Understanding Law: Concepts, Types, and Interpretation
Unit 1: Concept, Types, and Interpretation of Law
Notion of Law
Law is a set of norms which are general and enforceable by public powers. Their mandates or prohibitions govern the conduct of all persons falling within their scope and can be imposed by force in the case of non-compliance.
Court decisions lack the general feature of laws: generality. They intend to settle a dispute by providing a specific solution. Therefore, jurisprudence is not a source of the Spanish legal system. Nevertheless, any court’s rulings may be appealed if they are not in conformity with the Supreme Court’s case law.
Central Law, Regional Law, and Domestic Law
The Public authorities which may set down written regulations are:
- The Central State’s public authorities, which can adopt Central Law
- The Autonomous Communities’ Public Authorities, which can enact Regional Law, enjoying the same legal status as the State’s Law.
- European Union Institutions, which can adopt European Union Law. Those Laws have primacy over domestic legislation; they prevail when internal legislation is not in conformity with them.
Central Legislation
1.1 The Constitution
The Constitution is the supreme law of the Spanish legal system, to which all others are subject.
The Constitutional Court will verify whether the rest of laws respect the Spanish Constitution, and the declaration of unconstitutionality of any law will imply the invalidity of the provision.
1.2 Statute Law
Statute Laws are the laws enacted by Parliament (first approved by Congress, then by Senate), and which most times have been put forward by Government.
Statute laws, set down by the Parliament, can be of different types:
- Organic Acts govern matters of special importance, such as the development of fundamental rights, and must be approved by the overall majority of Congress (more than a half of the members of Congress)
- Ordinary Acts can regulate all matters that are not regulated by organic laws, and they require for adoption an ordinary majority of Congress.
1.3 Regulations with the Force of Law
- Legislative Decrees: The Congress may delegate to the Government the power to issue norms with the force of law on specific matters and with a fixed deadline for exercise.
- Decree-Law: The Government, in case of extraordinary and urgent necessity, may enact provisional legislation which is subject to Congress that may validate it or repeal it.
1.4 Regulations
The executive (Government and Administration) can set down rules that do not have the force of law but a lower status: Regulatory Instruments, which cannot violate the norms of higher status.
- Decrees issued by the Government
- Ministerial Orders issued by Ministers
These rules are themselves hierarchically related to each other, so that those with lower status cannot violate those of higher status.
Regional Legislation
The Spanish State is divided into 17 autonomous regions, and each has a unicameral legislature elected by universal suffrage and an executive consisting of