The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

. The current version was approved in 1978, three years after the death of dictator

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

. There have been dozens of constitutions and constitution-like documents in Spain; however, it is "the first which was not imposed by a party but represented a negotiated compromise among all the major parties". It was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos I on 27 December, before it was published in the (the

government gazette A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...

of Spain) on 29 December, the date on which it became effective. The promulgation of the constitution marked the climax of the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of general Franco, on 20 November 1975, who ruled over Spain as a military dictator for nearly 40 years. This led to the country undergoing a complex process that included a series of political, social and historical changes, gradually transforming the Francoist regime into a democratic state. The Constitution was redacted, debated and approved by the constituent assembly () that emerged from the 1977 general election. It then repealed all the Fundamental Laws of the Realm (i.e., the constitution of the Francoist regime), as well as other major historical laws and every pre-existing law that contradicted the new constitution.

Content summary

The Spanish Constitution is a written document that takes cues from both older Spanish constitutions and other then-current European constitutions. For example, it contains the provision for a constructive vote of no confidence, which was inspired by German Basic Law. The Constitution is organized in ten parts () and contains an additional introduction (), a preamble, several additional and interim provisions, a series of repeals, and it ends with a final provision. * Part I refers to fundamental rights and duties, which receive special treatment and protection under Spanish law. Article 1 defines the Spanish state: ** Article 1.1 states that "Spain is established as a

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and democratic state, subject to the

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

, which advocates as the highest values of its legal order the following:

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

, equality and political pluralism. ** Article 1.2 refers to national sovereignty, which is vested in the Spanish people, "from whom the powers of the State emanate". ** Article 1.3 establishes parliamentary monarchy as the "political form of the Spanish state". * Part II refers to the regulation of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

and lays out the King's role in the Spanish state. * Part III elaborates on Spain's legislature, the . * Part IV refers to the

Government of Spain The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the ...

, the executive power, and the Public Administration, which is managed by the executive. * Part V refers to the relations between the Government and the ; as a parliamentary monarchy, the Prime Minister () is invested by the legislature and the Government is responsible before the legislature. * Part VI refers to the organization of the judicial power, establishing that justice emanates from the people and is administered on behalf of the king by

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

s and

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

s who are independent, irrevocable, liable and subject to the rule of law only. * Part VII refers to the principles that shall guide the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and the finances of the Spanish state, subjecting all the wealth in the country to the general interest and recognizing public initiative in the economy, while also protecting

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

in the framework of a market economy. It also establishes the Court of Accounts and the principles that shall guide the approval of the state budget. * Part VIII refers to the " territorial organization of the State" and establishes a unitary state that is nevertheless heavily decentralized through delegation and transfer of powers. The result is a ''de facto'' federal model, with some differences from federal states. This is referred to as an autonomous state () or state of the autonomies (). * Part IX refers to the Constitutional Court, which oversees the constitutionality of all laws and protects the fundamental rights enshrined in Part I. * Part X refers to constitutional amendments, of which there have been only three since 1978 (in 1992, when Article #13 was reformed, in 2011, when Article #135 was reformed, and in 2024, when Article #49 was reformed).

History

The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the Constitution of 1812. After the death of dictator

in 1975, a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

in 1977 convened the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving the constitution. A seven-member panel was selected among the elected members of the ' to work on a draft of the Constitution to be submitted to the body. These came to be known, as the media put it, as the ' or "fathers of the Constitution". The seven people were chosen to represent the wide (and often, deeply divided) political spectrum within the Spanish Parliament, while the leading role was given to then ruling party and now defunct Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD). Constitucion_espanola_1978

The members included: * Gabriel Cisneros (UCD) * José Pedro Pérez-Llorca (UCD) * Miguel Herrero y Rodríguez de Miñón (UCD) * Miquel Roca i Junyent ( CDC) * Manuel Fraga Iribarne ( AP) * Gregorio Peces-Barba ( PSOE) * Jordi Solé Tura ( PSUC) The writer (and Senator by Royal appointment) Camilo José Cela later polished the draft Constitution's wording. However, since much of the consensus depended on keeping the wording ambiguous, few of Cela's proposed re-wordings were approved. One of those accepted was the substitution of the archaic ' (" weld-colored") for the plain ' (yellow) in the description of the

flag of Spain The flag of Spain (), as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle co ...

