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SPAIN CONSTITUTION
{L Document Status: 29 Dec 1978 }
{ Editor's Note
This edition is consolidated up to the amendment of 27 Aug 1992. }
Preamble
The Spanish Nation, desiring to establish justice, liberty, and
security, and to promote the well-being of all its members, in the exercise
of its sovereignty proclaims its will to: guarantee democratic coexistence
within the Constitution and the laws in accordance with a just economic and
social order;
consolidate a state of law which insures the rule of law as the expression of
the popular will;
protect all Spaniards and peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights,
their cultures and traditions, languages, and institutions;
promote the progress of culture and the economy to insure a dignified quality
of life for all;
establish an advanced democratic society; and
collaborate in the strengthening of peaceful relations and effective
cooperation among all the peoples of the earth.
Therefore, the Parliament
approves, and the Spanish people ratify the following Constitution:
[Title
0] Preliminary Title
Article
1 [State Principles, Sovereignty, Form]
(1) Spain
constitutes itself into a social and democratic state of law which advocates
liberty, justice, equality, and political pluralism as the superior
values of its legal order.
(2) National sovereignty belongs to the Spanish people from whom emanate the
powers of the state.
(3) The political form of the Spanish
State
is the parliamentary Monarchy.
Article 2 [National Unity,
Regional Autonomy]
The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation,
the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards, and recognizes and
guarantees the right to autonomy of the nationalities and regions which make
it up and the solidarity among all of them.
Article 3
[Official Language]
(1) Castilian is the official Spanish language of the state. All Spaniards
have the duty to know it and the right to use it.
(2) The other languages of Spain
will also be official in the respective autonomous communities, in accordance
with their Statutes.
(3) The richness of the linguistic modalities of Spain
is a cultural patrimony which will be the object of special respect and
protection.
Article 4 [Flag]
(1) The Spanish flag is formed by three horizontal stripes: red, yellow, and
red, with the yellow stripe being twice as wide as each of the red stripes.
(2) Recognition of flags and ensigns of the autonomous communities is
admissible by law. These will be used beside the flag of Spain on their public buildings and in
their official
acts.
Article 5 [Capital Madrid]
The capital of the State is the city of Madrid.
Article 6 [Political Parties]
Political parties express democratic pluralism, assist in the formulation and
manifestation of the popular will, and are a basic instrument for political
participation. Their creation and the exercise of their activity are free
within the observance of the Constitution and the laws. Their internal
structure and operation must be democratic.
Article 7 [Unions]
Worker unions and associations of employers contribute to the defense and
promotion of their own economic and social interests. Their creation and the
exercise of their activity are free within the observance of the Constitution
and the laws. Their internal structure and operation must be democratic.
Article 8 [Armed Forces]
(1) The Armed Forces, constituting the Land Army, the Navy and the
Air Force, have as their mission the guarantee of the sovereignty and
independence of Spain, the defense of its territorial integrity and the
constitutional order.
(2) An organic law will regulate the bases of the military organization in
conformity with the principles of the present Constitution.
Article 9 [Rule of Law]
(1) The citizens and public powers are subject to the Constitution and the
legal order.
(2) It is the responsibility of the public powers to promote conditions so
that liberty and equality of the individual and the groups he
joins will be real and effective; to remove those obstacles which impede or
make difficult their full implementation, and to facilitate participation of
all citizens in the political, economic, cultural, and social life.
(3) The Constitution guarantees the principle of legality, the normative
order, the publication of the norms, the non-retroactivity of punitive
provisions which are not favorable to, or which restrict individual rights,
legal security, and the interdiction of arbitrariness of public powers.
Title I Basic Rights and Duties
[Chapter 0 General Provision]
Article 10 [Human Dignity, Human Rights]
(1) The dignity of the person, the inviolable rights which are
inherent, the free development of the personality, respect for the law and
the rights of others, are the foundation of political order and social peace.
(2) The norms relative to basic rights and liberties which are recognized by
the Constitution shall be interpreted in conformity with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the international treaties and agreements on
those matters ratified by Spain.
Chapter I Spaniards and Aliens
Article 11 [Spanish Nationality]
(1) Spanish nationality is acquired, preserved, and lost in accordance with
provisions established by law.
(2) No one of Spanish birth may be deprived of his nationality.
(3) The State may make dual nationality treaties with the
Ibero-American countries and with those which may have had, or have, a
special bond with Spain. In these countries, even when
they do not grant their own citizens a reciprocal right, Spaniards may become
naturalized without losing their nationality of origin.
Article 12 [Majority]
Spaniards become adults at 18 years of age.
Article 13 [Aliens, Extradition,
Asylum]
(1) Aliens in Spain may enjoy the public freedoms
guaranteed by the present Title under the terms which treaties or laws may
establish.
(2) Only Spaniards shall have the rights recognized in Article 23 except that which in keeping with
the criteria of reciprocity may be established by treaty or law for the right
to active and passive suffrage in municipal elections.
(3) Extradition will only be granted in compliance with a treaty or the law
in keeping with the principle of reciprocity. Excluded from extradition are
political crimes and acts of terrorism not being considered as such.
(4) The law shall establish the terms under which citizens of other countries
and stateless persons may enjoy the right to asylum in Spain.
Chapter II Rights and Freedoms
[Section 0 General Provision]
Article 14 [Equality]
Spaniards are equal before the law, without any discrimination for reasons of
birth, race, sex, religion, opinion, or any other personal or social
condition or circumstance.
Section 1 Basic Rights, Public Liberties
Article 15 [Life, Personal Integrity, No Death Penalty]
Everyone has the right to life and physical and moral integrity and in no
case may be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or
treatment. The death penalty is abolished except in those cases which may be
established by military penal law in times of war.
Article 16 [Religion, Belief, No State Church]
(1) Freedom of ideology, religion, and cult of individuals and
communities is guaranteed without any limitation in their demonstrations
other than that which is necessary for the maintenance of public order
protected by law.
(2) No one may be obliged to make a declaration on his ideology, religion, or
beliefs.
(3) No religion shall have a state character. The public powers shall take
into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and maintain the
appropriate relations of cooperation, with the Catholic Church and other denominations.
Article 17 [Personal Liberty]
(1) Every person has the right to liberty and security. No one may be
deprived of his liberty without observance of the provisions of this article
and only in the cases and in the form prescribed by law.
(2) Preventive arrest may not last more than the time strictly necessary for
the investigations which tend to clarify events, and in every case, within a
maximum period of 72 hours, the person detained must be freed or placed at
the disposal of the judicial authority.
(3) Every person arrested must be informed immediately, and in a way that is
understandable to him, about his rights and the reasons for his arrest, and
he may not be forced to make a statement. The assistance of an attorney to
the arrested is guaranteed during police and judicial proceedings under the
terms established by law.
(4) The law will regulate a process of habeas corpus so that any
person who is illegally arrested may be immediately placed at the disposal of
the judiciary. The maximum period of provisional imprisonment shall also be
determined by law.
Article 18 [Honor, Privacy, Home, Secrecy of
Communication]
(1) The right of honor, personal, and family privacy and identity is
guaranteed.
(2) The home is inviolable. No entry or search may be made without legal
authority except with the express consent of the owners or in the case of a flagrante
delicto.
(3) Secrecy of communications, particularly regarding postal, telegraphic,
and telephone communication, is guaranteed, except for infractions by
judicial order.
(4) The law shall limit the use of information, to guarantee personal and
family honor, the privacy of citizens, and the full exercise of their rights.
Article 19 [Freedom to Move]
Spaniards have the right to freely select their residence and to travel in
the national territory. They also have the right to enter and leave Spain
freely under the conditions established by law. That right cannot be
restricted because of political or ideological motives.
Article 20 [Specific Freedoms, Restrictions]
(1) The following rights are recognized and protected: a) To express
and disseminate thoughts freely through words, writing, or any other means of
reproduction. b) Literary, artistic, scientific, and technical production,
and creation.
c) Academic freedom.
d) To communicate or receive freely truthful information through any means of
dissemination. The law shall regulate the right to the protection of the
clause on conscience and professional secrecy in the exercise of these
freedoms.
(2) The exercise of these rights cannot be restricted through any type of
prior censorship.
(3) The law shall regulate the organization and parliamentary control of the
means of social communication owned by the State or any public entity and
shall guarantee access to those means by significant social and political
groups, respecting the pluralism of society and the various languages of Spain.
(4) These liberties find their limitation in the respect for the rights
recognized in this Title, in the precepts of the laws which develop it and,
especially, in the right to honor, privacy, personal identity, and protection
of youth and childhood.
(5) The seizure of publications, recordings, or other means of information
may only be determined by a judicial resolution.
Article 21 [Assembly]
(1) The right to peaceful, unarmed assembly is recognized. The exercise of
this right does not require prior authorization.
(2) In the cases of meetings in places of public transit and of
manifestations prior notification shall be given to the authorities, which
can only forbid them when there are reasons based on disturbances of public
order with danger for persons or property.
Article 22 [Association]
(1) The right to association is recognized.
(2) Associations which pursue purposes or use methods which are classified as
crimes, are illegal.
(3) Associations constituted under the provisions of this article must
register for purposes of public information only.
(4) Associations may only be dissolved or their activities suspended by
virtue of a motivated judicial order.
(5) Secret and paramilitary associations are prohibited.
Article 23 [Participation, Election, Office]
(1) Citizens have the right to participate in public affairs, directly or
through representatives freely elected in periodic elections by universal
suffrage.
(2) They also have the right to accede, under conditions of equality, to
public functions and positions, in accordance with the requirements
established by law.
Article 24 [Legal Remedies]
(1) All persons have the right to the effective protection of the judges and
courts in the exercise of their rights and legitimate interests, and in no
case may there be a lack of defense.
(2) Likewise, all have the right to the ordinary judge predetermined by law,
to defense and assistance of an attorney, to be informed of the accusation
made against them, to a public trial without delays and with all the
guarantees, to utilize the means of proof pertinent to their defense, to
refrain from self-incrimination, to refrain from pleading guilty, and to the
presumption of innocence.
The law shall regulate the cases in which for reasons of family relationship
or professional secrecy it shall not be obligatory to make declarations
concerning allegedly criminal actions.
Article 25 [Nulla Poena Sine Lege, Rights of
Prisoners]
(1) No one may be convicted or sentenced for actions or omissions which when
committed did not constitute a crime, misdemeanor, or administrative
infringement as established by legislation in force at that moment.
(2) Prison sentences and security measures shall be oriented towards
reeducation and social rehabilitation and may not consist of forced labor.
The person sentenced to prison shall enjoy, during his imprisonment, the
fundamental rights contained in this chapter, with the exception of those
which are expressly restricted by the content of the prison sentence, the
purpose of the sentence, and the penitentiary law. In any case, he shall have
the right to remunerated work and the pertinent benefits of Social Security,
as well as access to culture and the integral development of his personality.
(3) The Civil Administration may not impose sanctions which directly or
indirectly imply deprivation of freedom.
