{ Adopted: / Status: 29 Dec 1978 with Amendment 27 Aug 1992 }
Preamble
The Spanish Nation
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:
Article 1 [State Principles, Sovereignty, Form]
(1) Spain constitutes itself into a social and democratic state of
law which advocates liberty, justice, equality
(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
(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]
Article 10 [Human Dignity, Human Rights]
Article 11 [Spanish Nationality]
Article 12 [Majority]
Article 13 [Aliens, Extradition, Asylum]
Article 14 [Equality]
Section 1 Basic Rights, Public Liberties
Article 15 [Life, Personal Integrity, No Death Penalty]
Article 16 [Religion, Belief, No State Church]
Article 17 [Personal Liberty]
Article 18 [Honor, Privacy, Home, Secrecy of
Article 19 [Freedom to Move]
Article 20 [Specific Freedoms, Restrictions]
Article 21 [Assembly]
Article 22 [Association]
Article 23 [Participation, Election, Office]
Article 24 [Legal Remedies]
Article 25 [Nulla Poena Sine Lege, Rights of Prisoners]
Article 26 [No Courts of Honor]
Article 27 [Education]
Article 28 [Unions, Strikes]
Article 29 [Petition]
Section 2 Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 30 [Military, Civilian, Emergency Duties]
Article 31 [Taxes]
Article 32 [Marriage, Matrimonial Equality]
Article 33 [Property, Inheritance]
Article 34 [Foundations]
Article 35 [Work]
Article 36 [Professional Colleges, Degrees]
Article 37 [Labor Agreements, Labor Conflicts]
Article 38 [Free Enterprise]
Article 39 [Family, Children]
Article 40 [Economic Policies, Worker Protection]
Article 41 [Social Security, Unemployment Benefits]
Article 42 [Workers Abroad]
Article 43 [Health Protection, Sports, Leisure]
Article 44 [Culture, Science]
Article 45 [Environment]
Article 46 [National Heritage]
Article 47 [Housing]
Article 48 [Participation of Youths]
Article 49 [Handicapped]
Article 50 [Old People, Pensions, Social Services]
Article 51 [Consumer Protection]
Article 52 [Professional Organizations]
Article 53 [Regulation, Judicial Protection]
Article 54 [High Commissioner, Parliament]
Article 55 [Emergency, Siege, Terrorism]
Article 56 [Head of State]
Article 57 [Succession]
Article 58 [Queen Consort]
Article 59 [Minority, Incapacity]
Article 60 [Tutor]
Article 61 [Oath]
Article 62 [Competences]
It is incumbent upon the King:
Article 63 [Foreign Relations, Treaties, War]
Article 64 [Countersignature]
Article 65 [Remuneration]
Article 66 [Structure, Competences, Inviolability]
Article 67 [Incompatibility, Free Mandate]
Article 68 [Election]
Article 69 [Senate]
Article 70 [Ineligibility, Incompatibility]
Article 71 [Indemnity, Immunity, Remuneration]
Article 72 [Self-Organization]
Article 73 [Sessions]
Article 74 [Majority]
Article 75 [Responsibilities]
Article 76 [Investigating Commissions]
Article 77 [Petitions]
Article 78 [Permanent Deputations]
Article 79 [Presence, Quorum, Personal Vote]
Article 80 [Publicity]
Article 81 [Organic Laws]
Article 82 [Delegation]
Article 83 [Prohibited Laws]
Article 84 [Delegation Conflict]
Article 85 [Legislative Decrees]
Article 86 [Decree-Laws]
Article 87 [Initiative, Proposal, Public Initiative]
Article 88 [Approval of Bills]
Article 89 [Processing Proposals]
Article 90 [Veto and Amendment of Bills]
Article 91 [Promulgation]
Article 92 [Consultative Referendum]
Article 93 [Transfer of Sovereignty]
Article 94 [Prior Authorization]
Article 95 [Conflict With Constitution]
Article 96 [Amendment, Abolishment]
Article 97 [Directing Policy]
Article 98 [Composition, President, Incompatibilities]
Article 99 [Election]
Article 100
Article 101 [Resignation]
Article 102 [Criminal Responsibility]
Article 103 [Public Administration]
Article 104 [Security Forces and Corps]
Article 105 [Guarantees]
Article 106 [Control, Indemnification]
Article 107 [Council of State]
Article 108 [Responsibility]
Article 109 [Information, Assistance]
Article 110 [Presence]
Article 111 [Interpellation]
Article 112 [Vote of Confidence]
Article 113 [Motion of Censure, Vote of No-Confidence]
Article 114 [Resignation, New Appointment]
Article 115 [Dissolution of Parliament]
Article 116 [Alarm, Emergency, Siege]
Article 117 [Independence, Courts, Tribunals]
Article 118 [Powers]
Article 119 [Charges]
Article 120 [Publicity, Oral Proceedings]
Article 121 [Indemnification]
Article 122 [Organization, General Council]
Article 123 [Supreme Court]
Article 124 [Public Prosecutor]
Article 125 [Popular Action, Juries]
Article 126 [Judicial Police]
Article 127
Article 128 [Public Wealth, State Intervention]
Article 129 [Participation, Cooperatives]
Article 130 [Modernization, Development]
Article 131 [Planning]
Article 132 [Public Property]
Article 133 [Taxation Power]
Article 134 [Budget]
Article 135 [Debt and Loans]
Article 136 [Court of Accounts]
Article 137 [Municipalities, Provinces, Autonomous Communities]
Article 138 [Economic Balance]
Article 139 [Equal Rights, Free Movement]
Article 140 [Municipalities]
Article 141 [Provinces]
Article 142 [Financial Autonomy]
Article 143 [Autonomy Initiative]
Article 144 [Authority Authorization]
Article 145 [Restricted Cooperation]
Article 146 [Statute of Autonomy]
Article 147 [Adopting the Statute]
Article 148 [Competences]
Article 149 [State Competences]
7) labor legislation, without prejudice to its execution by the
organs of the Autonomous Communities;
Article 150 [Granting and Retaining Authority]
Article 151 [Immediate Autonomy]
Article 152 [Governing Council]
Article 153 [Control]
Article 154 [Government Delegate]
Article 155 [Government Force]
Article 156 [Financial Autonomy]
Article 157 [Tax Autonomy]
(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.
Article 158 [State Allocation, Clearing Fund]
Article 159 [Composition]
Article 160 [President]
Article 161 [Competences]
Article 162 [Standing]
Article 163 [Constitutionality Review]
Article 164 [Effect of Judgments]
Article 165 [Organizational Law]
Article 166 [Initiative]
Article 167 [Procedure]
Article 168 [Revision]
Article 169 [Restriction]
[Article 1]
[Article 2]
[Article 3]
[Article 4]
[Article 1]
[Article 2]
[Article 3]
[Article 4]
[Article 5]
[Article 6]
[Article 7]
[Article 8]
[Article 9]
[Article 1]
[Article 1]
(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
(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
(1) The dignity
(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
(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.
Spaniards become adults at 18 years of age.
(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
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.
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.
(1) Freedom of ideology, religion
(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.
(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.
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.
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.
(1) The following rights are recognized and protected:
a) To express
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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
Courts of Honor are prohibited within the framework of the
Civil Administration or professional organizations.
(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
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(1) The right to private property
(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.
(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.
(1) All Spaniards have the duty to work
(2) The law shall regulate a statute for workers.
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.
(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.
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
