of discrimination, especially because of the requirement to be represented by two types of lawyers and the length of court proceedings. In addition, victims of discrimination cannot file a civil lawsuit on their own, it must be done by a public body to file a complaint with the Ombudsman; however, the Spanish equality body, the Council for the Promotion of Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination on Racial or Ethnic Grounds, may have launched the Racial or Ethnic Discrimination Victim Assistance Network to mediate cases of discrimination.
Another element that may prevent victims of discrimination from going to court is the lack of a general rule providing for compensation in all areas. As ECRI noted, this lack of jurisprudence, in turn, affects effectiveness and awareness: "ECRI has noted that there are virtually no cases where perpetrators have been brought to court under these provisions as a result of the relative obscurity of the law and a general lack of awareness of it." The same concern was raised by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as early as 2013, who also reported " a lack of awareness in the judiciary and law enforcement of such legislation." In 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance also reported.
In addition, there are several obstacles to the successful implementation of anti-discrimination legislation in Spain, including: lack of factual information due to lack of data collection (although this is improving); double victimization, which occurs when law enforcement minimizes the seriousness of a case or questions the credibility of witnesses; this element also leads to underestimation and insufficient police and court investigations; and the need for better training courses among law enforcement.
The law has created a number of bodies (some under EU directives) to ensure equality and non-discrimination in Spain. The main ones are the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination (which seems to have become more active after 2018) and the Network of Centers for Victims of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination attached to it; the National Roma Council; the Forum for the Social Integration of Immigrants; the Spanish Observatory against Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE); the Special Prosecutors for discrimination and hate crimes, and the Office of the Public Defender (ODP).
On the other hand, OBERAXE provides human rights and nondiscrimination training programs for law enforcement officers, healthcare professionals or educators, as well as campaigns to raise awareness of rights and resources.
In addition, measures and initiatives at the local level are critical. Examples are the police unit dealing with diversity and hate crimes in Madrid, the Office against Discrimination in Barcelona or the plan for coexistence of diversity in Guipuzcoa (Basque Country). Finally, it should be noted that in July 2020, the Spanish government, through Spanish Vice President Pablo Iglesias, publicly apologized to Roma for the institutional racism to which they had been subjected for centuries in Spain. In July 2020, the Spanish government, through Spanish Vice President Pablo Iglesias, apologized to Roma.
Since 2013, the Ministry of the Interior has published an annual report containing statistics on reported hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents. Regarding legislation, as explained above, one of the key steps was the reform of the Penal Code in 2015.
In early 2018, the Ministry of the Interior published an annual report containing statistics on hate crimes and incidents.
In early 2018, the National Office for Combating Hate Crimes under the State Secretariat for Security (Ministry of the Interior) was established. One of its main tasks is to coordinate and monitor the implementation of a specific action plan. In 2019, the first concrete action plan to combat hate crimes was approved . Prior to that, the 2014 "Protocol of Action of the Spanish Security Forces on Hate Crimes and Actions that Violate Legal Norms Relating to Discrimination" was adopted. In the 2019 plan, one of the main goals is to train law enforcement officers, as well as to increase the reporting of hate crimes. It should be emphasized that the new Plan identifies anti-Gypsy as one category of hate crime victims. This is an important step that was included in this 2020 report on crimes committed in the previous year.
In addition, Spain has special prosecutors for discrimination and hate crimes. In 2009, the first specialized prosecutor dealing with crimes against the principles of equality and non-discrimination started working in Barcelona. Since 2013, every Spanish province has had such a prosecutor.
With regard to criminal proceedings and sentences related to hate crimes, although the annual reports on hate crimes are public, there is no data on their prosecution. That said, the FRA highlights three court rulings from 2018 and 2019 as key in the area of discrimination and hate crimes. In the 2019 verdict, the Provincial High Court of Barcelona convicted one person for posting hateful messages against Muslims on Facebook for eight months in prison under Articles 510 and 173 of the Penal Code. Also in 2019, Madrid's Provincial High Court convicted another man for posting hate songs against Muslims on YouTube. The court found that it was a "clear attack on the dignity of the immigrant collective," and concluded that there was a clear intent to promote hatred and discrimination against migrants. In 2020, the Barcelona High Court convicted a man, the leader of a gang that met with homosexuals to harass them, to five and a half years in prison.