Article 26 [No Courts of Honor]
Courts of Honor are prohibited within the framework of the Civil
Administration or professional organizations.
Article 27 [Education]
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Freedom of instruction is
recognized.
(2) The objective of education shall be the full development of the human
personality in respect for the democratic principles of coexistence and the
basic rights and liberties.
(3) The public authorities guarantee the right which will assist parents to
have their children receive the religious and moral formation which is in
keeping with their own convictions.
(4) Basic education is obligatory and free.
(5) The public authorities guarantee the right of all to education
through a general educational program, with the effective participation of
all the sectors affected, and the creation of educational centers.
(6) The freedom of physical and legal persons to create educational
centers which respect constitutional principles, is recognized.
(7) Teachers, parents, and in some cases, the students, shall participate in
the control and management of all centers maintained by the Administration
with public funds, under the terms established by law.
(8) The public authorities shall inspect and standardize the educational
system so as to guarantee compliance with the laws.
(9) The public authorities shall help the teaching centers which meet the
requirements established by law.
(10) The autonomy of universities is recognized under the terms established
by law.
Article 28 [Unions, Strikes]
(1) All have the right to unite freely. The law may limit or except from the
exercise of this right the Armed Forces or Military Institutes, or the other
Corps subject to military discipline and shall regulate the peculiarities of
its exercise for political functionaries. Syndical liberty includes the right
to found unions and to join the union of one's choice, as well as the right
of the unions to form confederations to found international union
organizations or to join them. No one may be forced to join a union.
(2) The right of workers to strike in defense of their interests is
recognized. The law which regulates the exercise of this right shall
establish precise guarantees to insure the maintenance of essential services
of the community.
Article 29 [Petition]
(1) All Spaniards shall have the right to personal and collective petition,
in writing, in the form and with the effects the law shall define.
(2) Members of the Armed Forces, Institutes, or the Corps subject to military
discipline, may exercise this right only individually and in accordance with
the provisions of their specific legislation.
Section 2 Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 30 [Military, Civilian, Emergency Duties]
(1) Citizens have the right and the duty to defend Spain.
(2) The law shall determine the military obligations of Spaniards and shall
regulate, with all due guarantees, conscientious objection as well as other
causes for exemption from compulsory military service, and it may, when
appropriate, impose a substitute social service.
(3) A civilian service may be established for the accomplishment of
objectives of general interest.
(4) The duties of citizens in cases of serious risk, catastrophe, or public
calamity may be regulated by law.
Article 31 [Taxes]
(1) Everyone shall contribute to the sustenance of public expenditures
according to their economic capacity through a just tax system based on the
principles of equality and progressive taxation which in no case shall be of
a confiscatory scope.
(2) Public expenditure shall realize an equitable allocation of public resources
and its programming and execution shall be in keeping with criteria for
efficiency and economy.
(3) Personal or property contributions of a public nature may only be made in
accordance with the law.
Article 32 [Marriage, Matrimonial Equality]
(1) Man and woman have the right to contract matrimony with full legal
equality.
(2) The law shall regulate the forms of matrimony, the age and capacity for
concluding it, the rights and duties of the spouses, causes for separation
and dissolution and their effects.
Article 33 [Property, Inheritance]
(1) The right to private property and inheritance is recognized.
(2) The social function of these rights shall determine the limits of their
content in accordance with the law.
(3) No one may be deprived of his property and rights except for justified
cause of public utility or social interest after proper indemnification in
accordance with the provisions of law.
Article 34 [Foundations]
(1) The right to foundation for purposes of general interest is recognized in
accordance with the law.
(2) The provisions of Article 22
(2) and (4)
shall also be applicable to foundations.
Article 35 [Work]
(1) All Spaniards have the duty to work and the right to work, to
the free election of profession or office career, to advancement through
work, and to a sufficient remuneration to satisfy their needs and those of
their family, while in no case can there be discrimination for reasons of
sex.
(2) The law shall regulate a statute for workers.
Article 36 [Professional Colleges, Degrees]
The law shall regulate the peculiarities of the legal governance of the
Professional Colleges and the exercise of professions requiring academic
degrees. The internal structure and functioning of the Colleges must be
democratic.
Article 37 [Labor Agreements, Labor Conflicts]
(1) The law shall guarantee the right to collective labor negotiations
between the representatives of workers and employers, as well as the binding force
of agreements.
(2) The right of the workers and employers to adopt measures concerning
collective conflict is recognized. The law which shall regulate the exercise
of this right, without prejudice to the limitations it may establish, shall
include precise guarantees to insure the functioning of the essential
services of the community.
Article 38 [Free Enterprise]
Free enterprise within the framework of a market economy is recognized. The public
authorities guarantee and protect its exercise and the defense of
productivity in accordance with the demands of the general economy, and as
the case may be, in keeping with planning.
Chapter III Guiding Principles of Economic and Social
Policy
Article 39 [Family, Children]
(1) The public authorities shall assure the social, economic, and legal
protection of the family.
(2) The public authorities shall assure the complete protection of children,
who are equal before the law regardless of their parentage and
regardless of the marital status of their mothers. The law shall make it
possible to investigate paternity.
(3) Parents must provide their children, born in or out of wedlock, with
assistance of every kind during the time they are minors and in other
cases where it is legally proper.
(4) Children shall enjoy the protection provided in international agreements
which safeguard their rights.
Article 40 [Economic Policies,
Worker Protection]
(1) The public authorities shall promote favorable conditions for social and
economic progress and for a more equitable distribution of regional and
personal income within the framework of a policy of economic stability.
Special emphasis will be placed on the realization of a policy aimed at full
employment.
(2) Likewise, the public authorities shall promote a policy which guarantees
professional training and readaptation, insures work safety and hygiene, and
guarantees necessary rest through limitations on the length of the work day,
paid periodic vacations, and the promotion of suitable centers.
Article 41 [Social Security,
Unemployment Benefits]
The public authorities shall maintain a public system of social security for
all citizens which will guarantee social assistance and services which are
sufficient in cases of need, especially in cases of unemployment.
Complementary assistance and services shall be free.
Article 42 [Workers Abroad]
The state shall especially try to safeguard the economic and social rights of
Spanish workers abroad and orient its policy toward their return.
Article 43 [Health Protection,
Sports, Leisure]
(1) The right to health protection is recognized.
(2) It is incumbent upon the public authorities to organize and watch over
public health and hygiene through preventive measures and through necessary
care and services. The law shall establish the rights and duties of all in
this respect.
(3) The public authorities shall foster health education, physical education,
and sports. Likewise, they shall facilitate adequate utilization of leisure.
Article 44 [Culture, Science]
(1) The public authorities shall promote and watch over access to culture, to
which all have a right.
(2) The public authorities shall promote science and scientific and technical
research for the benefit of the general interest.
Article 45 [Environment]
(1) Everyone has the right to enjoy an environment suitable for the
development of the person as well as the duty to preserve it.
(2) The public authorities shall concern themselves with the rational use of
all natural resources for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality
of life and protecting and restoring the environment, supporting themselves
on an indispensable collective solidarity.
(3) For those who violate the provisions of the foregoing paragraph, penal or
administrative sanctions, as applicable, shall be established and they shall
be obliged to repair the damage caused.
Article 46 [National Heritage]
The public authorities shall guarantee the preservation, and promote the
enrichment, of the historical, cultural, and artistic heritage of the peoples
of Spain and the property that makes them up, regardless of their legal
status and their ownership. The penal law shall punish any offenses against
this heritage.
Article 47 [Housing]
All Spaniards have the right to enjoy decent and adequate
housing. The public authorities shall promote the conditions necessary and
establish the pertinent norms to make this right effective, regulating the
use of land in accordance with the general interest to prevent speculation.
The community shall share in the increased values generated by urban
activities of public bodies.
Article 48 [Participation of
Youths]
The public authorities shall promote the conditions for the free and
effective participation by the young in political, social, economic and
cultural development.
Article 49 [Handicapped]
The public authorities shall implement a policy of prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation, and integration of those who are physically, sensorially, or
mentally handicapped, who shall be given the special attention which they
require and be afforded special protection for the enjoyment of the rights
which this Title grants to all citizens.
Article 50 [Old People, Pensions,
Social Services]
To citizens in old age, the public authorities shall guarantee economic
sufficiency through adequate and periodically updated pensions. Likewise, and
independently of the family obligations, they shall promote their welfare
through a system of social services which shall take care of their specific
problems of health, housing, culture, and leisure.
Article 51 [Consumer Protection]
(1) The public authorities shall guarantee the defense of the consumers and
users, protecting their safety, health, and legitimate economic interests
through effective procedures.
(2) The public authorities shall promote the information and education of
consumers and users, foster their organizations, and hear them in those
questions which could affect them under the terms which the law shall
establish.
(3) Within the framework of the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs, the
law shall regulate domestic commerce and the system of licensing commercial
products.
Article 52 [Professional
Organizations]
The law shall regulate the professional organizations which contribute to the
defense of their own economic interests. Their internal structure and
operation must be democratic.
Chapter IV Guarantees and
Fundamental Rights
Article 53 [Regulation, Judicial
Protection]
(1) The rights and liberties recognized in the second chapter of the present
Title are binding on all public authorities. Only by law, which in every case
must respect their essential content, could the exercise of such
rights and liberties be regulated, and they shall be protected in accordance
with the provisions of Article 161 (1) b).
(2) Any citizen may make a claim to the liberties and rights recognized in
Article 13 and the first Section of the
Second Chapter before the regular courts through a process based on the
principles of preference and speed and through the recourse before the
Constitutional Court. This last recourse shall be applicable to objections of
conscience recognized in Article 30.
(3) Recognition, respect, and protection of the principles recognized in the
Third Chapter shall guide positive legislation, judicial practice and the
actions by public authorities. They may also be argued before ordinary
jurisdiction through procedures established in the laws affecting them.
Article 54 [High Commissioner,
Parliament]
An organic law shall regulate the institution of the Defender of the People
as the High Commissioner of the Parliament, appointed for the protection of
the rights contained in this Title, for which purpose he may supervise the
activity of the administration, informing the Parliament of it.
Chapter V Suspension of Rights and
Liberties
Article 55 [Emergency, Siege,
Terrorism]
(1) The rights recognized in Articles 17, 18 (2) and (3), 19, 20 (1)(a) and (d) and (5), 21, 28 (2), and Article 37 (2) may be suspended when a state of
emergency or siege is declared under the terms provided in the Constitution.
Article 17 (3) is exempted from that which was
established previously in the event of the declaration of a state of
emergency.
(2) An organic law may determine the manner and the cases in which, in an
individual manner and with the necessary judicial intervention and adequate
parliamentary control, the rights recognized in Article 17 (2) and 18 (2) and (3) may be suspended for certain
persons with respect to investigations having to do with the activities of
armed bands or terrorist elements. The unwarranted or abusive utilization of
the powers recognized in said organic law will result in criminal
responsibility as a violation of the rights and liberties recognized by the
laws.
