English or Anglo-American common law is often referred to in Spanish as Derecho anglosajón and, indeed, it is misleading to translate “common law” literally as Derecho común. In that regard it is important to note that in Spanish legal texts the expression Derecho común probably isn’t a reference to English or Anglo-American “common law,” but rather most likely denotes the “common law” of Spain, i.e., civil law, or the law of the Spanish Civil Code (Código Civil).

By virtue of their vecindad civil (“regional domicile”) Spaniards are subject to either Derecho (civil) común (the common law of the Civil Code) or Derecho (civil) foral o especial (local law). In that regard, an expression such as el presente contrato se rige por el Derecho común español implies that “the present contract is governed by the Spanish Civil Code.” In the context of sources of business law (fuentes de Derecho mercantil), transactions not covered by the Commercial Code (Código de Comercio) are likewise governed by Derecho común, once again being a reference to the law of the Civil Code: En ausencia de normas mercantiles se aplica el Derecho común, esto es, el Derecho civil. And an expression such as las CCAA de régimen común likewise refers to the “Autonomous Communities subject to civil law (or) the Civil Code, rather than to Derecho foral o especial (local law).

In summary, unless the context suggests otherwise, in Spanish legal texts Derecho común denotes Spain’s common law (the Civil Code). If not clearly a mistranslation, rendering Derecho común in this context as “common law” might prove to be a miscue, prompting readers to assume that the reference is to English or Anglo-American “common law.” Thus, in this case Derecho común is perhaps best rendered as “(Spanish) civil law” or the “law of the (Spanish) Civil Code.”

More here on vecindad civil and the regions in Spain that have their own local law (Derecho foral o especial).

In the context of Spanish procedural law, “evidence” cannot usually be rendered as evidencia, but rather refers to prueba(s). After the parties’ initial “proposal of evidence” (proposición de la prueba), the judge will issue a “ruling on the admissibility of the proposed evidence” (resolución sobre la admisibilidad de las pruebas propuestas). In this context, inadmisión de los medios de prueba denotes a judge’s “exclusión of evidence” and práctica de la prueba refers to the “examination of evidence” at trial. Specific types of evidence (medios de prueba) include, among others, prueba testifical (“testimonial evidence,” “witness testimony”); prueba documental (“documentary evidence”) and prueba pericial (“expert evidence,” “expert witness testimony”).

Although the terminology of evidence is quite extensive, common classifications include prueba pertinente/impertinente (“relevant/irrelevant evidence”), prueba útil/inútil (“material/immaterial evidence,” in the sense of being appropriate or inappropriate for demonstrating the fact that it is intended to prove), and prueba directa or prueba presencial (“direct evidence, “eyewitness evidence”) as opposed to prueba indirecta or prueba indiciaria (“indirect evidence”or “circumstancial evidence”). In Spanish criminal procedure the expression prueba preconstituida denotes documented evidence existing prior to trial, which cannot be reproduced and examined later during the trial itself. Typical examples include “crime scene inspections” (inspecciones oculares en el lugar del delito); “autopsies” (autopsias), “breath alcohol tests” (pruebas de alcoholemia), and “police lineups” (ruedas de reconocimiento), called “identity parades” in BrE. In contrast, prueba anticipada refers to “evidence taken prior to trial” by the criminal trial judge, in the presence of all parties and under extraordinary circumstances (such as taking testimony from a terminally-ill witness who might not be able to testify in court at a later date).

Likewise in criminal procedure contexts, prueba obtenida ilícitamente is “illegally-obtained evidence,” while prueba prohibida specifically denotes “evidence obtained in violation of fundamental rights” (pruebas obtenidas, directamente o indirectamente, violentando los derechos o libertades fundamentales). And prueba de cargo is “incriminating evidence” as opposed to prueba de descargo (“exculpatory evidence”).

In legal contexts there are several instances in which “fault” may be an inappropriate translation for falta. In criminal law, faltas may denote “misdemeanors” (minor criminal offenses), which are now called delitos leves in Spain. Falta may likewise have the meaning of “defect,” as in falta subsanable de un título presentado para su inscripción en el Registro, in reference to a “curable defect in a document presented for entry on the Register.”

In other respects, falta de often denotes a “lack of” something, and is thus rendered in multiple legal expressions such as falta de legitimación (“lack of standing”), falta de competencia (“lack of jurisdiction”), falta de pruebas (“lack of evidence”) or falta de diligencia o cuidado (“lack of diligence or care”).

And, similarly, falta de may also mean “failure to” do something, as in falta de pago de la prima (“failure to pay a premium”); falta de avenencia entre las partes (“parties’ failure to reach a settlement”); falta de personación en el procedimiento (“failure to enter an appearance in the proceedings”) ; falta de presentación de la declaración tributaria (“failure to file a tax return”), or falta de contestación a la demanda (“failure to answer the complaint”).

Arresto and “arrest” are often false friends, since in criminal procedure “arrest” is generally rendered in Spanish as detención, and “to arrest” or “to make an arrest” is detener: “the suspect was arrested” (se detuvo al sospechoso). In that regard “arrest warrant” is orden de detención or, perhaps more accurately for Spain, auto de detención (since judges issue arrest warrants in the form of an auto). A person who is “under arrest” (que está detenido) is often known (particularly in AmE) as an “arrestee” (el detenido) and will have an “arrest record” (ficha policial or antecedentes policiales). In that regard, the expression “arrestee rights” (known in the US as “Miranda rights”) denotes los derechos del detenido and include the “right to remain silent” (el derecho de guardar silencio), the “privilege against self-incrimination” (derecho a no declarar contra sí mismo y a no confesarse culpable) and the “right to counsel” (el derecho a la asistencia letrada).

In contrast, in Spain arresto is most often used in military law contexts to denote the arrest of military personnel (arresto en prisión militar), but there are several exceptions. Arresto sustitutorio (por impago de multa) describes a custodial sentence (pena privativa de libertad) to be served for failure to pay a fine imposed as the result of a criminal conviction. And arresto was likewise previously used in expressions such as arresto domiciliario (“house arrest”) and arresto de fin de semana (“weekend arrest”), two former custodial sentences that under the present Spanish Criminal Code are known as pena de localización permanente and generally require the offender to wear some type of electronic monitoring device such as an ankle monitor, known in Spain as a pulsera (or) tobillera telemática.

As for “detention,” the term is used in the common expression “arrest and pretrial detention.” Here “arrest” denotes detención, while “pretrial detention” (also called “pretrial custody”) refers to prisión provisional (or) preventiva. Thus, “arrest and pretrial detention” may be rendered as detención y prisión provisional (or) preventiva. And, in other respects, the Spanish criminal law offense of detención ilegal is akin to the concept of “false imprisonment” of Anglo-American jurisdictions.