. The constitution was approved by the on 31 October 1978, and by the Spanish people in a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on 6 December 1978. 91.81% of voters supported the new constitution. Finally, it was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos on 27 December in a ceremony in the presence of parliamentarians. It came into effect on 29 December, the day it was published in the Official Gazette. Constitution Day () on 6 December has since been a national holiday in Spain.

Content in-depth

The Constitution contains 169 articles as well as a number of additional and transitory provisions. Notably, the Constitution also formally repealed several important Spanish laws related the political history of the country: the Laws of 25 October 1839 and 21 July 1876, related to the Basque ''

fuero (), (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ...

''s and the aftermath of the Carlist Wars, as well as all of the Fundamental Laws of the Realm were repealed. It also supersedes the Law of 4 January 1977, on Political Reform, which was conceived as a temporary mechanism to loosen restrictions on fundamental rights inherited from the Francoist period.

Preamble

Traditionally, writing the preamble to the constitution was considered an honour, and a task requiring great literary ability. The person chosen for this purpose was . The full text of the preamble may be translated as follows:

Preliminary Title

:Section 1. Spain is hereby established as a

and democratic State, subject to the

, which advocates freedom, justice, equality and political pluralism as highest values of its legal system. National sovereignty belongs to the Spanish people, from whom all state powers emanate. The political form of the Spanish State is the Parliamentary Monarchy. :Section 2. The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards; it recognizes and guarantees the right to self-government of the nationalities and regions of which it is composed and the solidarity among them all. As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution does not formally state that Spain is a federation (nor a unitary state), actual power shows, depending on the issue considered, widely varying grades of decentralization, ranging from the quasi-confederal status of tax management in Navarre and the Basque Country to the total centralization in airport management.

Part I: fundamental rights and duties

Part I of the Spanish Constitution encompasses Sections 10 to 55, establishing fundamental rights and duties. The scope of the rights recognised by the text is the largest in Spanish constitutional history. Scholars deem the enumeration open insofar as new rights can be included under the principle of human dignity as a foundation of the political order and social peace (Section 10). This can be achieved by means of constitutional reform, jurisprudential developments or the ratification of new international treaties. The effect of fundamental rights is twofold. They are subjective rights to be exercised both individually and collectively. In addition to this, they are a binding principle for all public authorities, which allows for peaceful coexistence and legitimates the political and social order.

Chapter One: Spaniards and Aliens

Chapter One deals with the entitlement of constitutional rights. Section 11 provides for the regulation by statute of Spanish nationality whilst providing for its inalienability for Spaniards. Section 12 establishes the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when a person ceases to be considered a minor (law), minor, and assumes legal control over their person, actions, and decisions, thus te ...

in Spain at 18. Section 13 limits the entitlement of public freedoms to aliens to the provisions of statutes and international treaties.

Legal person In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...

s are entitled to a reduced array of rights, among which the right of association, the right to honour, the right to due process of law, freedom of speech and the inviolability of the home are included.

Chapter Two: Rights and Freedoms

Chapter Two begins with Section 14, an equal rights clause. ;Section One, fundamental rights and freedoms Section One (Sections 15 to 29) includes an enumeration of fundamental rights and public freedoms. This section is entrenched, meaning it is extremely difficult to modify or repeal, in order to prevent the establishment of a '' legal dictatorship'' via constitutional amendment. Furthermore, an individual can request the protection of a justice court if any of these rights are infringed. Individual rights include the right to life (Section 15), freedom of conscience (Section 16), right to freedom and security (Section 17), honour, privacy and inviolability of the home (Section 18), freedom of movement and residence (Section 19), and

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

(Section 20). The list of collective rights include the right of assembly (Section 21), right of association (Section 22), right of suffrage (Section 23),

right to education The right to education has been recognized as a human rights, human right in a number of international conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which recognizes a right to free education, free, pr ...

(Section 27) and the right to strike (Section 28). The due process of law is covered by Sections 24 to 26. ;Section two, other rights and obligations Section Two of Chapter Two (Sections 30 to 38) includes a list of civic rights and duties. Section 30 includes military duties with guarantees and alternatives for conscientious objectors (this section has been inactive since 2002). Section 31 establishes a progressive and non-confiscatory tax system. The principles of family law are laid out in Section 32. Chapter Two also deals with the right to property (Section 33), to create foundations (Section 34), to work (Section 35), to create

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

s (Section 36) and to

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

(Section 37). This Section also guarantees economic freedom and calls for a market economy which can be subject to government

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the cap ...

