When the legal services of a lawyer are required, several circumstances must be taken into account. The main one is to identify which branch of law handles the specific case. In this way it will be possible to know whether it is necessary to hire a generalist lawyer or a specialised one. There is no doubt that when it comes to criminal law, it is essential to opt for a criminal lawyer. He or she will be much more up to date on criminal law.

Article 13 of the Penal Code distinguishes between three types of offences:

1. Serious offences: These include offences for which the law provides for a serious penalty, e.g. trafficking in human beings, murder, etc.

2. Less serious offences: These are offences punishable by less serious penalties, e.g. the offence of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcoholic beverages.

3. Minor offences: These are offences punishable by light penalties, e.g. minor coercion.

• Instantaneous offences
• Permanent offences
• Habitual offences
• Continuous offences
• Fragrant offences
• Related offences

Within Criminal Law, there are some specialities which, due to their magnitude, have been separated from Criminal Law in general. They belong to other fields, but, as they have criminal liability, they can be included in this branch:

• Economic Criminal Law
• International Criminal Law