In Spain, if an appeal against a criminal conviction is refused, the consequences depend on which court heard the case and which level of appeal has been exhausted.

Generally:

1. The conviction remains in force. The person continues to have a criminal conviction unless it is overturned by a higher court.
2. The sentence remains enforceable. If there is a prison sentence, fine, restraining order, compensation order, or other penalty, it normally continues to apply.
3. The conviction becomes final (sentencia firme) once all ordinary appeals have been exhausted or the time for appealing has expired. A final judgment has significant legal effect in Spain.
4. The conviction remains on the criminal record (Registro Central de Penados) until it becomes eligible for cancellation. Criminal records in Spain are not erased automatically when a sentence ends; cancellation requires meeting legal conditions and waiting periods.

Can there be further appeals?

Sometimes, yes, but only in limited circumstances. Depending on the case, there may be:

• an appeal to a higher Spanish court if one is still available;
• in exceptional cases, a constitutional appeal (recurso de amparo) to the Constitutional Court of Spain if constitutional rights are alleged to have been violated;
• after domestic remedies are exhausted, an application to the European Court of Human Rights if there is an alleged breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court does not act as another criminal appeal court and hears only a small proportion of applications.

If all appeals fail

Once all available appeals have been rejected:

• the conviction remains legally valid;
• it can generally be relied upon in later legal proceedings where relevant;
• it may affect matters such as certain employment checks, firearms licences, some visa applications, and other situations where criminal convictions must be disclosed.

An unsuccessful appeal does not erase or weaken the conviction. On the contrary, it means that the conviction has been reviewed and left in place by the appellate court.