(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
(3) Parents must provide their children, born in or out of
wedlock, with assistance
(4) Children shall enjoy the protection provided in international
agreements which safeguard their rights.
(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.
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.
The state shall especially try to safeguard the economic and
social rights of Spanish workers abroad and orient its policy
toward their return.
(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.
(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.
(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.
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.
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.
The public authorities shall promote the conditions for the free
and effective participation by the young in political, social,
economic and cultural development.
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.
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.
(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.
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
(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
(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.
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
(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
(1) The King is the Head of State
(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).
(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.
The Queen consort or the consort of the Queen may not assume
constitutional functions except as provided for by the Regency.
(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.
(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.
(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.
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.
(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.
(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.
(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
(1) The Parliament
(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.
(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.
(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
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
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
(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.
(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.
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.
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.
The dispositions of the Government containing delegated
legislation shall receive the title of Legislative Decrees.
(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.
(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
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.
(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.
(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.
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.
(1) Political decisions of special importance may be submitted
for a consultative referendum
(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
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.
(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.
(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.
(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
The Government
(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.
(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.
The other members of the Government shall be appointed and
dismissed by the King at the proposal of its President.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
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.
(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.
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
The Government in its political conduct is collectively
accountable before the House of Representatives.
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.
(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.
(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.
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.
(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.
(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.
(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).
(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
(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
(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
(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.
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.
Justice shall be free of charge when the law so provides and in
any case for those who have insufficient means to litigate.
(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.
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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
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.
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.
(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
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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
The State is organized territorially into municipalities,
provinces, and the Autonomous Communities
(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.
(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
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.
(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.
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
(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.
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.
(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.
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.
(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.
(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.
(1) The State holds exclusive competence
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;
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.
(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.
(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).
(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.
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.
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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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
(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.
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.
(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.
(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.
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.
(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.
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
The right to propose a Constitutional amendment shall be
exercised under the terms contained in Article 87 (1)
and (2).
(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.
(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
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
(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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
The initiative of the process towards autonomy conferred on the
local corporations or their members, which is contained in
Article 143 (2), shall be postponed for all purposes until
the first local elections have taken place, once the Constitution
has come into effect.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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).
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
(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
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.