(Section 38).

Chapter Three: Governing Principles of Economic and Social Policy

Chapter Three includes Sections 39 to 52. They lay out the foundations of the Spanish

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

in accordance with the constitutional mandate for a social state (Section 1) and for effective freedom and equality and societal integration for all citizens and collectives (Section 9, Part 2). It includes provisions for a public pension system, a social security system, public healthcare and cultural rights.

Chapter Four: Guarantees for Fundamental Rights and Freedoms

Chapter Four includes a series of guarantees for fundamental rights. Section 53 limits the regulation of all rights in Chapter Two and Chapter Three to

statutory law A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wi ...

, which excludes administrative regulation (''reglamentos''). These statutes must respect the essential content of said rights. The fundamental rights and public freedoms included in Section One of Chapter Two can be invoked directly, and they ought to be regulated by means of Organic Law (which ensures greater political consensus). The creation of this statute cannot be delegated to the executive power. Section 54 calls for the creation of an Ombudsman (''Defensor del Pueblo''), accountable to the legislative power, the . It acts as a supervisor of administrative activity. In addition to this, it has

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...

before the Constitutional Court to lodge unconstitutionality appeals and individual appeals for protection ''(recurso de amparo)''. Sections 14 to 29 and Section 30, Part 2, enjoy the right to a preferential and summary procedure in the ordinary courts. Once this procedure is exhausted, citizens may lodge an individual appeal for protection ''(recurso de amparo)'', a last instance unique to Spanish constitutional law and created in 1978 that, once exhausted, allows for an appeal before the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

. This scope of additional protection reinforces the guarantees of the due process of law, including the process of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

. In addition to this, the Prime Minister, the Ombudsman, 50 members of the Congress of Deputies, 50 Senators, and regional governments and legislative assemblies may lodge unconstitutionality appeals before the Constitutional Court.Art. 161.1.a CEArt. 162.1 CE

Part II: Crown

The Constitution dedicates its Part II to the regulation of the monarchy, which is referred to as ''The Crown'' (). Article 56 of the Constitution establishes that the monarch is the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and symbolizes the unity of the Spanish state. It refers to the monarch's role as a "moderator" whose main role is to oversee and ensure the regular functioning of the institutions. The monarch is also the highest-ranked representative of the Spanish state in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

and only exercises the functions that are explicitly attributed to him by the Constitution and the laws. The King's official title is "King of Spain" (), but he is allowed to use any other titles that are associated to the Spanish Crown. The King of Spain enjoys immunity and is not subject to legal accountability. In a broad sense, this means that the King cannot be legally prosecuted. Some jurists say that this only refers to criminal procedures, while others claim this immunity is also present in civil procedures; in practice, the King has never been prosecuted and it is unlikely that he would be prosecuted even if it was proven that the monarch had committed a crime. The legal justification for royal immunity is that the King is mandated by the Constitution to fulfill several roles as the head of state; thus, the King is obligated to perform his actions and fulfill his duties, so the King cannot be judged for actions that he is constitutionally obligated to perform.

Refrendo

The King is vested with executive power, but is not personally responsible for exercising it. This does not mean that his actions are free of responsibility. The responsibility for the King's actions falls into the persons who hold actual political power and who actually take political decisions, which the King only formally and symbolically ratifies. This is done through a procedure or institution called the ''refrendo'' (" countersigning" in the official English translation of the constitution). All the King's acts have to undergo the refrendo procedure. Through the refrendo, other persons assume legal and political responsibility for the King's acts, if such responsibility is demanded from them. Article 64 explains the refrendo and transfers responsibility for royal acts to the

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

in most cases, though it also allows other ministers to assume responsibility for royal acts as well. In general, when there is not a formed government, the responsibility is assumed by the President of the Congress of Deputies. Without the refrendo, the King's actions are null and void. There are only two royal acts that do not require the refrendo. The first encompasses all acts related to the management of the Royal House of Spain; the King can freely hire and fire any employees of the Royal House and he receives an annual amount from the state budget to operate the Royal House, which he freely distributes across the institution. The second one refers to the King's will, which enables him to distribute his material legacy and name tutors for his children, if they are not legal adults.

