Supreme Tribunal of Spain (Tribunal Supremo), Section II, No. 745/2003, 24 May 2003

Recourse against conviction for attempted murder for honour-related reasons. Evaluation of the applicability of the attenuating circumstance of passional states, in the light of cultural specificities.

Art. 16, 138 Spanish criminal code
Art. 21 Spanish criminal code

The causes or stimuli which may produce the emotions and passions which the law considers as suitable to reduce the criminal responsibility, must be capable of interposing themselves between the message of the rule and the conscience or will of the subject, in such a way that the force of that message results clearly weakened.  This effect cannot be attributed to any displeasure or annoyance, on pain of endangering the civil coexistence on which the social fabric is based. Nor can it be argued, on the other hand, that in a certain ethnic group some annoyances are more likely to trigger violent reactions: the recognition of unquestionable cultural singularities of such a group must not lead to the formulation of an attenuated judgement of reproach towards behaviors which, carried out by citizens belonging to the majoritarian culture, would always receive a reprobation proportionately to its objective content of injustice. All too often, attitudes of excessive understanding of the presumed - or real - singularities of social sectors which are more or less marginalised in their relationship with the generally applicable rules, contribute decisively to accentuating this marginalisation.