The Council of State ( es, Consejo de Estado), is the supreme consultative council of the

Spanish Government gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...

. The current Council of State was established in 1980 according to the article 107 of the Constitution of 1978. The institution of the Council of State, understood as supreme consultative council of the Government, has existed intermittently since 1812. During the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, the Council of State advised the King about foreign policy.

History

The council as the body through which the monarchs ruled their territories has its origins in the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

with the creation of the

Council of Castile The Council of Castile ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de Castilla), known earlier as the Royal Council ( es, Consejo Real), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It ...

in 1385 by King John II. Other peninsular kingdoms like

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

also created its own council in 1481 by Queen Joan II and in

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises th ...

in 1494 by King Ferdinand the Catholic.

Foreign affairs council (1522–1834)

King Charles I inherited vast territories through

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and decided to create a new council called «''of State''» due to the enormous foreign policy that marked his reign. This council started its duties in 1526 when Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent threatened Spanish possessions in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It was the only Council that did not have a president, because it was the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

himself who assumed that function. His advisors were not specialists in laws but experts in international relations, such as the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes ( es, Duque de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by G ...

or Nicolás Perrenot. The councilors were, therefore, members of the high nobility and the high clergy. In times of

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

sometimes the monarch did not preside over the councils and, in his place, sent to its secretary Antonio Perez. It had a great influence during the reigns of Charles I and

and later during the regency of

Mariana of Austria Mariana of Austria ( es, Mariana de Austria) or Maria Anna (24 December 163416 May 1696) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the second wife of her uncle Philip IV of Spain from their marriage in 1649 until Philip died in 1665. ...

(1665–1675). The reforms of

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

(1700–1746) emptied its actual power, although

Manuel de Godoy Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó (12 May 17674 October 1851) was First Secretary of State of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many t ...

wished to revive it in 1792. Unlike the Council of Castile, in which the King listened to the councilors and executed the conclusions presented to him, in the Council of State was the King himself who exposed the points to be discussed, listened to his advisors and, subsequently, the same monarch made the decisions that were to be made.

Supreme consultative council of the Government (1812–today)

The Council of State has existed intermittently during 19th and 20th centuries. The

Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constituti ...

granted the King the executive power and established that this was the only council to which the King could go to ask for advice. This obligation was over in 1814 when

King Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

restored absolutism. The Constitution configured the council as a King-control-body forcing the King to take to the council important issues like the sanction of the laws, the declaration of war or the conclusion of treaties that in any case the sovereign could undertake without having previously "heard" the council. With the death of the King in 1833, the year later the council was abolished and the ''Royal Council of Spain and the Indies'' was created instead as a superior consultative body but was abolished in 1836. In 1845, under the name of ''Royal Council'' the body was restored and for the first time the Presidency of the council was granted to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. In 1858 the original name recovered and since then the council has been regulated by numerous laws, the latest in 1980. Nowadays the Council of State continues being the main and superior consultative body of the Government, but since 1991 some economic and social competencies have been transferred to the Economic and Social Council.

Current organization

The Council of State has its headquarters in the

Palace of the Councils, Madrid The Palace of the Councils or Palace of the Duke of Uceda (in Spanish, Palacio de los Consejos or Palacio del duque de Uceda) is a building from the 17th century located in central Madrid, Spain. It is located on the Calle Mayor, corner of calle B ...

.
LOCE § 1.3
The Council of State Organic Act establish that the council will watch for the observance of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

and the rest of the legal order when the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

ask for its advice or when the laws establish it
LOCE § 2.1
. The council is formed by its president that is appointed by the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

with the advice of the

after appearing before

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and three kind of Councilors: * The Permanent Councilors. *: To be elected Permanent Councilor you must have previously been Minister, President or minister of a regional government, Councilor of State, member of the Advisory Councils of the regional governments, Chief Law Clerk of the Council of State, Academic of number of the Royal Academies integrated into the Institute of Spain, Full professor of law, economic or social disciplines in the university, with fifteen years of experience, General Officer of the Legal Bodies of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, State civil servants with fifteen years of service at least in bodies or scales for which admission is required university degree or former

Governors of the Bank of Spain A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. * The Born Councilors. *: To be elected Born Councilor you must have previously been

, director of the Royal Academies, President of the Economic and Social Council,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, Chief of the Defence Staff, President of the General Council of Lawyers, President of the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

' General Codification Committee, Solicitor General, Director of the Center for Political and Constitutional Studies or Governor of the Bank of Spain. * The Elective Councilors. *: To be elected Elective Councilor you must have previously been Member of Parliament, Magistrate of the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

, Judge or Advocate General of the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (french: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quart ...

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, President or Member of the

General Council of the Judiciary The General Council of the Judiciary ( es, Consejo General del Poder Judicial, CGPJ) is the national council of the judiciary of Spain. It is the constitutional body that governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as courts, and judges, as it is ...

, Minister or Secretary of State, President of the

Court of Auditors The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management. It has 27 members ( ...

, Chief of the Defense Staff, President or Minister of a Regional Government, Ambassador from the diplomatic career, Mayor of a provincial capital, President of the Provincial Council, of the Inter-Island Commonwealth, of the Island Council or of the Insular Council or University Rector.

References

External links