Final Report

 

C. Statute of limitations

 

We can firstly note that all countries set a maximum statute of limitations on offences for which the sentence is over 10 years. This 10 year threshold is found in every country’s legislation.

 

For the most serious offences, the statutes of limitations are relatively similar : 15 years in Spain, Italy and Portugal. However, France stands out as having a statute of limitations of only 10 years.

 

For offences, punishable with a prison sentence of less than 10 years, the statutes of limitations are less similar.

In France, the statute of limitations for misdemeanours is set at 3 years from the victim’s coming of age. This is particularly short in comparison with the statutes of limitations in other countries.

In Portugal and in Italy, the statutes of limitation are identical : 5 or 10 years (depending on whether the potential sentence is less or more than 5 years imprisonment).

In Spain, the statute of limitations is 10 years for offences for which the prison sentence is over 5 years, 5 years if the prison sentence is between 3 and 5 years and 3 years if the prison sentence is less than 3 years.

 

The shortness of the statute of limitations under French law in relation to the other countries is counterbalanced by the point at which the statute of limitations begins. In France it is set as the day on which the child reaches the age of majority, whereas in the other countries the date the offence was committed marks the beginning of the statute of limitations.