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The Constitutional Court of Spain (Spanish: Tribunal Constitucional de España) is the highest judicial body with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes of the Spanish Government. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Politics of Spain takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Constitutional monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the The Constitution of Spain is regarded as the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. Spain 's first Constitution was passed in 1812 A list of the different Spanish constitutional laws follows Early life Juan Carlos was born in Rome, where his grandfather Alfonso XIII of Spain lived in exile after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic Chief of State King Juan Carlos I, since November 22 1975; Queen Sofia Prince of Asturias Felipe The Prime Minister of Spain, (officially the President of the Government, Spanish: Presidente del Gobierno) is the Spanish Head of government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born 4 August 1960 better known by his maternal surname Zapatero (literally "shoemaker" in Spanish is the current (1977 - 1979 Council of Ministers of Spain (Constituting Legislature (1979 - 1982 Council of Ministers of Spain (1st Legislature (1982 The Cortes Generales ( Spanish for General Courts or Cortes Españolas, Spanish Courts) is the Legislature of Spain. The Spanish Senate ( Senado de España in Spanish) is the upper house of Spain 's Parliament, the Cortes Generales. The Spanish Congress of Deputies (Spanish Congreso de los Diputados) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain 's Legislative branch. The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Political parties in Spain lists political parties in Spain. Spain has a system similar to a Two-party system, which means that there are two dominant Elections in Spain gives information on Election and election results in Spain. The Spanish general election of 1977 took place on June 15. It was the first election since the death of Francisco Franco. General elections were held in Spain on 1 March 1979. General elections were held in Spain on 28 October 1982.PSOE and PSC presented two different lists of candidates with the PSOE contesting most of Spain General elections were held in Spain on 23 June 1986. In this election the Communist Party of Spain merged with other minor left parties to form the coalition General elections were held in Spain on 29 October 1989. Results General elections were held in Spain on 3 March 1993. Results General elections were held in Spain on March 3 1996. The Prime Minister Felipe González of PSOE lost the elections to Legislative elections were held in Spain on March 12, 2000. The incumbent People's Party of Prime Minister José María Aznar was Legislative elections were held in Spain on March 14, 2004. At stake were all 350 seats in the lower house of the Cortes Generales, the Legislative elections for the Spanish Cortes Generales were held on March 9, 2008. The General Council of the Judicial Power is the constitutional body which governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as Courts and Judges as it is The Supreme Court of Spain is the highest judicial body in Spain for all matters not pertaining to the Constitution. The Audiencia Nacional de España ("National Court of Spain" is a high court in Spain. An ombudsman ( English plural conventionally ombudsmen) is an official usually (but not always appointed by the government or by parliament who is charged with An autonomous community is a first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution. An autonomous community is a first-level political division of the Kingdom of Spain, established in accordance with the Spanish Constitution. Autonomous Communities Andalusia - Andalusian Parliament Aragon - Cortes de Aragón Asturias In addition to its autonomous communities, Spain is divided into fifty Provinces. In Spain traditionally and historically some Autonomous communities are also divided into comarcas (singular comarca) The municipalities of Spain (municipios 8111 in total are the basic level of Spanish Local government. Spain is a democracy with a Constitutional monarch. The Cortes Generales consists of two Chambers, the Congress of Deputies and the Senate After the return of Democracy following the death of General Franco in 1975 Spain 's Foreign policy priorities were to break out of the diplomatic isolation The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with Constitutional law. It is defined in Part IX (i. e. sections 159 through 165) of the Constitution of Spain, and further governed by Organic Laws 2/1979 (aka Law of the Constitutional Court of October 3, 1979),[1] 8/1984, 4/1985, 6/1988, 7/1999 and 1/2000. The Constitution of Spain is regarded as the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. Events 42 BC - First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight an indecisive battle with Caesar's Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) [2] The court is the "supreme interpreter"[2] of the Constitution, but since the court is not a part of the rest of the Spanish judiciary,[2] for almost all other judicial matters, the Supreme Court is the highest court. The Supreme Court of Spain is the highest judicial body in Spain for all matters not pertaining to the Constitution. [3]

