The Ministry of Justice (MJUS) is the department of the

Government of Spain 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 ...

responsible for preparing and carrying out the government policy in order to bring the legal system off, specially in

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

and

procedural law Procedural law, adjective law, in some jurisdictions referred to as remedial law, or rules of court, comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil, lawsuit, criminal or administrative proceedings. The rules are ...

affairs, supporting the

Administration of Justice The administration of justice is the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. The presumed goal of such an administration is to provide justice for all those accessing the legal system. The phrase is also commonly used to ...

and the legal and international cooperation. Likewise, it is responsible for processing the documents relative to grace right,

titles of nobility Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke ...

and

Grandees Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

which resolution is given by 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 ...

and is carried out 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 ...

, giving legal attendance to the State administrations and it is the communication channel of the Government with the Administration of Justice, with 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 i ...

and with the Prosecution Ministry, through the

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 ...

, as well as with the governing bodies of the

autonomous communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

with judicial responsibilities, the

Spanish Data Protection Agency The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD, es, Agencia Española de Protección de Datos) is an independent agency of the government of Spain which oversees the compliance with the legal provisions on the protection of personal data. The agency ...

and the associations of legal experts. The MJUS is headed by the Minister of Justice, who is appointed by the

King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

at request of 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 ...

, after hearing the

. The Minister is assisted by three main officials, the

Secretary of State for Justice The secretary of state for justice, also referred to as the justice secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the Un ...

, the Under Secretary of Justice and the Secretary-General for Innovation and Quality of the Public Justice Service. The Solicitor General depends from the Minister. The present incumbent is Mrs.

Pilar Llop María Pilar Llop Cuenca (born 3 August 1973) is a Spanish judge and politician who has been serving as minister of Justice of Spain and ''ex officio'' First Notary of the Kingdom since 2021. Previously, she served as the 61st president of th ...

. The ministry has its headquarters in the Palace of the Marchioness of Sonora,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

History

Origin

The administration of justice was a real prerogative and would continue being it until the 19th century, with the firsts

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

. However, the

monarchs A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in ...

already delegate its judicial powers on civil servants in charge of administering justice but the first time that a kind-of government department was created for judicial affairs was in 1705. That year, King

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 ...

split the Secretariat of the Universal Dispatch into two secretariats, one for War and Treasury and other «for everything else», which primarily included justice and religion affairs.

The beginnings

However, the true germ of the ministry is found in the

Royal Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

of 30 November 1714, which, similar to the French model, divided matters by subject, creating four Secretariats of the Dispatch, among which was the Secretariat of State and of the Dispatch of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Justice and Jurisdiction, in charge of religious affairs, maintenance of

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

from the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, the regime of universities, and justice and jurisdiction of

Councils 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 ...

and courts, especially in appointments. This secretariat was assumed by Manuel Vadillo Velasco who previously assumed the «Secretariat of the Dispatch for everything else». This Secretariat of State and of the Dispatch of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Justice and Jurisdiction is renamed Secretariat of the Dispatch of Justice, Political Government and Treasury of Spain and the Indies on 2 April 1717, since it assumes the powers of the Treasury after the General Supervision had been eliminated and after being merged most of the Secretariats of the Dispatch, preserving just three of them. However, this situation will last a short time because in December 1720 the Treasury business regained autonomy, splitting from the Ministry of Justice.

Grace and Justice

The great reforms carried out by

Ferdinand VI , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Savoy , birth_date = 23 September 1713 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Villavic ...

in 1754-1755 established the definitive classification of the Secretariats of the Dispatch and their powers. Thus, between 15 May 1754 and 14 May 1755, by a series of Royal Decrees, the Secretariats of the Dispatch become five (the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

one is re-created), and they are endowed with a permanent organization. In the case of the Secretariat of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Justice and Jurisdiction, by the Decree of 16 August 1754, it changes its name to «Secretariat of State and of the Dispatch of Grace and Justice». The subsequent reform of the year 1787 gives rise to a greater division of the Secretariats, as a solution to the accumulation of affairs and businesses from the Indies. As for the functions of this Secretariat of the Dispatch of Grace and Justice, it corresponded to it the matters previously dealt with by the Chamber of Castile and the Royal Council, basically those relating to

royal patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

ecclesiastical jurisdiction Ecclesiastical jurisdiction signifies jurisdiction by church leaders over other church leaders and over the laity. Jurisdiction is a word borrowed from the legal system which has acquired a wide extension in theology, wherein, for example, it is ...

