Spanish State: Organization, Constitution, and Law
The Spanish State: Organization and Principles
State: A form of social organization that has the power to regulate life within a determined territory. Its elements are Population, Territory, and Sovereignty.
Rule of Law (Principles)
- Popular Sovereignty: In a democracy, the people rule the State through elected representatives who create and enforce laws.
- Division of Powers: Legislative (exercised by the Parliament), Executive (exercised by the Government), and Judicial (exercised by State judges).
- Principle of Legality: All public authorities are subject to the law. Citizens have the right to appeal to the courts when actions of the public administration do not comply with the law.
- Citizen Rights: Individual and social rights recognized in the 1978 Constitution, which are protected by the Executive branch.
The Social State of Law legitimizes multiple actions of the Public Administration within society. This model respects the market economy and democratic values, and aims to establish living standards similar to those in the European environment.
The Social State is a guiding principle in the Constitution, to which the administration adheres. It operates in the following fields: education, health, welfare, social services, sports, consumer and user protection, culture, entertainment, urban planning, housing, and environment.
Public Administration Activity is divided into: Central, Autonomic, and Local.
Public Service Activities: Police activity, promotion, benefits (utilities), and economic activities.
Public Administration: A set of government agencies directed to meet the needs and interests of society according to the law.
The Parliament is bicameral: Congress of Deputies (lower house) and Senate (upper house).
Spanish Constitutions and Sources of Law
Liberal Constitutions
- C. Bayonne 1808: (Charter granted)
- C. Cádiz 1812: (The most symbolic)
- C. 1837: (Reinforced the King’s power)
- C. 1845: (National sovereignty shared between the Monarch and the Courts)
- C. 1856: (Never came into force)
Social Democratic Constitutions
- C. 1869: (Established the principle of national sovereignty and universal suffrage)
- C. 1876: (Restored the Monarchy)
- C. 1931: (An engine for social change, considered individual rights and freedoms, and organized state institutions)
Sources of Law
The Civil Code (approved by Royal Decree 24/7/1889) reflects the Spanish legal sources:
- Law
- Custom: (Customary and consistently observed practices)
- General Principles of Law: (Ideas that form the substrate of the legal system and inspire the development of law, applied in the absence of law or custom)
Hierarchy of Standards
- Spanish Constitution of 1978: (The primary law and takes precedence over all others)
- International Treaties: (Approved and published in the Official Gazette)
- Organic Laws: (Approved in Parliament by an absolute majority of the Congress of Deputies)
- Ordinary Laws: (Approved in Parliament. Regulate matters not covered by an organic law)
- Decree-Laws: (Emanate from the Government and must be validated by the Congress of Deputies)
- Legislative Decrees: (Legal rules with the rank of law dictated by the Government at the urging of the General Courts) – articulated and consolidated texts
- Regulations: (Norms subordinate to the law and dictated by state bodies)
Composition and Courts
General Courts Composition:
- Congress of Representatives (lower house): 350 deputies
- Senate (upper house): 264 elected senators plus 56 additional senators from autonomous regions.
Spanish Courts:
- Constitutional Court
- Supreme Court
- National Court
- Superior Courts of Justice
- Provincial Courts
- Courts of First Instance and Instruction
- Courts of Peace
- Military Courts
- Customary Courts