The 7 differences between amnesty and pardon

There are many concepts and terms within the legal field that we hear frequently but, however, we do not quite understand what they are. It can happen to us, for example, with amnesty and pardon.

Do you know these concepts? Can you tell what they are? the differences between amnesty and pardon? In this article we will see what each of them means, and what their essential differences are, which will allow you to understand them more clearly.

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What are these concepts of the judicial world?

The main difference is found in their own definitions, since pardon implies forgiveness of the penalty, and amnesty implies forgiveness of the crime.

This first difference means that, in practice, only the part of the sentence that the pardoned person has not yet served can be pardoned; On the other hand, in the case of amnesty, it may happen that the person who receives the amnesty is rehabilitated, in terms of rights already lost.

Thus, these are two terms related to the legal and legal field, which allude to a suppression of sentences and/or crimes of convicted persons. Before explaining in a more detailed and concrete way what are the differences between amnesty and pardon, we are going to explain what each of these concepts consists of, in broad strokes.

1. Amnesty

According to the Royal Spanish Academy of Language (RAE), amnesty is the "Forgiveness of certain types of crimes, which extinguishes the responsibility of their authors."

According to the different definitions of amnesty, we find that it implies the forgiveness of certain types of crimes (mostly political crimes). On the other hand, the amnesty also extinguishes the responsibility of said crimes to their perpetrators, and eliminates any possible criminal record caused by such crimes. In short, in the amnesty the penalty and the crime are eliminated, and the convicted person is no longer considered guilty.

On the other hand, the amnesty intervenes directly on a category of crimes, and therefore it is not addressed to a single individual, but to a whole group (think of the case of the Catalan process, where the convicted are a group of people, and not just one).

Thus, the objective of amnesty is to "bury" a source of conflict, which is why, in a certain way, it is based on forgetting. That is to say, it is intended to turn the page, in order to promote reconciliation and start a new phase.

2. Pardon

In this case, according to the RAE, the pardon has two meanings; the first “Grace by which a penalty is fully or partially remitted or commuted”, and the second “Grace that exceptionally granted by the head of state, by which he fully or partially pardons a sentence or commutes it to another one benign”.

Other definitions of pardon qualify it as an exceptional measure of grace, which remits the sentences of the convicted, either totally or partially (that is, some, some or part of them); This measure is given by final judgment.

On the other hand, the pardon affects all kinds of crimes, but only extinguishes the criminal responsibility of the convicted person. This means that does not delete the criminal record of the same, as it happens with the amnesty. That is, the culprit remains "guilty", even if the sentence, or part of it, is forgiven or suppressed.

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Main differences between amnesty and pardon

Now that we have known, in broad strokes, what these concepts mean, we are going to see what are the main differences between amnesty and pardon.

1. object of forgiveness

The first of the differences between amnesty and pardon is found in the object of forgiveness; thus, while in the case of amnesty what is forgiven is the crime (which also includes the penalty), in the case of pardon what is forgiven is only the penalty (but not the crime).

In addition, it should be specified that In the case of pardon, the "central" penalty is usually forgiven, but not the accessory ones. To understand it better, let's give an example: let's remember the case of the process of Catalonia (independence); if the prisoners are pardoned, the years in prison (central penalty) are forgiven, but not the years of disqualification (ancillary penalty). However, each case requires its study and its specifications.

2. civil liability

Another of the differences between amnesty and pardon has to do with the extinction of civil liability; So, The pardon does not extinguish the convicted person from the civil liability derived from the crime, while amnesty does.

Let's remember that civil liability, in understandable terms, is the obligation to compensate (that is, "give an thing or do a benefit to a person as compensation for damage"), which originates as a consequence of damage caused.

3. Type of crimes

Although both amnesty and pardon apply to different types of crimes, amnesties generally apply to political crimes, and pardons to crimes of all kinds.

Let us think, for example, of the case of the process in Catalonia, where many ask for amnesty (and not so much pardon) for the politicians who led the independence movement.

4. Criminal record

As we have seen previously, another of the differences between amnesty and pardon is that the amnesty extinguishes the criminal record of the convicted person, while pardon does not (or not necessarily).

5. Requirement of a final judgment

In the case of amnesty, at the legal level a final sentence is not required (i.e. it is not required); On the other hand, in the case of pardon, this is necessary.

6. Administrative act or law

Generally, for a pardon to be granted, an administrative act is needed, which consists of a "manifestation or declaration of a public power in which he imposes his will about the rights of another person, as well as his freedoms or interests of some kind ”.

Instead, for an amnesty to be granted, a specific law is needed in relation to the crimes in question and your cancellation period. Thus, in the amnesty, the “yes” of most of the Deputies of Congress would be needed to be able to grant it.

7. Guilt of the convicted

The last of the differences between amnesty and pardon refers to the guilt or not of the convicted person; so while in the pardon the person is still considered guilty, in the amnesty it ceases to be.

Bibliographic references:

Macia, J. (2016). Amnesty and pardon. Right's studies. Learn online. ROYAL SPANISH ACADEMY (RAE): Dictionary of the Spanish language, 23rd ed., [version 23.3 online]. https://dle.rae.es [date of consultation: December 12, 2019]. Requejo, J. L. (2001). Amnesty and pardon in Spanish historical constitutionalism. Constitutional history: Electronic Magazine.