Libro Primero · Título III · Capítulo V Sección Quinta. Peritaciones especiales

In case of violent death or death suspected of criminality, the Public Prosecutor's Office or the judge shall order the performance of the autopsy even if the cause appears evident from mere external inspection of the corpse. Nevertheless, the judge, under his or her responsibility, may order burial without autopsy, in extraordinary cases, when the cause of death appears in a manifest and unequivocal manner.

Autopsies shall be performed in the premises designated for that purpose in State hospitals and health centers and in public or private cemeteries. However, in special and urgent cases, the judge may order that they be performed in another suitable place.

When signs of poisoning appear in the facts, the objects or substances presumed to be harmful shall be collected immediately and shall be sent, without delay, to the official laboratories and, in their absence, to private laboratories. In the latter case compliance with the judicial order is mandatory and whoever conducts the examination shall submit an invoice for their fees, which shall be covered as agreed by the Supreme Court of Justice.

During the autopsy the viscera and the corresponding organs shall be separated, which, together with the presumably toxic or poisonous substances, shall be sent to the appropriate place in duly closed and sealed containers, which the expert shall verify.

Expert examination in sexual crimes may only be carried out if the victim gives his or her consent, and, if he or she is a minor, with the consent of his or her parents or guardians, of whoever has guardianship or custody or, failing that, of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

For the examination and comparison of a document, the tribunal shall order the obtaining or presentation of comparison writings. Private documents shall be used if they are indubitable, and their seizure may be ordered, unless the holder is a person who must or may abstain from testifying as a witness.

The tribunal may also order that any of the parties write in its presence in their own hand a body of writing. A record shall be made of the refusal.

If a translation or an interpretation is necessary, the judge or the Public Prosecutor's Office, during the preliminary investigation, shall select and determine the number of those who are to carry out the operation. The parties shall be empowered to attend the act accompanied by a technical consultant to advise them and to formulate the objections warranted by the official translation or interpretation.