The Chief Public Prosecutor for the Canary Islands, Jaime Serrano-Jover González, spoke out on Friday in favour of a legislative reform that would enable the courts to prosecute serious crimes committed during migrant crossings outside Spanish territorial waters, particularly where no other state has claimed jurisdiction to investigate them.
During the presentation of the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s annual report for 2025 to a committee of the Canary Islands Parliament, Serrano-Jover highlighted the difficulties in taking action against murders and sexual assaults committed in such circumstances, and the risk that these crimes may go unpunished.
The prosecutor referred to problems that have arisen in Lanzarote concerning cases of sexual assault that took place outside Spanish territorial waters and stated that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has explored all possible courses of action within the limits of the law.
Migration routes: Legislative reform aims to make it possible to prosecute serious criminal offences
«Every avenue has been explored,» he remarked, describing the attempt to prosecute these offences, but he pointed out that the Public Prosecutor’s Office cannot act contrary to the provisions of Article 23 of the Organic Law on the Judiciary, which regulates the circumstances under which jurisdiction is conferred on Spanish courts.
As he explained, the Supreme Court has suggested the possibility of taking on the investigation of incidents occurring in international waters when no other State claims jurisdiction over them, but has considered that this approach requires a «highly strained» interpretation and has argued that an explicit amendment to the law would be necessary.
Serrano-Jover has highlighted cases in which people travelling on the boats, including minors, have been thrown overboard whilst still alive, and has warned that acts of «extraordinary gravity» and «extraordinary violence» may go unpunished.
Migration Pact: Responsibilities regarding minors remain unclear
The public prosecutor has also called for greater coordination between the central government and the Canary Islands regional government in order to provide support for unaccompanied migrant children, and has highlighted unresolved jurisdictional issues regarding the implementation of the European migration pact.
In particular, he referred to the difficulties in determining who should accompany minors during triage and explained that these individuals must have no connection with or involvement in other stages of the procedure.
«We are not implementing this measure in accordance with the conditions expressly set out in the migration pact that came into force on 12 June 2026,» he stated.
The public prosecutor has indicated that there are still disputes over jurisdiction regarding these triage procedures, which could end up in court, when it would be preferable for both authorities to reach an agreement.
Annual Report: Proceedings, judgements and missing crime data
Regarding the 2025 report, he explained that the public prosecutors‘ offices in the Canary Islands processed 1,106 age assessment cases, of which 373 were in Las Palmas and 733 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as well as 3,004 guardianship cases.
With regard to offences relating to the facilitation of irregular immigration, 26 judgements were handed down in Las Palmas, all of which were convictions except for one, whilst in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 129 preliminary investigations were opened and 14 charges were brought for aggravated forms of these offences.
When asked about the impact of immigration on crime rates, Serrano-Jover replied that he did not have any data and rejected the idea of establishing a link which, as he pointed out, has not been proven and does not help to solve the problems.
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