Title II The Crown
Article 56 [Head of State]
(1) The King is the Head of State, the symbol of its unity and
permanence. He arbitrates and moderates the regular functioning of the
institutions, assumes the highest representation of the Spanish State in
international relations, especially with the nations of its historical
community, and exercises the functions expressly attributed to him by the
Constitution and the laws.
(2) His title is that of "King of Spain" and he may use the others
which belong to the Crown.
(3) The person of the King is inviolable and is not subject to
responsibility. His acts shall always be in the manner established in Article
64 and shall lack validity without
that countersignature, except as provided for by Article 65 (2).
Article 57 [Succession]
(1) The Crown of Spain is hereditary for the successors of H.M. Don Juan
Carlos I of Borbon, legitimate heir of the historic dynasty. Succession
to the throne will follow the regular order of primogeniture and
representation, the first line always having preference over subsequent
lines; within the same line, the closer grade over the more remote; in the
same grade, the male over the female; and in the same sex, the elder over the
younger.
(2) The hereditary Prince, from his birth or from the time he acquires the
claim, will have the title of Prince of Asturias and the other titles traditionally
linked to the successor to the Crown of Spain.
(3) If all the lines entitled by law become extinct, the Parliament shall
provide for the succession to the crown in the manner which is best for the
interests of Spain.
(4) Those persons, who having the right to succession to the throne, contract
matrimony against the express prohibition by the King and the Parliament,
shall be excluded, along with their descendants, from succession to the
Crown.
(5) Abdications and renunciations and any doubt in fact or in
law which may occur in the order of succession to the Crown, shall be
resolved by an organic law.
Article 58 [Queen Consort]
The Queen consort or the consort of the Queen may not assume constitutional
functions except as provided for by the Regency.
Article 59 [Minority, Incapacity]
(1) When the King is a minor, the King's father or mother, in their absence
the oldest relative closest to succession to the Crown pursuant to the order
established by the Constitution, shall immediately exercise the Regency
during the King's minority.
(2) If the King becomes incapable of exercising his authority and this
incapacity is recognized by the Parliament, the Prince heir to the Crown
shall immediately begin to exercise the Regency if he is of age. If he is not,
the procedure outlined in the previous paragraph will be adhered to until the
Prince heir reaches adulthood.
(3) If there is no person who can exercise the Regency, it shall be appointed
by the Parliament and shall be composed of one, three, or five persons.
(4) In order to exercise the Regency, it is necessary to be Spanish and of
age.
(5) The Regency shall be exercised through constitutional mandate and always
in the name of the King.
Article 60 [Tutor]
(1) The tutor of the King who is a minor shall be the person named in the
will by the deceased King provided that he is an adult and a Spaniard by
birth. If he is not named, the father or the mother shall be the tutor as
long as they remain widowed. In their absence, the Parliament shall appoint
someone, but the positions of Regent and tutor may not be held by the same
person except in the case of the father, mother, or direct ascendents of the
King.
(2) The exercise of the tutorship is also incompatible with the exercise of
any office of political representation.
Article 61 [Oath]
(1) The King, on being proclaimed before the Parliament, will swear to
faithfully carry out his functions, to obey the Constitution and the laws and
ensure that they are obeyed, and to respect the rights of citizens and the Autonomous
Communities.
(2) The Prince heir, when coming of age, and the Regent or Regents when they
assume their functions, will swear the same oath as well as that of loyalty
to the King.
Article 62 [Competences]
It is incumbent upon the King:
a) to approve and promulgate laws;
b) to convoke and dissolve the Parliament and to call elections under the
terms provided for in the Constitution;
c) to convoke a referendum in the cases provided for in the Constitution;
d) to propose the candidate for the President of the Government and to
appoint him, or when required, to terminate his functions under the terms
provided in the Constitution;
e) to appoint and dismiss the members of the Government at the proposal of
its President;
f) to issue the decrees approved in the Council of Ministers, confer civilian
and military positions, and award honors and distinctions in accordance with
the law;
g) to be informed of the affairs of state and for this purpose preside over
the sessions of the Council of Ministers when he
deems it appropriate at the request of the President of the Government;
h) to exercise supreme command of the Armed Forces;
i) to exercise the right of clemency pursuant to a law, which cannot
authorize general pardons;
j) to be the High Patron of the Royal Academies.
Article 63 [Foreign Relations,
Treaties, War]
(1) The King accredits ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives.
Foreign representatives in Spain are accredited before him.
(2) It is incumbent on the King to express the consent of the State to
obligate itself internationally through treaties in conformity with the
Constitution and the laws.
(3) It is incumbent on the King, after authorization by the Parliament, to
declare war and make peace.
Article 64 [Countersignature]
(1) The actions of the King shall be countersigned by the President of the
Government and, when appropriate, by the competent ministers. The nomination
and appointment of the President of the Government and the dissolution
provided for in Article 93 shall be countersigned by the
President of the House of Representatives.
(2) The persons who countersign the acts of the King shall be responsible for
them.
Article 65 [Remuneration]
(1) The King receives an overall amount from the State budget for the
maintenance of his Family and Household and disposes it freely.
(2) The King freely appoints and relieves the civilian and military members
of his Household.
Title III Parliament
Chapter
I Chambers
Article 66 [Structure, Competences, Inviolability]
(1) The Parliament represents the Spanish people and is formed by
the House of Representatives and the Senate.
(2) The Parliament exercises the legislative power of the State, approves its
budgets, controls the action of the Government, and has the other competences
assigned by the Constitution.
(3) The Parliament is inviolable.
Article 67 [Incompatibility, Free Mandate]
(1) No one may be a member of the two Chambers simultaneously nor be a member
of an Autonomous Community Assembly and a Deputy to the House of
Representatives at the same time.
(2) The members of the Parliament are not bound by an imperative mandate.
(3) The meetings of parliamentarians, which are held without the regulatory
convocation, shall not be binding on the Chambers and they may not exercise
their functions nor exercise their privileges.
Article 68 [Election]
(1) The House of Representatives is composed of a minimum of 300 and a
maximum of 400 Deputies elected by universal, free, equal, direct, and secret
suffrage under the terms established by law.
(2) The electoral district is the province. The cities of Ceuta and Melilla
shall be represented by one deputy each. The law shall distribute the total
number of deputies, assigning a
minimum initial representation to each district and distributing the
remainder in proportion to the population.
(3) The election in each district shall be conducted in keeping with the
criteria of proportional representation.
(4) The House of Representatives is elected for four years. The term of
deputies ends four years after their election or on the day of the
dissolution of the Chamber.
(5) All Spaniards who have full use of their political rights are voters and
eligible for office.
The law recognizes, and the State shall facilitate, the exercise of the right
to vote of Spaniards who are outside the territory of Spain.
(6) Elections will take place between thirty and sixty days after the
termination of the mandate. The elected House of Representatives must be
convoked within twenty-five days after the holding of elections.
Article 69 [Senate]
(1) The Senate is the chamber of territorial representation.
(2) In each province, four senators will be elected by universal, free,
equal, direct, and secret suffrage by the voters of each of them under the
terms established by an organic law.
(3) In the island provinces, each island or grouping of them with a
representation or insular council shall be a voting district for the purposes
of the election of senators, three of them going to each of the major islands
- Grand Canary, Mallorca, and Tenerife - and one each to the following
islands or groupings: Ibiza-Formentera, Menorca, Fuerteventura, Gomera,
Hierro, Lanzarote, and La Palma.
(4) The cities of Ceuta and Melilla shall elect two senators each.
(5) The Autonomous Communities shall also designate one senator and one
additional senator for each million inhabitants in their respective
territories. The designation shall be made by the legislative assembly, or in
its absence, by the higher collective body of the Autonomous Community
pursuant to the provisions of the Statutes, which in any case, shall insure
adequate proportional representation.
(6) The Senate is elected for four years. The term of the senators shall end
four years after their election or on the day of the dissolution of the
Chamber.
Article 70 [Ineligibility, Incompatibility]
(1) The electoral law shall determine the reasons for ineligibility and
incompatibility of Deputies and Senators, which shall include in any case:
a) the members of the Constitutional Court;
b) the high officers of the State Administration, as determined by law, with
the exception of the members of the Government;
c) the Defender of the People;
d) the Magistrates, Judges, and Prosecutors on active duty;
e) the professional military and members of the Armed Forces, Corps of
Security, and Police on active duty; and
f) the members of the Electoral Commissions.
(2) The validity of the records and credentials of the members of both
Chambers shall be subject to judicial control under the terms to be
established by the electoral law.
Article 71 [Indemnity, Immunity, Remuneration]
(1) The Deputies and Senators enjoy indemnity for the opinions expressed
during the exercise of their functions.
(2) During the period of their mandate, the Deputies and Senators enjoy
immunity and may only be arrested in case of flagrante delicto. They
may not be indicted or tried without prior authorization of the respective
Chamber.
(3) In actions against Deputies and Senators, the Criminal
Section of the Supreme Court shall be competent.
(4) The Deputies and Senators shall receive a remuneration which shall be
fixed by the respective Chamber.
Article 72 [Self-Organization]
(1) The Chambers establish their own regulations, autonomously approve their
own budgets, and by common accord regulate the Personnel Statute of the
Parliament. The Regulations and their reform shall be submitted to a final
voting in their entirety which shall require an absolute majority.
(2) The Chambers elect their respective Presidents and the other members of
their committees. Joint sessions shall be presided over by the President of
the House of Representatives and shall be governed by a Regulation of the
Parliament approved by an absolute majority of each Chamber.
(3) The Presidents of the Chambers will exercise in their name all
administrative powers and police authority in the interior of their
respective Chambers.
Article 73 [Sessions]
(1) The Chambers shall meet annually in two ordinary periods of sessions, the
first from September to December and the second from February to June.
(2) The Chambers may meet in extraordinary periods of sessions at the request
of the Government, the Permanent Deputation, or by the absolute majority of
the members of either of the two Chambers. The extraordinary periods of
sessions must be convoked with a specific agenda and shall be closed once it
has been dealt with.
Article 74 [Majority]
(1) The Chambers shall meet in joint sessions to exercise the non-legislative
competences which Title II expressly authorizes for the Parliament.
(2) The decisions of the Parliament specified in Articles 94
(1),
145
(2),
and 158
(2)
shall be adopted by the majority of each of the Chambers. In the first case,
the procedure shall be initiated by the House of Representatives, in the
other two cases by the Senate. In both cases, if there is no agreement
between Senate and the House of Representatives, an attempt will be made to
obtain it by a mixed Commission composed of an equal number of Deputies and
Senators. The Commission presents a text which shall be voted upon by both
Chambers. If it is not approved in the established form, the House of
Representatives shall decide by an absolute majority.
Article 75 [Responsibilities]
(1) The Chambers shall work in plenary sessions and in Commissions.
(2) The Chambers may delegate to the Permanent Legislative Commissions the
approval of bills or proposals of law. The plenary session, however, may at
any time require debate and voting on any bill or proposal of law which has
been the object of this delegation.
(3) Excluded from the provisions of the foregoing paragraph are
constitutional reform, international affairs, organic and basic laws, and the
General Budget.