King's functions in the Spanish state

Article 62 of the Spanish Constitution establishes an exhaustive list of the King's functions, all of which are symbolic and do not reflect the exercise of any political power. The King sanctions and promulgates the laws, which are approved by the , which the King also symbolically and formally calls and dissolves. The King also calls for periodic elections and for referendums in the cases that are included by the laws or the Constitution. The King also proposes a candidate for Prime Minister, which is probably the King's most 'political' function, as he traditionally holds meetings with the leaders of all the major political parties in order to facilitate the formation of a government. If a candidate is successfully invested by the Parliament, he formally names him Prime Minister of Spain. When a Prime Minister has been named, he also formally names all the members of his government, all of which are proposed by the Prime Minister himself. The King has both a right and a duty to be informed of all the state affairs; he is also allowed to preside over the government meetings when the Prime Minister invites him to do so, although he has the ability to reject this invitation. Regarding the Government, the King also formally issues the governmental decrees, as well as bestowing all the civil and military ranks and employments, and he also grants honors and distinctions according to the laws. The King is also the supreme head of the Armed Forces of Spain, although the effective lead is held by the Government of Spain. Finally, the King holds the High Patronage of all the Royal Academies and other organizations that have a royal patronage.

Succession to the Crown

The succession to the Crown is regulated in article 57 which establishes a male preference primogeniture to the successors of King Juan Carlos I and his dynasty, the

Bourbon dynasty The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

. The heir to the throne receives the title of Prince or Princess of Asturias as well as the other historic titles of the heir and the other children received the title of Infantes or Infantas. If some person with rights of succession marries against the will of the King or Queen regnant or the , they shall be excluded from succession to the Crown, as shall their descendants. This article also establishes that if the lines are extinguished, the shall decide who will be the new King or Queen attending to the general interests of the country. Finally, article 57.5 establishes that abdications or any legal doubt about the succession must be clarified by an Organic Act. This legal forecast was exercised for the first time of the current democratic period in 2014 when King Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of his son. The Organic Act 3/2014 made effective the abdication of the King. A Royal decree of the same year also modified the Royal Decree of 1987 which establishes the titles of the Royal family and the Regents and arranged that the outgoing King and Queen shall conserve their titles. And the Organic Act 4/2014 modified the Organic Act of the Judiciary to allow the former Kings to conserve their judicial prerogatives (immunity).

Regency

The Regency is regulated in article 59. The Regency is a period in which a person exercises the duties of the King or Queen regnant on behalf of the real monarch who is a minor. This article establishes that the King or Queen's mother or father shall immediately assume the office of regent and, in the absence of these, the oldest relative of legal age who is nearest in succession to the Crown. Article 59 § 2 establishes that the monarch may be declared incapacitated by Parliament if the monarch becomes unfit for the exercise of authority, in which case the Prince or Princess of Asturias shall assume the regency if they are of age; if not, the previous procedure must be followed. If there is no person entitled to exercise the regency, the shall appoint one regent or a council of three or five persons known as the Council of Regency. The regent must be a Spaniard and legally of age. The Constitution also establishes in article 60 that the guardian of the King or Queen during their minority cannot be the same as the person who acts as regent, unless the regent is the father, the mother, or a direct ancestor of the King. Parents can be guardian while widowed. If the parent marries again, the parent loses the guardianship, and the shall appoint a guardian who must comply with the same requirements as to be regent. Article 60 § 2 also establishes that the exercise of the guardianship is also incompatible with the holding of any office or political representation so that no person can be the guardian of the monarch while holding a political office.

Part III: Cortes Generales

Part III (Sections 66 to 96) deals with the , the Spanish legislature. It consists of two chambers: the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

and the Senate of Spain, with the former being privileged above the latter, in contrast with other upper chambers, such as the Italian Senate of the Republic. Each chamber is provided with internal regulatory powers for governance, a Speaker (''Presidente'') and a Governing Board (''Mesa'').Art. 72.2 CE The Permanent Deputation exerts a limited series of powers during recesses and after the dissolution of the chambers. Joint sessions of the Cortes are presided by the Speaker of the Congress of Deputies under a common procedure code passed by a majority of each chamber. The Cortes exert legislative, budgetary and control powers over the executive. They have the power to appoint members to the Constitutional Court, the General Council of the Judiciary, the Court of Auditors and the Ombudsman. They have control over the line of succession of the Spanish Crown, with the power to appoint Regents, Tutors and to elect a new head of state according to the interest of Spain if all successory lines are exhausted. Each chambers works in a Plenary or by Commissions, work groups with a composition proportional to each party's representation. Commissions may be assigned the study of bills and matters by the Governing Board, and the Plenary may delegate unto them the passing of certain bills, excluding those related to constitutional reform, international matters, organic laws and the budget. Commissions can be legislative and non-legislative, and permanent or temporary.

