Procedures for Recovering Stolen Vehicles from Abroad (Europe)
Spain
| 1.
Under what circumstances can a stolen vehicle be seized in your country? |
- If the vehicle has been stolen, always.
| 2.
What channels are used to notify the owner of the vehicle's location (Interpol
or other)? |
- In most cases, Interpol channels are used, although in some cases to expedite
restoration of the vehicle, when there are contacts with the police of the
country concerned, they are contacted by telephone or through the French/Spa-nish
police stations, and then through Interpol.
| 3.
Who is responsible for the storage of seized vehicles? |
- Generally, the municipal car pounds which are free, provided that the vehicle
is reported stolen before it is seized.
Some town halls however send vehicles registered abroad to the Customs' pounds,
for which there is a storage charge, as there is for the judicial pounds.
If there are no municipal pounds where the vehicle is found, the police services
are empowered by law to choose the storage site offering the best guarantees.
| 4.
Are there any costs associated with storage of a seized stolen vehicle and
who is responsible for these costs? |
- If there is no free storage site available, storage charges will be payable
by the vehicle owner.
| 5.
How does a stolen vehicle get restored to its legal owner? |
- If the vehicle has not been cited in connection with a criminal case, restoration
of the vehicle is effected by the police.
If, on the other hand, the vehicle has been cited in connection with a criminal
case, restoration of the vehicle has to be effected by the judicial authorities,
although a letter rogatory is not normally necessary.
The documents required for the restoration are the certificate of ownership
of the vehicle and the theft report, and some judicial authorities require
these documents to be translated into Spanish and recognized by the diplomatic
representation of the country where the vehicle was stolen. Official confirmation
of the theft is always sought via Interpol, and restoration of the vehicle
is facilitated if that confirmation includes the name of the person or company
going to collect the vehicle.
| 6.
Are there any time limits associated with recovery of the vehicle? (i.e.
after a certain period of time the vehicle becomes the property of the state
or police, etc.)? |
- There is no time limit for recovering vehicles from the police or judicial
authorities. However, if the authorities have reason to suspect that the vehicle
has been quietly abandoned by the owner who has allowed considerable period
of time to elapse without indicating his intention of recovering the vehicle,
they can order that it be destroyed or auctioned.
| 7.
Please give details of relevant legislation |
- The current Spanish Penal Code, which will be amended in May, contains
the following offences:
- Theft, receiving and misappropriation
- Fraudulently altering, substituting, or failing to display the legitimate
number plate(s)
- Fraudulently altering vehicle identification markings (altering the VIN)
- not indicated)
- Fraudulently altering the vehicle documents
- Fraudulent sale of the vehicle (fraud)
- Smuggling (evasion of duty payable on vehicles from outside the European
Union).
As a general rule in Spain, stolen vehicles are always restored to their
original owners.
| 8.
If the law in your country precludes the restitution of a stolen vehicle
to its original owner, please give the reasons why |
- Yes, whenever the person currently in possession of the vehicle has acquired
it in good faith. Good faith is always assumed and the contrary has to be
proved (acquisition in a place not intended for the purpose, price below the
market value). However, the original owner can always institute a recovery
action or action to prove better title of ownership against the current possessor
or second owner in the civil courts.
| 9.
Does your country have any bilateral treaties, conventions, or agreements
with other countries dealing with the recovery of stolen property? If so,
please describe how they operate and give details of the countries concerned |
- No.
| 10.
Reference point, for assistance in case of difficulties |
- The suggested contact points are:
- Spanish NCB
- Central Crime Investigation Unit (Illegal Traffic in Vehicles),
phone: 1 582 2500/01/73/69 and fax: 1 582 2376 and 1 7597162.
Last update: 10-2007
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