Article 76 [Investigating Commissions]
(1) The House of Representatives and the Senate, and if necessary both
Chambers jointly, may appoint investigating Commissions on any subject of
public interest. Their conclusions shall not be binding on the courts nor
will they affect judicial decisions, but they may be transmitted to the
Public Prosecutor for the exercise of the necessary actions when required.
(2) Appearance before the Chambers on request shall be obligatory. The law
shall regulate the sanctions which may be imposed for noncompliance with this
obligation.
Article 77 [Petitions]
(1) The Chambers may receive individual and collective petitions, always in
writing, while direct presentation by citizens is prohibited.
(2) The Chambers may forward to the Government the petitions they receive.
The Government is obliged to explain itself on the contents whenever the
Chambers so request.
Article 78 [Permanent Deputations]
(1) In each Chamber, there shall be a Permanent Deputation composed of a
minimum of twenty-on members who shall represent the parliamentary groups in
proportion to their numerical importance.
(2) The Permanent Deputations shall be presided over by the President of the
respective Chamber, they shall have those functions listed in Article 73,
they shall assume the authority of the Chambers according to Articles 86
and 116
in the case that the Chambers have been dissolved or their term expired, and
they shall maintain a watch over the powers of the Chambers when they are not
in session.
(3) On the expiration of the mandate or in case of dissolution, the Permanent
Deputations shall continue to exercise its functions until the constitution
of new Parliament.
(4) When a Chamber meets, its Permanent Deputation shall give an account of
the matters dealt with and of its decisions.
Article 79 [Presence, Quorum, Personal Vote]
(1) In order to adopt agreements, the Chambers must be in a regular session
with the attendance of the majority of their members.
(2) In order to be valid, such agreements must be approved by the majority of
the members present, without prejudice to the special majorities which may be
established by the Constitution or the organic laws or the Regulations
established by the Chambers for the election of persons.
(3) The vote of the Senators and Deputies is personal and cannot be
delegated.
Article 80 [Publicity]
The plenary sessions of the Chambers shall be public except when there is an
agreement against it in each Chamber, an agreement which must be arrived at
by an absolute majority or by a change in the Regulations.
Chapter
II Preparation of Laws
Article 81 [Organic Laws]
(1) Organic laws are those relative to the exercise of fundamental rights and
public liberties, those approved by the Statutes of Autonomy and the general
electoral system, and the others provided for in the Constitution.
(2) The approval, modification, or repeal of organic laws shall require an
absolute majority of the House of Representatives in a final vote on the
entire bill.
Article 82 [Delegation]
(1) The Parliament may delegate to the Government the power to set norms with
the status law on specific matters not included in the previous article.
(2) Legislative delegation must be granted by means of a basic law when its
objective is the formation of articled texts, or by an ordinary law when it
is a matter of arranging several legal
texts into a single one.
(3) Legislative delegation must be granted to the Government in an express
form for a concrete matter and with the establishment of a period for its
exercise. The delegation becomes void when the Government has made use of it
after the publication of the corresponding law. Such delegation cannot be
understood to be granted implicitly or for an indefinite period. The
sub-delegation to different authorities, even within the Government itself,
is not permitted.
(4) The basic laws shall precisely limit the object and scope of legislative
delegation and the principles and criteria which must be followed in its
exercise.
(5) Authorization for the consolidation of legal texts shall define the normative
scope to which the content of the delegation referred, specifying whether it
shall be limited to the mere formulation into a unified text or whether it
includes regulation, clarification, and harmonization of the legal texts
which are to be recast.
(6) Without prejudice to the proper competence of the Courts, the laws on
delegation may establish additional formulas for control in each case.
Article 83 [Prohibited Laws]
Basic laws may in no case do the following:
a) Authorize the modification of the basic laws;
b) Make provision for the enactment of norms with retroactive character.
Article 84 [Delegation Conflict]
When a proposed law or an amendment is contrary to a valid legislative
delegation, the Government may oppose its processing. In such a case, a law
proposal may be presented for the total or partial abolishment of the law on
delegation.
Article 85 [Legislative Decrees]
The dispositions of the Government containing delegated legislation shall
receive the title of Legislative Decrees.
Article 86 [Decree-Laws]
(1) In the case of extraordinary and urgent necessity, the Government may
issue provisional legislative decisions which shall take the form of
decree-laws and which may not affect the regulation of the basic institution
of the State, the rights, duties, and liberties of the citizens which are
regulated in Title I, the systems of Autonomous Communities, or the general
electoral Law.
(2) The Decree-laws must be immediately submitted for debate and voting by
the entire House of Representatives of Deputies convoked for that purpose, if
it is not already in session, within a period of thirty days after their
promulgation. The House of Representatives must expressly declare within that
period its approval or repeal, for which purpose the Regulation shall
establish a special and summary procedure.
(3) During the period established in the foregoing paragraph, the Parliament
may treat them as draft laws by emergency procedure.
Article 87 [Initiative, Proposal, Public Initiative]
(1) Legislative initiative belongs to the Government, the House of
Representatives, and the Senate, according to the Constitution and the
regulations of the Chambers.
(2) The Assemblies of the Autonomous Communities may request the Government
to adopt a bill or send to the Board of the House of Representatives a
proposal of law, delegating a maximum of three members of their Assembly to
that Chamber to defend it.
(3) An organic law shall regulate the forms and requirements for the exercise
of the popular initiative for the presentation of proposals of
law. In any case no fewer than 500,000 valid signatures will be required.
This initiative is not applicable to organic laws, taxation, or international
affairs, nor to the prerogative of pardon.
Article 88 [Approval of Bills]
Bills shall be approved in the Council of Ministers, which shall submit them
to the House of Representatives accompanied by an exposition of the motives
and the antecedents which are necessary for action.
Article 89 [Processing Proposals]
(1) The processing of proposals of law shall be regulated by the Regulations
of the Chambers without the priority due to bills impeding the exercise of
legislative initiative under the terms regulated by Article 87.
(2) Proposals of law, which in accordance with Article 87
are taken under consideration by the Senate, shall be sent to the House of
Representatives for processing as such.
Article 90 [Veto and Amendment of Bills]
(1) Once an ordinary or organic bill has been approved by the Deputies of the
House of Representatives, its President shall immediately notify the
President of the Senate, who shall submit it for its deliberation.
(2) The Senate, within a period of two months after the day of the receipt of
the text, may, through a message explaining the reasons, veto it or introduce
amendments to it. The veto must be approved by an absolute majority. The bill
cannot be submitted to the King for approval unless the House of
Representatives ratifies the initial text, in the case of a veto by an
absolute majority, or by a simple majority once two months have passed since
the presentation of the text, or express itself on the amendments, stating
whether or not it accepts them by a simple majority.
(3) The period of two months which the Senate has to veto or amend the bill
shall be reduced to twenty calendar days for those bills declared urgent by
the Government or by the House of Representatives.
Article 91 [Promulgation]
The King shall sanction the laws approved by the Parliament within the period
of fifteen days and shall promulgate them and order their immediate
publication.
Article 92 [Consultative Referendum]
(1) Political decisions of special importance may be submitted for a
consultative referendum of all the citizens.
(2) The referendum shall be convoked by the King at the proposal of the
President of the Government after previous authorization by the House of
Representatives.
(3) An organic law shall regulate the conditions and the procedure of the
different kinds of referendums provided for in this Constitution.
Chapter
III International Treaties
Article 93 [Transfer of Sovereignty]
By means of an organic law, authorization may be established for the
conclusion of treaties which attribute to an international organization or
institution the exercise of competences derived from the Constitution. It is
the responsibility of the Parliament or the Government, depending on the
cases, to guarantee compliance with these treaties and the resolutions
emanating
from the international or supranational organizations who have been entitled
by this cession.
Article 94 [Prior Authorization]
(1) The giving of the consent of the State to obligate itself to something by
means of treaties or agreements shall require prior authorization of the
Parliament in the following cases:
a) Treaties of a political nature;
b) Treaties or agreements of a military nature;
c) Treaties or agreements which affect the territorial integrity of the State
or the fundamental rights and duties established in Title I;
d) Treaties or agreements which imply important obligations for the public
treasury;
e) Treaties or agreements which involve modification or repeal of some law or
require legislative measures for their execution.
(2) The House of Representatives and the Senate shall be immediately informed
of the conclusion of the treaties or agreements.
Article 95 [Conflict With Constitution]
(1) The conclusion of an international treaty which contains stipulations
contrary to the Constitution shall require a prior constitutional revision.
(2) The Government or either of the Chambers may request the Constitutional
Court to declare whether or not such a contradiction exists.
Article 96 [Amendment, Abolishment]
(1) Validly concluded international treaties once officially published in
Spain shall constitute part of the internal legal order. Their provisions may
only be abolished, modified, or suspended in the manner provided for in the
treaties themselves or in accordance with general norms of international law.
(2) To denounce international treaties and agreements, the same procedure
established for their approval in Article 94
shall be used.
Title IV Government and Administration
Article 97 [Directing Policy]
The Government directs domestic and foreign policy, civil and
military Administration, and the defense of the State. It exercises the
executive function and regulatory power in accordance with the Constitution
and the laws.
Article 98 [Composition, President, Incompatibilities]
(1) The Government is composed of the President, Vice Presidents, and in some
cases the ministers and other members the law may establish.
(2) The President directs the actions of the Government and coordinates the
functions of the other members of it without prejudice to their competence
and direct responsibility in their activity.
(3) The members of the Government may not exercise representative functions
other than those of the parliamentary mandate itself, nor any other public
function which does not derive from their office, nor any professional or
mercantile activity whatsoever.
(4) A law shall regulate the Statute and the incompatibilities of the members
of the Government.
Article 99 [Election]
(1) After each renewal of the House of Representatives and in the other cases
provided for by the Constitution, the King shall, after consultation with the
representatives designated by the
political groups represented in parliament, and through the President of the
House of Representatives, propose a candidate for the Presidency of the Government.
(2) The proposed candidate, in conformity with the provisions of the
foregoing paragraph, shall submit to the House of Representatives the
political program of the Government he intends to form and shall seek the
confidence of the Chamber.
(3) If the House of Representatives, by an absolute majority of its members,
grants its confidence to said candidate, the King will appoint him President.
If said majority is not obtained, the same proposal shall be submitted to a
new vote 98 hours after the former, and confidence shall be understood to
have been granted if a simple majority is obtained.
(4) If after the aforementioned votes are cast, confidence is not granted for
investiture, successive proposals will be made in the manner foreseen in the
foregoing paragraphs.
(5) If within two months from the first voting for investiture no candidate
has obtained the confidence of the House of Representatives, the King shall
dissolve both Chambers and call for new elections with the concurrence of the
President of the House of Representatives.
Article 100
The other members of the Government shall be appointed and dismissed by the
King at the proposal of its President.
Article 101 [Resignation]
(1) The Government shall resign after the holding of general elections in the
cases of the loss of confidence by parliament as stipulated in the
Constitution, or because of the resignation or death of its President.
(2) But the outgoing Government shall continue in its functions until the new
Government takes office.