Congress of Deputies

Section 68 provides for a lower chamber with a minimum of three hundred and a maximum of four hundred Deputies,Art. 68.1 CE elected by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage. The electoral districts are the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

and the cities of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

and Melilla, with a minimum of two seats for each province and one seat for each city, the rest being apportioned by population.Art. 68.2 CE All deputies are elected in each district by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

Senate

Section 69 establishes the Senate as an upper and territorial chamber. It is elected under a mixed system where 208 Senators are elected directly by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage and the rest are indirectly appointed by the legislative assemblies of the autonomous communities. Senators are elected by limited voting, with citizens being able to elect all but one members of a district. This affords the second most voted party in each district a degree of representation. The attributions of the Spanish Senate are subordinate to those of the Spanish Congress, which makes it comparable to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

or the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

of the National Diet of Japan insofar as it may exert limited control and review powers over the lower chamber.

Part IV: government

Section 97 vests the

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

in the

, which runs the country's domestic and

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

, the civil and military administration and the national defense. Section 98 states that the Government shall be composed of the President (referred to in English as the

), the Vice Presidents if any (referred to in English as the Deputy Prime Ministers), and any other members listed in statute. The Prime Minister runs the Government's policy and coordinates the faculties of the others members of the Government. Section 99 describes the procedure of appointment of the Prime Minister. After an election, or any other event that triggers an appointment, the King shall meet with all the leaders of the political groups in the , then choose one of them to face an investiture vote. The President of the Congress of Deputies holds

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

power over the King's choice. The investiture vote is successful, and the nominee becomes Prime Minister, if he gets the absolute majority vote of the Congress of Deputies in the first roll call, or a simple majority (more yeas than noes) in a second roll call that takes place two days after the first. The process can be repeated with the same or other political leader chosen by the King within two months after the first roll call; after that time, a

to both chambers is automatically called. Section 100 states that the ministers are appointed and dismissed by the King by the Prime Minister's proposal. Section 101 states that the Government is dismissed after a general election, the loss of supply or confidence of the Congress of Deputies, or the resignation or death of the Prime Minister. The dismissed Government holds caretaker powers until a new Government is inaugurated. Section 102 establishes the conditions for prosecution of criminal accountability for the Prime Minister or any other member of the Government, explicitly stating they cannot pardon themselves. Sections 103 to 107 establish the role of the General State Administration, the

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

organizations, the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, and the obligation of the Government to grant

due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...

, to abide by

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

decisions and to fulfill any public liability to the individuals.

Part V: relations between the Cortes Generales and the government

Article 115 deals with the mechanisms of how and when Congress, the Senate, or the can be dissolved. This measure requires approval from the King of Spain, who must establish a date for the elections. The proposal for dissolution cannot be submitted during a censure.

Article 116

:''Section 1. A state of alarm shall be declared by the Government, by means of a decree decided upon by the Council of Ministers, for a maximum period of fifteen days. The Congress of Deputies shall be informed and must meet immediately for this purpose. Without their authorisation, the said period may not be extended. The decree shall specify the territorial area to which the effects of the proclamation shall apply.'' :''Section 2. A state of emergency shall be declared by the Government by means of a decree decided upon by the Council of Ministers, after prior authorisation by the Congress of Deputies. The authorisation for and declaration of a state of emergency must specifically state the effects thereof, the territorial area to which it is to apply and its duration, which may not exceed thirty days, subject to extension for a further thirty-day period, with the same requirements.'' :''Section 3. A state of siege (martial law) shall be declared by absolute majority of the Congress of Deputies, exclusively at the proposal of the Government. Congress shall determine its territorial extension, duration and terms.'' For the duration where any of those acts of Article 116 are declared, Congress cannot be dissolved. In the event that Congress had been dissolved or its term expires, the powers of Congress are assumed by the Standing Committee. Since the constitution of Spain was adopted, the state of alarm was only declared twice: once in 2010 for the Spanish air traffic controllers strike, and in March 2020 for the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The first state of emergency was declared in October 2020 as a result of continued difficulties for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part VI: judiciary

Article 117 establishes the independence of the judiciary and the law. In cases of martial law, military activity is limited by the Constitution. Articles 119 to 120 establish the right to a public, fair trial, with the right to an attorney for indigent defendants. Article 121 mandates compensation in case of damages caused by legal irregularities. Article 127 forbids serving magistrates and prosecutors from political party membership or public office.