, and the organization and operation of the Courts of Justice. Thus, it was attributed to this Secretariat everything to the appointments of

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s, ecclesiastical dignities, perks, trades and

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

cies; the government of courts and chancery, the appointment of its presidents, governors and ministers, and the resources of justice; the provision of the

corregimiento ''Corregimiento'' (; ca, Corregiment, ) is a Spanish term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A ''corregimiento'' was usually headed by a '' corr ...

s not destined to war and property; the conservation of royalties of the Crown, as well as the dispatch of what is convenient to the royal houses and the provision of their jobs and the care of the observance of laws and

pragmatics In linguistics and related fields, pragmatics is the study of how context contributes to meaning. The field of study evaluates how human language is utilized in social interactions, as well as the relationship between the interpreter and the int ...

. In 1787, the pre-existing

Secretariat of the Navy The Mexican Secretary of the Navy ( es, Secretaría de Marina, ''SEMAR'') is a member of the federal executive cabinet as well as the highest-ranking Mexican naval officer with the responsibility of commanding the Mexican Navy (including the ...

and the Indies is divided into three, with the names of: Navy, Grace and Justice of the Indies, and War, Treasury, Commerce and Navigation of the Indies, bringing the judicial affairs of the Indies to this moment assumed by the Indies Secretariat to a new the Secretariat of Grace and Justice of the Indies. However, this reform did not end the problems it had tried to remedy, so by Royal Decree of 25 April 1790, the classic division into five Secretaries of State and of the Dispatch was re-established: «State», «War», «Navy», «Treasury» and «Grace and Justice», each of which assumed the corresponding matters to the Indies. This division of the different branches of the Administration will be maintained until the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...

, which will introduce other reforms.

The Ministry

In 1812, the name «Secretariat of the Dispatch of Grace and Justice» was changed to «Ministry of Grace and Justice». But in fact, already the Statute of Bayonne of 1808 and the Constitution of 1837 used the term «minister» to refer to the secretaries of the Dispatch, since both terms were used as synonyms until the Royal Decree of 20 September 1851 changed the name of the Secretariat of State and of the Dispatch of Public Works to Ministry of Development, making official the denomination of «ministries» for the former Secretariats of the Dispatch and, consequently, it is definitively called Ministry of Grace and Justice. Since then, the Ministry of Justice has hardly changed (except for those of internal organization) and the most significant changes were in the Second Republic, specifically on 14 April 1931, when it was renamed «Ministry of Justice» and the period from 25 September 1935 to 19 February 1936, in which the name of the department was «Ministry of Labor, Health and Justice». Already in democracy, the most significant change was between May 1994 and May 1996, when it merged with the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

, giving rise to the Ministry of Justice and the Interior. In 2020, the department lost the powers over the fundamental right of

freedom of worship Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

and the matters related with the Historical Memory Act.

Organization chart

The Ministry of Justice is organised in the following managerial bodies: * The Secretariat of State for Justice. ** The General Secretariat for Innovation and Quality of the Public Justice Service. *** The Directorate-General for the Public Justice Service. *** The Directorate-General for the Digital Transformation of the Administration of Justice. ***The Directorate-General for Legal Security and Certification. ***The Deputy Directorate-General for Innovation and Quality of the Fiscal and Judicial Office. ** The Directorate-General for International Legal Cooperation and Human Rights. * The Undersecretary of Justice. ** The Technical General Secretariat. **The Budget Office. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Human Resources. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Hiring and Economic Management. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Building and Heritage. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Administrative Information and General Inspection of Services. **The Division for the Right of Grace and other Rights. * The

Office of the Solicitor General The Office of the Solicitor General of the Philippines ( fil, Tanggapan ng Taga-usig Panlahat), formerly known as the Bureau of Justice, is an independent and autonomous office attached to the Department of Justice. The OSG is headed by Menardo G ...