Article 102 [Criminal Responsibility]
(1) The Criminal Division of the Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction in the
cases of criminal responsibility of the President and the other members of
the Government.
(2) If the charge were treason or any crime against the security of the State
in the exercise of their functions, it could only be brought against them
through the initiative of one-fourth of the members of the House of
Representatives and with the approval of the absolute majority thereof.
(3) The royal prerogative of pardon shall not be applicable to any of the
provisions of the present article.
Article 103 [Public Administration]
(1) The Public Administration serves the general interest with objectivity
and it acts in accordance with the principles of efficacy, hierarchy,
decentralization, deconcentration, and coordination while fully complying
with the law and legality.
(2) The organs of the Administration of the State are created, governed, and
coordinated in accordance with the law.
(3) The law shall regulate the statute of the public officials, the access to
civil service in accordance with the principles of merit and ability, the
system under which they exercise their right to form unions, the system of
incompatibilities, and the safeguards for political impartiality in the
exercise of their functions.
Article 104 [Security Forces and Corps]
(1) The Security Forces and Corps which are instruments of the Government
shall have the mission of protecting the free exercise of rights and
liberties and that of guaranteeing the security of the citizens.
(2) An organic law shall determine the functions, basic principles of action,
and the Statues of the Security Forces and
Corps.
Article 105 [Guarantees]
The law shall regulate:
a) The hearing of citizens, directly or through the organizations and
associations recognized by the law, in the process of elaborating the
administrative decisions which affect them;
b) access by the citizens to the administrative archives and registers except
where it affects the security and defense of the State, the investigation of
crimes, and the privacy of persons; and
c) the procedure for administrative actions and for guaranteeing when
appropriate the hearing of interested persons.
Article 106 [Control, Indemnification]
(1) The Courts control the regulatory power and the legality of
administrative acts as well as its compliance with the objectives which
justify it.
(2) Private individuals, under the terms established by the law, shall have
the right to be indemnified for any harm they suffer in any of their property
and rights, except in the cases of force majeure, whenever such harm
is the result of the functioning of the public services.
Article 107 [Council of State]
The Council of State is the supreme consultative body of the Government. An
organic law shall regulate its composition and competence.
Title V Government and Parliament
Article 108 [Responsibility]
The Government in its political conduct is collectively accountable before
the House of Representatives.
Article 109 [Information, Assistance]
The Chambers and their Commissions may request, through their Presidents, the
information and assistance they need from the Government and its Departments
and from any authority of the State and the Autonomous Communities.
Article 110 [Presence]
(1) The Chambers and their Commissions may require the presence of the
members of the Government.
(2) The members of the Government are entitled to have access to the sessions
of the Chambers and to their Commissions and are entitled to be heard in
them, and they may request that officials of their departments present
information to them.
Article 111 [Interpellation]
(1) The Government and each of its members are subject to interpellations or
questions put to them in the Chambers. The rules shall establish a weekly
minimum time for this type of debate.
(2) Any interpellation may lead to a motion in which the Chamber can express
its position.
Article 112 [Vote of Confidence]
The President of the Government, after deliberation by the Council of
Ministers, may pose before the House of Representatives the question of
confidence on his program or on a declaration of general policy. Confidence
shall be taken as granted when the absolute majority of the deputies vote for
it.
Article 113 [Motion of Censure, Vote of No-Confidence]
(1) The House of Representatives may require political
responsibility from the Government by means of the adoption by an absolute
majority of a motion of censure.
(2) The motion of censure must be proposed by at least one-tenth of the
Deputies and must include a candidate to the office of the Presidency of the
Government.
(3) The motion of censure cannot be voted on until five days after its
presentation. During the first two days of this period, alternative motions may
be presented.
(4) If the motion of censure is not approved by the House of Representatives,
its signers cannot present another during the same period of sessions.
Article 114 [Resignation, New Appointment]
(1) If the House of Representatives denies its confidence to the Government,
it must present its resignation to the King, the President of the Government
then to be designated pursuant to the provisions of Article 99.
(2) If the House of Representatives adopts a motion of censure, the
Government shall present its resignation to the King and the candidate
included in it shall be understood to have the confidence of the Chamber for
the purposes specified in Article 92.
The King shall appoint him President of the Government.
Article 115 [Dissolution of Parliament]
(1) The President of the Government, after deliberation of the Council of
Ministers, and on his exclusive responsibility, may propose the dissolution
of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Parliament, which shall
be decreed by the King. The dissolution decree shall establish the date of the
elections.
(2) The proposal for dissolution may not be presented when a motion of
censure is in process.
(3) No new dissolution may take place before a year has passed since the
previous one, except as provided for in Article 99
(5).
Article 116 [Alarm, Emergency, Siege]
(1) An organic law shall regulate the states of alarm, emergency, and siege
and the corresponding competences and limitations.
(2) The state of alarm shall be declared by the Government, by means of a
decree agreed upon by the Council of Ministers, for a maximum period of
fifteen days informing the House of Representatives, which has convened
immediately for that purpose and without whose authorization the period
cannot be extended. The decree shall determine the territorial area to which
the effects of the declaration shall be excluded.
(3) The state of emergency shall be declared by the Government by means of a
Decree agreed upon in the Council of Ministers after authorization by the
House of Representatives. The authorization and proclamation of a state of
emergency must expressly determine its purposes, the territorial area to
which it is extended and its duration, which cannot exceed thirty days but
which may be extended for a like period with the same requirements.
(4) The state of siege shall be declared by the absolute majority of the
House of Representatives at the exclusive proposal by the Government. The
House of Representatives shall determine its territorial scope, duration, and
conditions.
(5) The House of Representatives may not be dissolved while any of the states
contained in the present article are in effect, the Chambers being
automatically convoked if they are not in a period of sessions. Their functioning,
like that of the other constitutional powers of the State, may not be
interrupted during the effectiveness of these states.
In the event that the House of Representatives has been
dissolved or its mandate has expired if one of the situations exists which
leads to one of the aforementioned states, the competences of the House of
Representatives shall be assumed by its Permanent Deputation.
(6) The declaration of the states of alarm, emergency, and siege shall not
modify the principle of the responsibility of the Government or its agents as
recognized in the Constitution and in the laws.
Title VI Judicial Power
Article 117 [Independence, Courts, Tribunals]
(1) Justice emanates from the people and is administered in the name of the
King by Judges and Magistrates who are members of the judicial power and are
independent, irremovable, responsible, and subject only to the rule
of the law.
(2) The Judges and Magistrates cannot be separated, suspended, transferred,
or retired except for causes and with the guarantees provided for in the law.
(3) The exercise of jurisdictional power in any type of processes passing
judgments and having judgments executed belongs exclusively to the Courts
and Tribunals as determined by the laws, according to the norms on the
competence and procedure which they establish.
(4) The Courts and Tribunals shall not exercise any functions other than
those set forth in the previous paragraph and those expressly attributed to
them by law to guarantee any right.
(5) The principle of jurisdictional unity is the basis of the organization
and operation of the Tribunals. The law shall regulate the exercise of the
military jurisdiction within a strictly military framework and in the event
of a state of siege, in accordance with the principles of the Constitution.
(6) Exceptional Tribunals are prohibited.
Article 118 [Powers]
It is obligatory to comply with the firm sentences and other resolutions of
the Judges and the Tribunals, as well as to provide the collaboration
required by them during the course of the process and in the execution of the
judgment.
Article 119 [Charges]
Justice shall be free of charge when the law so provides and in any case for
those who have insufficient means to litigate.
Article 120 [Publicity, Oral Proceedings]
(1) Judicial proceedings shall be public, with the exceptions provided for by
the laws on procedure.
(2) The procedure shall be predominantly oral, particularly in criminal
matters.
(3) The sentences shall always be motivated and shall be pronounced in public
audience.
Article 121 [Indemnification]
Damages caused by judicial error and those which may result from the abnormal
operation of the Administration of Justice shall provide the right to an
indemnification by the State, in accordance with the law.
Article 122 [Organization, General Council]
(1) The organic law on judicial power shall determine the structure,
operation, and administration of the Courts and Tribunals, as well as the
legal status of Judges and Magistrates, who form a single body, and of the
personnel at the service of the Administration of Justice.
(2) The General Council of the Judicial Power is the governing organ of the
latter. The organic law shall establish its statute
and the system of incompatibilities for its members and their functions,
particularly in matters of appointments, promotions, inspections, and
disciplinary regime.
(3) The General Council of the Judicial Power shall consist of the President
of the Supreme Court, who shall preside, and twenty members appointed by the
King for a period of five years. Of these, twelve shall be Judges and
Magistrates of all the judicial categories under the terms the organic law
establishes; four will be proposed by the House of Representatives; and four
by the Senate, elected in both cases by three-fifths majority of their
members, from among lawyers and jurists of recognized competence with more
than fifteen years in the exercise of their profession.
Article 123 [Supreme Court]
(1) The Supreme Court, with jurisdiction all over Spain, is the highest
jurisdictional organ in all orders, except in matters concerning
constitutional guarantees.
(2) The President of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the King at the
proposal of the General Council of the judicial branch in the manner determined
by law.
Article 124 [Public Prosecutor]
(1) The Office of the Public Prosecutor, without prejudice to the functions
entrusted to other organs, has the mission of promoting the action of justice
in defense of legality, the rights of citizens and the public interest
guarded by the law, ex officio or on petition by interested parties,
as well as watch over the independence of the Courts and to procure before
them the satisfaction of social interest.
(2) The Public Prosecutor exercises its functions by means of its own organs
in conformity with the principles of unity of action and hierarchical
dependency, subject in all cases to the principles of legality and
impartiality.
(3) The law shall regulate the organic statute of the Public Prosecutor.
(4) The Public Prosecutor of the State shall be appointed by the King at the
proposal of the Government after consultation with the General Council of the
Judicial Power.
Article 125 [Popular Action, Juries]
Citizens may exercise popular action and participate in the Administration of
Justice through the institution of the Jury in the manner that the law may
determine for certain criminal trials, as well as in the customary and
traditional Courts.
Article 126 [Judicial Police]
The judicial police come under the Judges, the Courts, and the Public
Prosecutor in their functions of investigating crimes and finding and seizing
the criminal under the terms the law may establish.
Article 127
(1) The Judges and Magistrates, as well as the prosecutors, while on active
service, may not hold other public positions or belong to political parties
or unions. The law shall establish the system and modalities of professional
association of Judges, Magistrates, and Prosecutors.
(2) The law shall establish the system of incompatibilities of the members of
the judicial power which must insure their total independence.
Title VII Economy and Finance
Article 128 [Public Wealth, State Intervention]
(1) All the wealth of the country in its distinct forms regardless
of its ownership is subordinated to the general interest.
(2) Public initiative in economic activity is recognized. By law, essential
resources or services, particularly in the case of monopoly, can be reserved
for the public sector and it may also declare the intervention in companies
when the general interest so requires.
Article 129 [Participation, Cooperatives]
(1) The law shall establish the forms of participation of those interested in
Social Security and in the activities of the public agencies whose function
directly affects the quality of life or general welfare.
