The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the fundamental law which governs in an organized and hierarchical way the unit of the institutions of the Spanish State , as well as the right and the duties of the citizens since 1978.

The text was developed by the way of the consensus and this for the first time in the Spanish history and was approved by Référendum during the process of the Spanish Democratic transition, after the dissolution of the organic institutions of the pro-Franco mode .

History

See the detailed article: Spanish Democratic transition

Drafting of the text and consensus

The Parliament is resulting from the constituent elections of the June 15th 1977 indicated a constituent Commission, formed by 36 deputies resulting from all political trainings represented, with which a group of seven members was then charged to direct the drafting of the constitutional law.

The seven members were:

  • Unión de Centro Democrático (UCD) (center, governing party):
    • Gabriel Cisneros
    • Miguel Herrero there Rodríguez de Miñón
    • Jose Pedro Pérez Llorca

  • Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) :

    • Gregorio Peces Bored

  • Alianza Popular (AP) (post-pro-Franco):

    • Manual Fraga

  • Catalan Minority and Basque nationalist Party:

    • Miquel Roca

  • Partido Comunista de España (PCE) (communist):

    • Jordi Plate Tura

These writers, known under the name of Los Padres of Constitución (in French fathers of the constitution ), publish the January 15th 1978 a first outline of the constitutional text, but it contains 168 disputes addressed by the same writers. In the months which follow, of the negotiation take place between the writers to grant a more consensual text in the points relating to the religion, education and the economy. In parallel, work of the Commission was centered on the study of the disputes.

A new outline is presented to the Cortes (Parliament) the April 10th 1978 for negotiation. More than 3.100 modifications are discussed with the Congress of the deputies, where the vote of approval of the constitutional project takes place the July 21st 1978 which is then given to the Senate.

To the high room, a new negotiation process brought back linguistic modifications suggested by Camilo Jose That, (which will receive the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1989), the abolition of the Capital punishment and the final legitimation of monarchy belongs to these modification. The text is again subjected to the Congresses of the deputies the October 13rd 1978.

The Cortes approve the text the October 31st 1978:

  • the Congress of the deputies by 325 votes, for six against and three abstentions
  • the Senate with 226 votes for, five against and eight abstentions

Referendum

The king Juan Carlos sign the November 3rd 1978 the decree Royal 2560/1978, which is then presented by referendum to the Spanish people, which approve it the December 6th 1978. On 26,6 million voters, 17,7 million votes (rate of participation is of 67,1%), of which 15,7 million votes yes (what makes 87,8% of the voices) and 1,4 million against.

The Abstention is more important in Galicia and with the Basque Country (45% abstention), where the Basque nationalist Party preaches this option, but 69% of the voters vote for.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 becomes the fundamental law of the Spanish State the day of its publication to the Official journal of the State, the December 29th 1978. The day of December 6th, day of the referendum, is declared Festival national of Spain.

Preceding texts

There were in the past three texts constitutional:

Organization of the text

The text is articulated around 169 articles, divided into 11 titles.

Provisions of the Constitution

Among the provisions most important one finds in particular:

  • establishment of a parliamentary Monarchy democratic
  • the creation of a Rule of law, whose legal organization must ideally take as a starting point the values of Liberté, of Justice, equality and political plurality
  • an original territorial organization: the the autonomous Communities
  • of the Social rights in harmony with a market economy
  • the Separation of the capacities and the declaration of a State without religious confessionality

Separation of the capacities

The constitution declares the separation of the capacities:

  • the the Cortes being formed by the Congress of the deputies and the Sénat are holder of the Legislative power. For this reason, they work out and vote the laws, as well as the election of the president of the government (the Prime Minister)
  • the Executive power is responsibility for the Gouvernement, which directs since the Council of Ministers of the Palais of Moncloa, the civil and military administrations, as well as the interior policy and external of the country
  • the judicial Power is composed of institutions like the Constitutional court, the Council of the capacity of justice or the Defender of the Spanish people.

The autonomous Communities

See the detailed article: the autonomous Communities of Spain

The Constitution describes the territorial organization of the State as decentralized, according to the model of the autonomous Communities by establishing two types of communities:

  • autonomous regions: article 143 establishes the procedures for the creation of autonomies of new access, called autonomous regions.
  • nationalities: article 151 allowed a process of autonomy accelerated and adapted to the areas known as " historiques" , those which had already profited from a statute of autonomy during IIe République: Catalonia, Galicia and Basque Country.
Up to 17 autonomous regions, including 3 nationalities, were thus created.

External bonds

  • complete Text on the official site of the Spanish Constitution
  • Site of the Defender of the Spanish people
  • complete Text HTML and Word on the site of [[the Cortes]] the
  • Site of the House of the King d' Espagne
  • Spanish Senate
  • Web of mow the Cortes
  • Web Palate of Mocloa
  • Short Constitutional
  • Supreme court of justice
  • Council of State

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