Contents

Powers

The Constitutional Court is authorized to rule on the constitutionality of laws, acts, or regulations set forth by the national or the regional parliaments. Constitutionality is the status of a law, a procedure or an act's accordance with the laws or guidelines set forth in the applicable Constitution. It also may rule on the constitutionality of international treaties before they are ratified, if requested to do so by the government, the Congress of Deputies, or the Senate. The Constitution further declares that individual citizens may appeal to the Constitutional Court for protection against governmental acts that violate their "fundamental rights or freedoms". [1] Only individuals directly affected can make this appeal, called a recursos de amparo, and they can do this only after exhausting other judicial appeals. [4] Public officials, specifically "the President of the Government, the Defender of the People, fifty Members of Congress, fifty Senators, the Executive body of a Self-governing Community and, where applicable, its Assembly",[5] may also request that the court determine the constitutionality of a law. The General Electoral Law of June 1985 additionally allows appeals to this court in cases where electoral boards exclude candidates from the ballot. [1]

In addition, this court has the power to preview the constitutionality of texts delineating statutes of autonomy and to settle conflicts of jurisdiction between the central and the autonomous community governments, or between the governments of two or more autonomous communities. Because many of the constitutional provisions pertaining to autonomy questions are ambiguous and sometimes contradictory, this court could play a critical role in Spain's political and social development. [4]

The decisions of the Constitutional Court cannot be appealed by anyone. [1][6]

Composition

This court consists of twelve magistrates (justices) who serve for nine-year terms. Four of these are nominated by the Congress of Deputies, four by the Senate, two by the executive branch of the government, and two by the General Council of the Judiciary;[4] all are formally appointed by the King. The Spanish Congress of Deputies (Spanish Congreso de los Diputados) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain 's Legislative branch. The Spanish Senate ( Senado de España in Spanish) is the upper house of Spain 's Parliament, the Cortes Generales. The General Council of the Judicial Power is the constitutional body which governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as Courts and Judges as it is [1] The Constitution sets a minimum standard of fifteen years of experience in fields related to jurisprudence, including "magistrates and prosecutors, university professors, public officials and lawyers,"[7] and must not contemporaneously hold a position that may detract from their independence, such as a post in a political party or a representative position. [8] Amongst and by the magistrates of the court, a President is elected for a three-year term, who is assisted by a vice-president, who is also magistrate, and a general secretary, that is the responsible for overseeing the staff of the court. . [1]

Notable decisions

In 2005, the court ruled that the rest of the Spanish judicial system could handle cases concerning crimes against humanity, such as genocide, regardless of whether Spanish citizens were involved or directly affected. In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group [9] In this instance, it reversed the decision made by the Supreme Court in the same case, which held that such cases could only be brought before Spanish courts if a Spanish victim was involved. [10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Newton, Michael T. ; with Peter J. Donaghy (1997). Institutions of modern Spain : a political and economic guide. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534 ISBN 0521573483.  
  2. ^ a b c Olga Cabrero. "A Guide to the Spanish Legal System". . Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC.
  3. ^ § 123, clause 1, Spanish Constitution of 1978
  4. ^ a b c Solsten, Eric; Sandra W. The Constitution of Spain is regarded as the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. Meditz (eds. ). Spain: a country study, Second edition, Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.  
  5. ^ § 162, clause 1a, Spanish Constitution of 1978
  6. ^ § 164, clause 1, Spanish Constitution of 1978
  7. ^ § 159, clause 2, Spanish Constitution of 1978
  8. ^ § 159, clauses 4 and 5, Spanish Constitution of 1978
  9. ^ "Guatemalan court to rule soon on Spanish request for arrest of ex-dictator", International Herald Tribune, December 6, 2006. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.  
  10. ^ "Constitutional Court of Spain rules that its courts may hear genocide cases even if they do not involve Spanish citizens, and holds that principle of universal jurisdiction takes precedence over alleged national interests" (October 2005). International Law Update 11 (10).  

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