(2) The public authorities shall effectively promote the various forms of
participation in enterprise and facilitate cooperative enterprises by means
of appropriate legislation. They shall also establish the means that will
facilitate access by the workers to ownership of the means of production.
Article 130 [Modernization, Development]
(1) The public authorities shall attend to the modernization and development
of all economic sectors, particularly of agriculture, livestock raising,
fishing, and handicrafts, in order to equalize the standard of living of all
Spaniards.
(2) For the same purpose, special treatment shall be provided to the mountain
areas.
Article 131 [Planning]
(1) The State, by means of law, may plan the general economic activity to
attend to collective needs, balance and harmonize regional and sectoral
development, and stimulate the growth of income and wealth and their more
equitable distribution.
(2) The Government shall develop planning projects in accordance with the
forecasts provided to it by the Autonomous Communities and the advice and
collaboration by the unions and other professional, business, and economic
organizations. A Council shall be created for this purpose, whose composition
and operation shall be developed by law.
Article 132 [Public Property]
(1) The law shall regulate the legal regime of the property in the public
domain and community property, based on the principle of inalienability,
imprescriptibility, non-seizure, and unencumbrance.
(2) Property in the public state domain, as determined by law are, in any
case, the offshore zone, the beaches, the territorial sea, the natural
resources of the economic zone, and the continental shelf.
(3) The Patrimony of the State and National Patrimony, their administration
protection and preservation shall be regulated by law.
Article 133 [Taxation Power]
(1) The original power to establish taxes by means of law belongs exclusively
to the State.
(2) The Autonomous Communities and the local Corporations may establish and
levy taxes in accordance with the Constitution and the laws.
(3) All fiscal profits which affect State taxes must be established by virtue
of law.
(4) The public administrations may only contract financial obligations and
incur expenditures in accordance with the law.
Article 134 [Budget]
(1) It is incumbent upon the Government to prepare the General Budgets of the
State and upon the Parliament to examine, amend, and approve them.
(2) The General Budgets of the State shall be of an annual character and
shall include the totality of expenditures and revenues of the public sector
of the State, containing the amount of the fiscal benefits which affect the
taxes of the State.
(3) The Government must present to the House of Representatives the General
Budgets of the State at least three months before the expiration of those of
the previous year.
(4) If the Budget Law is not approved before the first day of the
corresponding fiscal year, the Budgets of the previous fiscal year will
automatically be considered extended until the approval of the new ones.
(5) Once the General Budgets of the State have been approved, the Government
may present bills which imply increases in public expenditure or a decrease
in revenues corresponding to the same budget year.
(6) Every proposition or amendment which involves an increase in credits or a
decrease in budget revenues shall require the agreement of the Government
before its transmission.
(7) The Law on Budgets cannot create taxes. It can modify them when a
substantive tax law so provides.
Article 135 [Debt and Loans]
(1) The Government must be authorized by law to contract a Public Debt or
obtain loans.
(2) Loans for satisfying the payment of interests and principal of the Public
Debt of the State shall always be understood to be included in the state of
expenditures of the budgets and may not be the object of amendment or
modification as long as they are in keeping with the law of issue.
Article 136 [Court of Accounts]
(1) The Court of Accounts is the highest organ for checking the accounts and
economic management of the State and the public sector.
It shall be directly dependent of the Parliament and shall exercise its
functions through delegation by them in the examination and verification of
the General Accounts of the State.
(2) The accounts of the State and the state public sector shall be rendered
to the Court of Accounts and shall be examined by it.
The Court of Accounts, without prejudice to its own jurisdiction, shall send
an annual report to the Parliament which, when applicable, lists the
violations or responsibilities, which in its opinion have occurred.
(3) The members of the Court of Accounts shall enjoy the same independence
and irremovability and shall be subject to the same incompatibilities as the
Judges.
(4) An organic law shall regulate the composition, organization, and
operation of the Court of Accounts.
Title VIII Territorial Organization
Chapter
I General Principles
Article 137 [Municipalities,
Provinces, Autonomous Communities]
The State is organized territorially into municipalities, provinces, and the
Autonomous Communities which may be constituted. All these entities
enjoy autonomy for the management of their respective interests.
Article 138 [Economic Balance]
(1) The State guarantees the effective realization of the principle of
solidarity vested in Article 2, insuring the establishment of a
proper and just economic balance among the various parts of Spanish
territory, with particular attention to the status of the island possessions.
(2) The differences between the Statutes of the various Autonomous
Communities may in no case imply economic or social privileges.
Article 139 [Equal Rights, Free
Movement]
(1) All Spaniards have the same rights and obligations in any part of the
territory of the State.
(2) No authority may adopt measures which directly or indirectly hinder the
freedom of movement and establishment of persons and the free movement of
goods throughout Spanish territory.
Chapter II Local Administration
Article 140 [Municipalities]
The Constitution guarantees the autonomy of the municipalities. These enjoy
full legal personality. Their government and administration is the
responsibility of their own city governments which are made up of the mayors
and councilmen. The councilmen shall be elected by the residents of the
municipality via universal equal, free, direct, and secret suffrage in the
manner established by law. The mayors shall be elected by the councilmen or
by the residents. The law shall regulate the conditions under which the
system of an open council may proceed.
Article 141 [Provinces]
(1) The province is a local entity with its own legal personality determined
by the collection of municipalities and territorial division for the
fulfillment of the activities of the State. Any alteration in the provincial
limits must be approved by the Parliament by means of an organic law.
(2) The government and Autonomous Administration of the provinces shall be
trusted to Deputations or Corporations of a representative nature.
(3) Groupings of different municipalities of the province may be created.
(4) In the archipelagos, each island shall a]so have their own administration
in the form of Cabildos or councils.
Article 142 [Financial Autonomy]
The local treasuries must have the means necessary for carrying out the
functions which the law attributes to the respective corporations and they
shall be supported basically by their own taxes and by sharing those of the
State and the Autonomous Communities.
Chapter
III Autonomous Communities
Article 143 [Autonomy Initiative]
(1) In the exercise of the right to autonomy recognized in Article 2, bordering provinces with common
historical, cultural, and economic characteristics, the island territories,
and the provinces with a historical regional unity may accede to
self-government and constitute themselves into autonomous communities in
accordance with the provisions of that Title and the respective statutes.
(2) The initiative for the autonomous process belongs to all the interested
deputations or to the pertinent inter-island body and to two-thirds of the
municipalities whose population represents at least the majority of the
electorate of each province or island. These requirements must be fulfilled
within a period of six months from the first agreement adopted on the subject
by one of the interested local corporations.
(3) The initiative, in case it does not prosper, can only be repeated after
the passage of five years.
Article 144 [Authority
Authorization]
The Parliament, by means of an organic law, may for reasons of national
interest: a) authorize the establishment of an Autonomous Community when its
territorial area does not exceed that of a province and does not have the
conditions set forth in Article 143; b) authorize or accord,
depending on the case, a statute of autonomy for territories which are not
integrated into the provincial organization; and c) substitute the initiative
of the local corporations to which Article 143 (2) refers.
Article 145 [Restricted
Cooperation]
(1) In no case shall the federation of Autonomous Communities be allowed.
(2) The statutes may specify the conditions, requirements, and terms under
which the Autonomous Communities may establish agreements among themselves
for the administration and rendering of services pertaining to them, as well
as the nature and purposes of the corresponding communication of them to the
Parliament. Under other conditions, cooperation agreements between Autonomous
Communities shall require the authorization of the Parliament.
Article 146 [Statute of Autonomy]
The draft of the statute shall be prepared by an assembly consisting of
members of the Deputation or inter-insular organ of the affected provinces
and by the Deputies and Senators elected in them and shall be forwarded to
the Parliament for its enactment into law.
Article 147 [Adopting the Statute]
(1) Within the terms of the present Constitution, the statutes shall be the
basic institutional norm of each Autonomous Community and the State shall
recognize them and protect them as an integral part of its juridical order.
(2) The Statutes of autonomy must contain:
a) The name of the Community which best corresponds to its historical
identity.
b) The delimitation of its territory.
c) The name, organization, and seat of its own autonomous institutions.
d) The competences assumed within the framework of the Constitution and the
bases for the transfer of the corresponding services to them.
(3) The reform of statutes shall be in accordance with the procedure
established in them and shall in any case require the approval of the
Parliament by means of an organic law.
Article 148 [Competences]
(1) The Autonomous Communities may assume competences in the following:
1) organization of their institutions of self-government;
2) alterations of the municipal boundaries contained within its area, and in
general the functions which belong to the State Administration concerning
local corporations and whose transfer is authorized by the legislation on
Local Governments;
3) regulation of the territory, urbanism, and housing;
4) public works of interest to the Autonomous Community in its own territory;
5) railways and highways whose itinerary runs completely in the territory of
the Autonomous Community and within the same boundaries and transportation
carried out by these means or by cable;
6) ports of refuge, recreational ports, airports, and generally those which
do not carry out commercial activities;
7) agriculture and livestock raising in accord with the general regulations;
8) woodlands and forestry;
9) activities in matters of environmental protection;
10) water projects, canals, and irrigation systems of interest to the
Autonomous Community and mineral and thermal waters;
11) fishing in inland waters, hunting, and river fishing;
12) interior fairs;
13) promotion of the economic development of the Autonomous Community within
the objectives marked by the national economic polity;
14) handicrafts;
15) museums, libraries, and conservatories of interest to the Autonomous
Community;
16) monuments of interest to the Autonomous Community;
17) promotion of culture, research, and, when applicable, the teaching of the
language of the Autonomous Community;
18) promotion and regulation of tourism within its territorial area;
19) promotion of sports and adequate utilization of leisure;
20) social assistance;
21) health and hygiene; and
22) the custody and protection of its buildings and installations, the
coordination and other functions with respect to local police forces under
the terms an organic law shall establish.
(2) After five years have elapsed and through the reform of its statutes, the
Autonomous Communities may then expand their competences within the framework
established in Article 149.