Part VII: economy and taxation

Article 128 allows the State to intervene in corporate affairs to restrict monopolies or serve the public interest. Deficits and debt shall not exceed standards set by the European Union.

Part VIII: territorial model

Article 143

:''Section 1. In the exercise of the right to self-government recognized in Article 2 of the Constitution, bordering provinces with common historic, cultural and economic characteristics, island territories and provinces with historic regional status may accede to self-government and form Autonomous Communities in conformity with the provisions contained in this Title and in the respective Statutes.'' The Spanish Constitution is one of the few Bill of Rights that has legal provisions for social rights, including the definition of Spain itself as a "Social and Democratic State, subject to the rule of law" () in its preliminary title. However, those rights are not at the same level of protection as the individual rights contained in articles 14 to 28, since those social rights are considered in fact principles and directives of economic policy, but never full rights of the citizens to be claimed before a court or tribunal. Other constitutional provisions recognize the right to adequate housing,

employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

, social welfare provision, health protection and pensions. Thanks to the political influence of Santiago Carrillo of the Communist Party of Spain, and with the consensus of the other "fathers of the constitution", the right to State intervention in private companies in the public interest and the facilitation of access by workers to ownership of the means of production were also enshrined in the Constitution.

Article 155

:''Section 1. If a self-governing community does not fulfil the obligations imposed upon it by the constitution or other laws, or acts in a way that is seriously prejudicial to the general interest of Spain, the government may take all measures necessary to compel the community to meet said obligations, or to protect the above-mentioned general interest.'' :''Section 2. With a view to implementing the measures provided for in the foregoing paragraph, the Government may issue instructions to all the authorities of the Self-governing Communities.'' This wording is almost identical t
Article 37
of the German Basic Law. On October 27, 2017, the Senate of Spain (Senado) voted 214 to 47 to invoke Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution over Catalonia after the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence. Article 155 gave Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy the power to remove secessionist politicians, including Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan leader, and directly rule from Madrid.

Part IX: Constitutional Court

The King appoints all twelve members of the Constitutional Court. Four are nominated by a 3/5 majority in Congress; four are nominated by a 3/5 majority in the Senate. Two are nominated by the government, and the last two by the General Council of the Judiciary. They can serve a maximum of 9 years divided into three 3-year renewable terms. Serving magistrates and prosecutors, politicians, political party members, or active businessmen can not serve on the Constitutional Court.

Part X: constitutional amendment

There are two methods of amending the Spanish Constitution, detailed below. The Government, the Congress of Deputies or the Senate can propose constitutional amendments. The Parliaments of the Autonomous Communities can also propose a constitutional amendment to the Congress or the Government, but cannot propose an amendment directly. There have been 3 amendments to the Spanish constitution, one in 1992, one in 2011 and one in 2024, all were passed with the necessary majority and without a referendum being requested.

Ordinary provisions

A constitutional amendment must be approved by a three-fifths majority by both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. If there is disagreement between the Chambers, a mixed committee will present an agreed text to both chambers for a vote. Even if this procedure fails, and as long as the amendment passed with a simple majority in the Senate, Congress may pass the amendment with two-thirds majority. One-tenth of either deputies or senators may also request, with a 15-day deadline since passage, that the amendment be put to a referendum.

Entrenched provisions

Three parts of the Constitution are entrenched: the Preliminary Title, Section I of Chapter II of Title I (on Fundamental Rights and Public Liberties), and Title II (on the Crown). Under Title X, these cannot be altered except by the same process that would be required for adoption of a new constitution: * two-thirds of each House approve the amendment, * elections are called immediately thereafter, * two-thirds of each new House approves the amendment, and * the amendment is approved by the people in a referendum.