. **The Cabinet of the Solicitor General. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Advisory Services. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Contentious Services. **The Deputy Directorate-General for European Union and International Affairs. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Coordination, Audit and Knowledge Management. **The Deputy Directorate-General for Constitutional and Human Rights. **The General Secretariat. **The Offices of the Solicitor General at the Courts and Administrations.

Agencies

* The Center for Legal Studies. * The General Mutual Benefit Society for Civil Servants of the Administration of Justice.

First Notary of the Kingdom

First Notary of the Kingdom or Chief Notary of the Kingdom, in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

''Notario Mayor del Reino'' is the title held by the Minister of Justice as the person in charge of giving faith of the big events of the country like taking oath of high-ranking officials of the

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. Among its most important tasks is the record of the swearing and promises of the King or Queen, the

, the Ministers and the Secretaries of State. Likewise, the First Notary of the Kingdom also intervenes in the civil acts of the Spanish royal family, raising the records of the births, marriages and deaths of their individuals, and authorizing their marital capitulations, powers, assignments and other provisions and contracts. Said protocols and other papers of the civil acts that concern the royal family are kept in the dependencies of the Directorate-General of Registries and Notaries. The title is exercised ex officio, from its appointment until its cessation as Minister of Justice. This position does not confer any notarial authority nor does it have any relationship with the General Council of the Notariat (the nationwide organization who represents the notaries), whose highest authority is the President of the General Council. In case of the absence of the minister himself and as public notary, the Director-General of the Registries and the Notary, who is the secretary of the First Notary's Office, acts as the Acting First Notary of the Kingdom.

List of Ministers of Justice of Spain

Reign of
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
(1808-1813)

Junta Suprema Central In the Napoleonic era, junta () was the name chosen by several local administrations formed in Spain during the Peninsular War as a patriotic alternative to the official administration toppled by the French invaders. The juntas were usually formed b ...
(1808-1812)

Reign of
Fernando 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_pla ...
(1814-1833)

Regency of María Cristina (1833-1840)

Regency of Baldomero Espartero (1840-1843)

Reign of Isabel II (1843-1868)

Sexenio Democrático The Sexenio Democrático or Sexenio Revolucionario (English: The six democratic or revolutionary years) is a period of 6 years between 1868 and 1874 in the history of Spain. The ''Sexenio Democrático'' starts on 30 September 1868 with the over ...

Reign of
Amadeo I Amadeo ( it, Amedeo , sometimes latinized as Amadeus; full name: ''Amedeo Ferdinando Maria di Savoia''; 30 May 184518 January 1890) was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The first and only King of Spain to come fro ...
(1871-1873)

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after th ...
(1873-1874)

Reign of
Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...
(1874-1885)

Regency of María Cristina (1885-1902)

Reign of
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
(1902-1923)

Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...
(1923-1931)

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
(1931-1939)

Francoism Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
(1939-1975)

Reign of Juan Carlos I (1975-2014)

Reign of
Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...
(since 2014)

If the Minister has no number, their title was Minister of Justice. # Minister of Grace and Justice # Minister of Justice and Religion # Secretary of the Office of Grace and Justice # Minister of Labour and Justice # Minister of Labour, Justice and Health If the Minister has no number, their title was Minister of Justice. # Minister of Grace and Justice # Minister of Justice and Religion # Secretary of the Office of Grace and Justice # Minister of Labour and Justice # Minister of Labour, Justice and Health

References

External links

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice
{{authority control

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Government ministries of Spain Ministries established in 1714 1714 establishments in Spain