Article 149 [State Competences]
(1) The State holds exclusive competence over the following
matters: 1) the regulation of the basic conditions which guarantee the
equality of all Spaniards in the exercise of their rights and fulfillment of
their constitutional duties;
2) nationality, immigration, emigration, alienage, and the right of asylum;
3) international relations;
4) defense and the Armed Forces;
5) administration of Justice;
6) mercantile, penal, and prison legislation, procedural legislation, without
prejudice to the necessary specialties which in this order may derive from
the particularities of the substantive law of the Autonomous Communities;
7) labor legislation, without
prejudice to its execution by the organs of the Autonomous Communities;
8) civil legislation, without prejudice to the preservation, modification,
and development by the Autonomous Communities of civil "fueros", or
special nights, where they may exist; in any case, the rules relative to the
application and effectiveness of legal norms, civil-legal relations having to
do with the form of matrimony, regulation of registers and public
instruments, the bases for contractual obligations, norms for resolving the
conflicts of laws, and the determination of the sources of the law, in this
last case, with respect to the norms of the "fueros" and special
law;
9) legislation concerning intellectual and industrial property;
10) system of customs, tariffs, and foreign trade;
11) monetary system, foreign credits, exchange and convertibility; the
general bases for the regulation of credit, banking, and insurance;
12) legislation on weights and measures, determination of the official time;
13) bases and coordination of general planning and economic
activity;
14) general finance and debt of the state;
15) promotion and general coordination of scientific and technical research;
16) external health; bases and general coordination of health; legislation
concerning pharmaceutical products;
17) basic legislation and economic system of social security, without
prejudice to the execution of its services by the Autonomous Communities;
18) the bases of the legal system of the public administrations and the
statutory system for its officials which shall in every case guarantee that
the administered will receive a common treatment by them; a common
administrative procedure, without prejudice to the specialties deriving from
the particular organization of the Autonomous Communities; legislation on
forcible expropriation; basic legislation on contracts and administrative
concessions, and the system of responsibility of all public administration;
19) maritime fishing, without prejudice to the competences attributed to the
Autonomous Communities in the regulation of the sector;
20) merchant marine and the ownership of ships; lighting of coasts and maritime
signals; ports of general interest, airports of general interest, control of
the air space, transit and transport, meteorological service and registration
of aircraft;
21) railroads and land transport which crosses through the territory of more
than one Autonomous Community; general communications system, traffic, and
movement of motor vehicles; mail and telecommunications; aerial cables,
submarine cables, and radio communication;
22) the legislation, regulation, and concession of water resources and projects
when the waters run through more than one Autonomous Community and the
authorization of electrical installations when their use affects another
community or when the transport of energy goes beyond its territorial area;
23) basic legislation on environmental protection without prejudice to the
faculties of the Autonomous Communities to establish additional standards of
protection; basic legislation on woodlands, forestry projects, and livestock
trails;
24) public works of general interest or whose realization affects more than
one Autonomous Community;
25) bases of the mining and energy system;
26) system of production, sale, possession, and use of arms and explosives;
27) basic norms of the system of press, radio, and television and, in
general, of the other means of social communication, without prejudice to the
faculties which in their development and execution belong to the Autonomous
Communities;
28) protection of the cultural, artistic, and monument patrimony of Spain
against exportation and exploitation; museums, libraries, and archives
belonging to the State without prejudice to their management by the
Autonomous Communities;
29) public security, without prejudice to the possibility of the creation of
police by the Autonomous Communities in the manner which may be established
in the respective statutes within the framework of the provisions of the
organic law; 30) regulations of the conditions for obtaining, issuing,
approving, and standardizing academic and professional degrees and basic
norms for carrying out Article 27 in order to guarantee compliance
with the obligations of the public powers in this matter; 31) statistics for
State purposes; and
32) authorization for the convocation of popular consultations via
referendum.
(2) Without prejudice to the competences which the Autonomous Communities may
assume, the state shall consider
the service of culture a duty and essential attribute and shall facilitate
cultural communication among the Autonomous Communities in agreement with
them.
(3) The matters not attributed expressly to the state by this Constitution
belong to the Autonomous Communities by virtue of their respective statutes.
Authority over matters not assumed by the Statutes of Autonomy shall belong
to the state, whose norms shall prevail in case of conflict over those of the
Autonomous Communities in everything which is not attributed to their
exclusive competence. The law of the State shall in every case be supplementary
to the law of the Autonomous Communities.
Article 150 [Granting and
Retaining Authority]
(1) The Parliament, in matters within the competence of the State, may grant
to all or one of the Autonomous Communities the authority to dictate for
itself legislative norms within the framework of the principles, bases, and
directives established by a state law. Without prejudice to the competence of
the Courts, within the framework of every law shall be established the method
of control by the Parliament over these legislative norms of the Autonomous
Communities.
(2) The State may transfer or delegate to the Autonomous Communities by an
organic law those faculties on matters within the competence of the State,
which because of their own nature are susceptible to transference or
delegation. The law shall in each case contain the pertinent transfer of
financial means as well as the forms of control the State reserves for
itself.
(3) The State may dictate laws which establish the principles necessary to
harmonize the normative, provisions of the Autonomous Communities even in the
case of matters attributed to their competence when the general interest so
demands. It is up to the Parliament, by the absolute majority in each
Chamber, to evaluate this necessity.
Article 151 [Immediate Autonomy]
(1) It shall not be necessary to wait for the five-year period referred to in
Article 148 (2) to elapse when the initiative for
the autonomous process is agreed upon within the time limit specified in
Article 143 (2), not only by the corresponding
Provincial Deputations or inter-island bodies, but also by three-quarters of
the Municipalities of each province concerned, representing at least the
majority of the electorate of each one, and said initiative is ratified by
means of a referendum by the affirmative vote of the absolute majority of the
electors in each province, under the terms to be established by an organic
law.
(2) In the case provided for in the foregoing paragraph, the procedure for
drafting the statute shall be as follows:
1) The Government shall summon all the Deputies and Senators elected in the
electoral districts within the territorial area seeking self-government in
order to constitute themselves into an Assembly for the sole purpose of
drawing up the corresponding draft statute for self-government, to be adopted
by the absolute majority of its members.
2) Once the draft statute has been passed by the assembly, it shall be
remitted to the Constitutional Commission of the House of Representatives
which shall examine it within the time of two months with the concurrence and
assistance of a delegation from the Assembly which has proposed it, in order
to decide in common agreement upon its definitive formulation.
3) If such an agreement is reached, the resulting text shall be submitted in
a referendum of the electoral corps of the provinces within the territorial area
to be covered by the proposed statute.
4) If the draft statute is approved in each province by the
majority of validly cast votes, it shall be referred to the Parliament. Both
Chambers, in plenary assembly, shall decide upon the text by means of a vote
of ratification. Once the statute has been approved, the King shall sanction
it and shall promulgate it as law.
5) If the agreement referred to in Subparagraph 2) is not reached, the draft
statute shall be treated like a draft law in the Parliament. The text
approved by them shall be submitted in a referendum of the electoral corps of
the provinces within the territorial area to be covered by the draft statute.
In the event that it is passed by the majority of the validly cast votes in
each province, it shall be promulgated under the terms outlined in the
foregoing subparagraph.
(3) In the cases described in Subparagraphs 4) and 5) of the foregoing
paragraph, failure to pass the draft statute by one or several of the
provinces shall not impede the constitution of the remaining provinces into
an Autonomous Community in the form as shall be established by the organic
law envisaged in Paragraph (1).
Article 152 [Governing Council]
(1) In the Statutes passed by means of the procedure referred to in the
foregoing article, the institutional autonomous organization shall be based
on a legislative assembly elected by universal suffrage in accordance with a
system of proportional representation which assures, moreover, the
representation of the various areas of the territory; a Governing Council
with executive and administrative functions, and a president elected by the
Assembly from among its members and appointed by the King, to whom shall be
responsible for directing the Governing Council, which constitutes the supreme
representation of the respective Community as well as the State's ordinary
representation in the latter. The president and the members of the Governing
Council shall be politically responsible before the Assembly.
A High Court of Justice, without prejudice to the jurisdiction exercised by
the Supreme Court, shall be at the head of the Judiciary within the
territorial area of the Autonomous Community. The statutes of the Autonomous
Communities shall establish the circumstances and manner in which they will
participate in the organization of the judicial demarcations of the
territory. All of this must be in conformity with the provisions of the
organic law on judicial power and compatible with its unity and independence.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 123, successive appeals shall, where
applicable, be lodged with judicial bodies located in the same territory of
the Autonomous Community as that in which the competent court of the first
instance is located.
(2) Once the respective statutes have been sanctioned and promulgated, they
may only be amended by means of the procedures established therein and
through a referendum of the electors registered in the corresponding
electoral rolls.
(3) By means of grouping the bordering municipalities together, the Statutes
may establish their own territorial electoral districts, which will enjoy
full legal personality.
Article 153 [Control]
Control over the activity of the organs of the Autonomous Communities shall
be exercised by
a) the Constitutional Court, in matters relative to the constitutionality of
its normative provisions having the force of law; b) the Government, after
the handing down by the Council of State of its opinion, regarding the
exercise of the delegated functions referred to in Article 150 (2); c) the jurisdiction in
administrative litigation, with regard to autonomous administration and its
regulatory norms;
d) the Court of Accounts, with regard to economic and budgetary matters.
Article 154 [Government Delegate]
A delegate appointed by the Government shall direct the administration of the
State in the territorial area of each Autonomous Community and shall
coordinate it, when necessary, with the Community's own administration.
Article 155 [Government Force]
(1) If an Autonomous Community does not fulfill the obligations imposed upon
it by the Constitution or other laws, or should act in a manner seriously
prejudicing the general interest of Spain, the Government, after lodging a
complaint with the President of the Autonomous Community and failing to
receive satisfaction therefor, may, following approval granted by an absolute
majority of the Senate, adopt the means necessary in order to oblige the
latter forcibly to meet said obligations, or in order to protect the
above-mentioned general interest.
(2) With a view to implementing the measures provided for in the foregoing
paragraph, the Government may give instructions to all the authorities of the
Autonomous Communities.
Article 156 [Financial Autonomy]
(1) The Autonomous Communities shall enjoy financial autonomy for the
development and exercise of their competencies, in conformity with the
principles of coordination with the State Treasury and solidarity among all
Spaniards.
(2) The Autonomous Communities may act as delegates or collaborators of the
State for the collection, management, and settlement of the latter's tax
resources, in conformity with the law and the statutes.
Article 157 [Tax Autonomy]
(1) The resources of the Autonomous Communities shall consist of:
a) taxes wholly or partially assigned to them by statute, charges on State
taxes, and other shares in State taxes;
b) their own taxes, rates, and special levies;
c) transfers from an inter-territorial clearing fund and other allocations to
be charged to the General State Budgets;
d) revenues accruing from their property and private law income;
e) the yield from credit operations.
(2) The Autonomous Communities may
under no circumstances adopt measures to raise taxes on property located
outside their territory or likely to hinder the free movement of goods or
services.
(3) By means of an organic law, the exercise of the financial competences
enumerated in Paragraph (1) may be regulated, the norms for settling the
conflicts which may arise, and the possible forms of financial collaboration
between the Autonomous Communities and the State.
Article 158 [State Allocation,
Clearing Fund]
(1) In the General State Budgets, an allocation may be made to the Autonomous
Communities in proportion to the volume of State services and State
activities for which they have assumed responsibility and to their guarantee
to provide a minimum level of basic public services throughout Spanish
territory.
(2) With the object of correcting inter-territorial economic imbalances and
implementing the principle of solidarity, a
clearing fund shall be established for investment expenditure, whose
resources shall be distributed by the Parliament among the Autonomous
Communities and the provinces, as the case may be.
Title IX Constitutional Court
Article 159 [Composition]
(1) The Constitutional Court is composed of twelve members appointed by the
King. Of these, four shall be nominated by the House of Representatives by a
majority of three-fifths of its members, four shall be nominated by the
Senate with the same majority; two shall be nominated by the Government, and
two by the General Council of the Judiciary.
