Inicio y fin de la prescripción en el procedimiento sancionador

Résumé

To prosecute and punish the offender, the administration has a limited time, more or less long depending on the seriousness of the facts. Once this time has elapsed, it definitively loses the possibility of imposing or enforcing the punishment. The sanctioning power, in the specific case, will have expired; and all the activity carried out until then will have been useless. Precise control of the initial and final moment of the statute of limitations is an indispensable tool for the successful management of the sanctioning procedure. The keys to this matter are shown here with the intention that legal operators, whether from the Administration or from the defence of citizens, will be able to handle them skilfully.