Amendments

The Constitution has been amended three times. The first time, Article 13.2, Title I was altered to extend to citizens of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

the right to active and passive suffrage (both voting rights and eligibility as candidates) in local elections under the provisions of the Maastricht Treaty. The second time, in August/September 2011, a balanced budget amendment and debt brake was added to Article 135. The third amendment, passed in January 2024, amends the language of Article 49 to read "persons with disabilities", rather than those who are "handicapped". While the current version of the Constitution restricts the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

to military courts during wartime, the death penalty has since been removed from the Code of Military Justice and thus lost all relevance.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

has still requested an amendment to be made to the Constitution to abolish it firmly and explicitly in all cases. Amnesty International Spain, Oxfam Intermón and

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

launched a campaign in 2015. Official campaign site. to amend the article 53 so that it extends the same protection to

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and cultural rights as to other rights like

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

. After that, the campaign seeks another 24 amendments protecting human rights, the environment and social justice.

Reform of the autonomy statutes

The " Statutes of Autonomy" of the different regions are the second most important Spanish legal normatives when it comes to the political structure of the country. Because of that, the reform attempts of some of them have been either rejected or produced considerable controversy. The plan conducted by the Basque president Juan José Ibarretxe (known as Ibarretxe Plan) to reform the status of the Basque Country in the Spanish state was rejected by the Spanish Cortes, on the grounds (among others) that it amounted to an implicit reform of the Constitution. The People's Party attempted to reject the admission into the Cortes of the 2005 reform of the Autonomy Statute of Catalonia on the grounds that it should be dealt with as a constitutional reform rather than a mere statute reform because it allegedly contradicts the spirit of the Constitution in many points, especially the Statute's alleged breaches of the "solidarity between regions" principle enshrined by the Constitution. After failing to assemble the required majority to dismiss the text, the People's Party filed a claim of unconstitutionality against several dozen articles of the text before the Spanish Constitutional Court for them to be struck down. The amended Autonomy Statute of Catalonia has also been legally contested by the surrounding Autonomous Communities of Aragon, Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community on similar grounds as those of the PP, and others such as disputed

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

. As of January 2008, the Constitutional Court of Spain has those alleged breaches and its actual compliance with the Constitution under

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

. Prominent Spanish politicians, mostly from the People's Party but also from the Socialist Party (PSOE) and other non-nationalist parties, have advocated for the statutory reform process to be more closely compliant with the Constitution, on the grounds that the current wave of reforms threatens the functional destruction of the constitutional system itself. The most cited arguments are the self-appointed unprecedented expansions of the powers of autonomous communities present in recently reformed statutes: * The amended version of the Catalan Statute prompts the State to allot investments in Catalonia according to Catalonia's own percentage contribution to the total Spanish GDP. The Autonomy Statute of Andalusia, a region that contributes less to Spain's GDP than the region of Catalonia contributes, requires it in turn to allocate state investments in proportion to its population (it is the largest Spanish Autonomous Community in terms of population). These requirements are legally binding, as they are enacted as part of Autonomy Statutes, which rank only below the Constitution itself. It is self-evident that, should all autonomous communities be allowed to establish their particular financing models upon the State, the total may add up to more than 100% and that would be unviable. Despite these changes having been proposed and approved by fellow members of the PSOE, former Finance Minister Pedro Solbes disagreed with this new trend of assigning state investment quotas to territories based on any given autonomous community custom requirement and has subsequently compared the task of planning the Spanish national budget to a sudoku. * The Valencian statute, whose reform was one of the first to be enacted, includes the so-called Camps clause (named after the Valencian President Francisco Camps), which makes any powers assumed by other communities in its statutes automatically available to the Valencian Community. * Autonomous communities such as Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia or Extremadura, have included statutory clauses claiming exclusive powers over any river flowing through their territories. Nearby communities have filed complaints before the Spanish Constitutional Court on the grounds that no Community can exercise exclusive power over rivers that cross more than one Community, not even over the part flowing through its territory because its decisions affect other Communities, both downstream or upstream.

Proposed amendments

Reform of the Senate

In the late 1990s, the Catalonian nationalist party, Convergence and Union, attempted to reform the Senate based on three tiers of autonomous communities. However, the People's Party government suspended these attempts.Reforming the Spanish Senate: Mission Impossible?
Elisa Roller. University of Manchester. West European Politics Volume 25. 2002

Notes

References

External links

Government of Spain website: The Spanish Constitution

RTVE video of the event of Juan Carlos I's sanction of the constitution in the presence of parliamentarians, 27 December 1978.

The constitution on the Boletin Oficial del Estado's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Constitution Of 1978 Law of Spain *1978 1978 in law

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

Constitution of 1978 1978 documents Political history of Spain