(2) The members of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed from among
Magistrates and Prosecutors, University professors, public officials, and
lawyers, all of whom must be jurists of acknowledged competence with at least
fifteen years of professional experience.
(3) The members of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed for a period
of nine years and shall be renewed by thirds every three years.
(4) The office of member of the Constitutional Court is incompatible with any
representative function, with a management role in a political party or trade
union, or any employment in their service, with a career as Judge or
Prosecutor, and with any professional or commercial activity whatsoever.
In other cases, the incompatibilities relative to the judicial power shall
also be applicable to the members of the Constitutional Court.
(5) The members of the Constitutional Court shall be independent and
irremovable during their term of office.
Article 160 [President]
The President of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed by the King from
among its members, on the recommendation of the Plenum of the Court itself,
for a period of three years.
Article 161 [Competences]
(1) The Constitutional Court has jurisdiction over the whole of Spanish
territory and is competent to hear:
a) appeals on the grounds of unconstitutionality against laws and regulations
having the force of law; a declaration of unconstitutionality of a legal rule
with the status of law, interpreted by jurisprudence, shall also affect the
latter, although an overturned sentence or sentences shall not lose the
validity of a judgment; b) appeals against violation of the rights and
liberties referred to in Article 53 (2), in the cases and forms to be
established by law; c) conflicts of competence between the State and the
Autonomous Communities or between the Autonomous Communities themselves;
d) other matters assigned to it by the Constitution or by organic laws.
(2) The Government may contest before the Constitutional Court the provisions
and resolutions adopted by the organs of the Autonomous Communities. The
challenge shall produce the suspension of the contested provisions or resolution,
but the Court must either ratify or lift the suspension, as the case may be,
within a period of not more than five months.
Article 162 [Standing]
(1) The following are eligible to:
a) lodge an appeal of unconstitutionality: the President of the
Government, the Defender of the People, fifty Deputies, fifty Senators, the
executive corporate bodies of the Self-Governing Communities and, when
applicable, their Assemblies;
b) lodge an appeal: any natural or legal person invoking a legitimate
interest, as well as the Defender of the People and the Office of the Public
Prosecutor.
(2) In all other cases, the organic law shall determine which persons and
organs are eligible.
Article 163 [Constitutionality
Review]
If a judicial organ considers, in some action, that a regulation with the
status of law which is applicable thereto and upon the validity of which the
judgment depends, may be contrary to the Constitution, it may bring the
matter before the Constitutional Court in the cases, manner, and with the consequences
which the law establishes, which in no case shall be suspensive.
Article 164 [Effect of Judgments]
(1) The verdicts of the Constitutional Court shall be published in the
Official State Gazette with the dissenting votes, if any. They have the validity
of a judgment as from the day following their publication, and no appeal may
be brought against them. Those which declare the unconstitutionality of a law
or of a norm with the force of law, and all those which are not limited to
the subjective evaluation of a right, shall be fully binding on everybody.
(2) Unless the verdict rules otherwise, that part of the law not affected by
unconstitutionality shall remain in force.
Article 165 [Organizational Law]
An organic law shall regulate the functioning of the Constitutional Court,
the statutes of its members, the procedure to be followed before it, and the
conditions governing actions brought before it.
Title X Constitutional Amendment
Article 166 [Initiative]
The right to propose a Constitutional amendment shall be exercised under the
terms contained in Article 87 (1) and (2).
Article 167 [Procedure]
(1) Bills on Constitutional amendment must be approved by a majority of three-fifths
of the members of each Chamber. If there is no agreement between the
Chambers, an effort to reach it shall be made by setting up a Joint
Commission of Deputies and Senators which shall submit a text to be voted on
by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
(2) If adoption is not obtained by means of the procedure outlined in the
foregoing paragraph, and provided that the text has obtained a favorable vote
by an absolute majority of the Senate, the House of Representatives may
approve the amendment by a two-thirds vote.
(3) Once the amendment has been passed by the Parliament, it shall be
submitted to a referendum for its ratification, if so requested by one tenth
of the members of either Chamber within fifteen days after its passage.
Article 168 [Revision]
(1) When a total revision of the Constitution is proposed, or a partial
revision thereof, affecting the Preliminary Title, Chapter II, Section 1 of
Title I, or Title II, the principle shall be approved by a two-thirds
majority of the members of each Chamber, and the Parliament shall immediately
be dissolved.
(2) The Chambers elected must ratify the decision and proceed
to examine the new Constitutional text, which must be approved by a
two-thirds majority of the members of both Chambers.
(3) Once the amendment has been passed by the Parliament, it shall be
submitted to ratification by referendum.
Article 169 [Restriction]
A Constitutional amendment may not be initiated in time of war or when any of
the states outlined in Article 116 are in operation.
[Title XI] Additional Provisions
[Article 1]
(1) The Constitution protects and respects the historic rights of the
territories with "fueros".
(2) The general updating of the "fuero" system shall be carried
out, when appropriate, within the framework of the Constitution and of the
Statutes of Autonomy.
[Article 2]
The declaration regarding coming of age contained in Article 12 shall not be prejudicial to the
cases to which the "fuero" rights are applicable within the sphere
of Private Law.
[Article 3]
Any modification of the financial and tax system of the Canarian Archipelago
shall require a previous report from the Autonomous Community or, as the case
may be, from the provisional autonomous organ.
[Article 4]
In those Autonomous Communities where more than one Territorial Court has its
offices, the Statutes of Autonomy may maintain the existing Courts,
distributing jurisdiction among them, provided this is done always in
accordance with the provisions of the Organic Law on Judicial Power and in
conformity with its unity and independence.
[Title XII] Transitional
Provisions
[Article 1]
In the territories with a provisional regime of Autonomy, their higher
collegiate organs may, by means of an agreement adopted by an absolute
majority of their members, substitute for the initiative which, in Article 143 (2) is attributed to the Provincial
Councils or corresponding inter-island organs.
[Article 2]
The territories which in the past have, by plebiscite, approved draft
Statutes of Autonomy, and which, at the time of the promulgation of this
Constitution, have provisional regimes of autonomy, may proceed immediately
in the manner provided in Article 148
(2),
when agreement thereon is reached by an absolute majority of their
pre-autonomous higher collegiate organs, and the Government is duly informed.
The draft statutes shall be drawn up in accordance with the provisions of
Article 151
(2)
when so requested by the pre-autonomous collegiate organ.
[Article
3]
The initiative of the process towards autonomy conferred on the local
corporations or their members, which is contained in Article 43 (2), shall be postponed for all
purposes until the first local elections have taken place, once the
Constitution has come into effect.
[Article 4]
In the case of Navarra, and for the purposes of its incorporation into the
General Basque Council or the Basque autonomous regime replacing it, instead
of the provisions established by Article 143,
the initiative shall lie with the competent "Foral" organ, which
shall adopt its decision by a majority of the members comprising it. In order
for this initiative to be valid, the decision of the competent
"Foral" organ must also be ratified by a referendum expressly held
for this purpose and passed by a majority of the valid votes cast. If the
initiative does not succeed, it may only be repeated during a different term
of office of the competent "Foral" organ and, in any case, only
when the minimum period laid down in Article 143
has elapsed.
[Article
5]
The cities of Ceuta and Melilla may constitute themselves as Autonomous
Communities if their respective Municipal Councils should so decide by means
of an absolute majority of their members and if the Parliament thus
authorizes, by means of an organic law, under the terms provided in Article 144.
[Article 6]
When various draft statutes are referred to the Constitutional Commission of
the House of Representatives, decisions regarding them shall be taken
according to the order in which they are received. The two months' period
referred to in Article 151
shall be counted from the moment that the Commission terminates its study of
the draft or drafts that it has successively examined.
[Article
7]
The provisional autonomous organisms shall be considered dissolved in the
following cases:
a) once the organs established by the Statutes of Autonomy approved in
conformity with the Constitution have been established; b) in the event that
the initiative of the autonomous process should not be successful on account
of non-compliance with the requirements provided in Article 143; c) if the organism has not
exercised the right recognized in the first transitory provision within a
period of three years.
[Article 8]
(1) Once the present Constitution has become effective, the Chambers which
adopted it shall assume the functions and powers indicated therein for the
House of Representatives and the Senate respectively, while under no
circumstances shall their term of office continue beyond 15 June 1981.
(2) With regard to the provisions established in Article 99, the promulgation of the
Constitution shall be considered as creating the Constitutional basis for its
subsequent application. To this end, there shall be a thirty-day period, as
from the date of the promulgation, for implementing the provisions laid down
in said article. During this period, the current President of the Government,
who shall assume the functions and competencies established by the
Constitution for this office, may opt to utilize the authority conferred on
him by Article 115 or, by means of resignation,
leave the way open for application of the provisions established in Article 99. In the latter case, the
situation relative to the President shall be that provided in Article 101
(2).
(3) In the case of dissolution, in accordance with the provisions of Article 115, and if the provisions contained
in Articles 68 and 69 have not been enacted into law,
the rules previously in force shall be applicable in the elections, with the
sole exception of those provisions which refer to ineligibilities and
incompatibilities, to which the provisions of Article 70
(1) b)
shall be directly applicable, as well as its provisions concerning the voting
age and those contained in Article 69
(3).
[Article
9]
Three years after the election for the first time of the members of the
Constitutional Court, lots shall be drawn for the designation of a group of
four members of the same background as those who must retire and be replaced.
For this purpose, the two members designated by the General Council of the
Judicial Power shall be considered as coming from the same background. In the
same manner, after three years have elapsed, the same procedure shall be
carried out with regard to the two groups not affected by the previous
drawing of lots. Thereafter, the provisions established in Article 159 (3) shall be applied.
[Title III] Repeal Provision
[Article 1]
(1) Law 1/1977, of 4 Jan, for political reform, is hereby repealed, as well
as the following laws, in so far as they were not already repealed by the
abovementioned law:
- the Law of the Fundamental Principles of the Movement of 17 May 1958,
- the "Fuero" of the Spanish People of 17 July 1945,
- the "Fuero" of Labor of 9 March 1938,
- the Constitutive Law of the Parliament of 17 July 1942,
- the Law of Succession for the Headship of State of 26 July 1947,
- all of which as amended by the Organic Law of State of 10 Jan 1967, and
under the same terms, last mentioned,
- the law of the National Referendum of 22 Oct 1948.
(2) To the extent that it may still retain some validity, the Royal Decree of
25 Oct 1839 shall be definitively repealed in so far as it affects the
provinces of Alava, Guipuzcoa, and Vizcaya.
Under the same terms, the Law of 21 July 1876 shall be considered
definitively repealed.
(3) Likewise, any provisions contrary to those contained in the Constitution
shall be repealed.
[Title XIV] Final Provision
[Article 1]
This Constitution shall enter into force on the day of the publication of the
official text in the Official State Gazette. It shall also be published in
the other languages of Spain.
© 1994 - 7.
Jan. 2004 / For corrections please contact A. Tschentscher.
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