Judicial delays in Ibiza legal proceedings

Judicial proceedings in Ibiza are facing significant delays, impacting both the processing of new cases and the sentencing of existing ones.

A shortage of forensic psychologists within the Institute of Legal Medicine has stalled approximately one hundred judicial proceedings. Many of these cases involve sexual violence and minor victims. The shortage is attributed to insufficient salaries relative to the high cost of living on the island, leaving a permanent position vacant since April 2025. While a substitute is expected to join in October 2026, data shows that sexual offenses in Ibiza and Formentera rose to 349 in the first quarter of 2026, up from 287 in the same period the previous year.

The impact of these delays is evidenced in the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands, which recently reduced the prison sentence of an IT specialist known as the ‘Ibiza sexual hacker’. The court lowered the sentence from over 60 years to approximately 19 years, citing a “highly qualified mitigating factor regarding undue judicial delays.” The legal process for this individual began in 2018 but did not reach trial until April 2026, experiencing several periods of suspension despite defense requests to proceed.