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99-536: It comprises a: Its legal regime is set out in article 103 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and its specific organisation and powers by Law 40/2015. This establishes that it, under the direction of the Government and with full submission to the law, objectively serves the general interest, developing executive functions of an administrative nature. On October 1, 2016, the forerunner Law 6/1997

198-538: A Minister. Regarding this second aspect, there is an immense variety of functions that the Minister plays in his role of head and director of the corresponding Ministerial Department. The Law about Organization and Functioning of the General State Administration makes an exhaustive enumeration of functions, among which the ones related to the appointment and separation of the governing bodies of

297-523: A caretaker government. On the occasion of the 2015–2016 caretaker government of Mariano Rajoy , the Government refused repeatedly to submit to the control of the Congress of Deputies alleging that there was no trust relationship between both powers for the fact of being a caretaker government and, therefore, there was no control of the legislative power over the executive. Faced with this situation,

396-626: A ceremony in the presence of parliamentarians. It came into effect on 29 December, the day it was published in the Official Gazette. Constitution Day ( Spanish : Día de la Constitución ) on 6 December has since been a national holiday in Spain . The Constitution contains 169 articles as well as a number of additional and transitory provisions. Notably, the Constitution also formally repealed several important Spanish laws related

495-533: A degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent. The Royal Decree on the structure of the Department may omit the first requirement because it is a Directorate-General whose exceptional characteristics require that the holder does not have

594-510: A male preference primogeniture to the successors of King Juan Carlos I and his dynasty, the Bourbon dynasty . The heir to the throne receives the title of Prince or Princess of Asturias as well as the other historic titles of the heir and the other children received the title of Infantes or Infantas. If some person with rights of succession marries against the will of the King or Queen regnant or

693-489: A particular branch of knowledge. The Peripheral State Administration is an Administration dependent on the General State Administration that, through bodies dependent on it, assure the presence of the General State Administration throughout the national territory . It acts, therefore, as an extension of government and administration. The structure of the Peripheral Administration varies according to

792-620: A preamble, several additional and interim provisions, a series of repeals, and it ends with a final provision. The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the Constitution of 1812 . After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, a general election in 1977 convened the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving

891-584: A progressive and non-confiscatory tax system . The principles of family law are laid out in Section 32. Chapter Two also deals with the right to property (Section 33), to create foundations (Section 34), to work (Section 35), to create professional associations (Section 36) and to collective bargaining (Section 37). This Section also guarantees economic freedom and calls for a market economy which can be subject to government planning (Section 38). Chapter Three includes Sections 39 to 52. They lay out

990-459: A reduced array of rights, among which the right of association, the right to honour, the right to due process of law, freedom of speech and the inviolability of the home are included. Chapter Two begins with Section 14, an equal rights clause . Section One (Sections 15 to 29) includes an enumeration of fundamental rights and public freedoms. This section is entrenched , meaning it is extremely difficult to modify or repeal, in order to prevent

1089-716: A series of political, social and historical changes, gradually transforming the Francoist regime into a democratic state. The Constitution was redacted, debated and approved by the constituent assembly ( Spanish : Cortes Constituyentes ) that emerged from the 1977 general election . It then repealed all the Fundamental Laws of the Realm (i.e., the constitution of the Francoist regime), as well as other major historical laws and every pre-existing law that contradicted

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1188-757: A total absence of restrictions, giving total freedom to the Government and the Minister to choose the person they consider convenient. They are in charge of appointing and separating the Directors-General, as well as directing and coordinating the Directorates-General under the Secretariat of State concerned. Likewise, the Secretary of State shall assume those functions that the Minister delegates thereto, as indicated in Article 7.2 of

1287-617: A view to achieving the objectives that have been established by the Minister. Likewise, it will exercise the specific powers delegated to it, or those that will be awarded to it under the pertinent rules. On the other hand, the Director General, as a consequence of his position of supremacy within the Directorate-General, will be in charge of monitoring the proper functioning of the entire bureaucratic complex that depends on him. Likewise, it will be in charge of issuing

1386-585: Is Pedro Sánchez , who took office on 2 June 2018. He is the leader of the Socialist Workers' Party , and he leads his third cabinet since late 2023. The Government is occasionally referred to by the metonymy Moncloa , due to the fact that the residence of the Prime Minister, the Palace of Moncloa , is also the headquarters of the Government. The Government's performance is governed by

1485-510: Is a conflict between the country's institutions ( Part II § 56 ). As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, former King Juan Carlos I suppressed the 23-F Spanish coup d'état attempt in February 1981, showing that the monarch has more power than the constitution grants him. The heir presumptive is Leonor, Princess of Asturias . The Constitution also gives the monarch some powers known as Royal Prerogatives . These prerogatives range from

1584-410: Is also present in civil procedures; in practice, the King has never been prosecuted and it is unlikely that he would be prosecuted even if it was proven that the monarch had committed a crime. The legal justification for royal immunity is that the King is mandated by the Constitution to fulfill several roles as the head of state; thus, the King is obligated to perform his actions and fulfill his duties, so

1683-429: Is done through a procedure or institution called the refrendo (" countersigning " in the official English translation of the constitution). All the King's acts have to undergo the refrendo procedure. Through the refrendo, other persons assume legal and political responsibility for the King's acts, if such responsibility is demanded from them. Article 64 explains the refrendo and transfers responsibility for royal acts to

1782-596: Is easy to understand that Spain can not run out of government even for a few hours". In 1997 the Government Act was passed; the Caretaker Government is regulated in Title 4. In addition to the aforementioned constitutional provisions, Section 21 of the Government Act establishes that "the caretaker government shall facilitate the normal development of the process of formation of the new Government and

1881-518: Is integrated by: The delegations represent the Kingdom of Spain in a body of an international organization , in a Conference of States convened by or under the auspices of an international organization, or in a concrete act organized by a third State for which a delegation is required to form a delegation official. In this section, public bodies, state companies, public foundations and consortium entities and any other related entities or dependents of

1980-552: Is known in the Anglo-Saxon world as Deputy Minister or Deputy Secretary ( United States ). Law 6/1997, about Organization and Functioning of the General State Administration states in article 9.1 the eventual character of the body, calling it a "higher body", as it does with the Ministers. Such status implies a different treatment in terms of the personal requirements to be fulfilled by the holder, which in this case supposes

2079-522: Is no person entitled to exercise the regency, the Cortes Generales shall appoint one regent or a council of three or five persons known as the Council of Regency. The regent must be a Spaniard and legally of age. The Constitution also establishes in article 60 that the guardian of the King or Queen during their minority cannot be the same as the person who acts as regent, unless the regent is

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2178-555: Is offered by a house of parliament. Neither the prime minister nor the ministers need to be members of parliament , but the Government must account to both the Senate and Congress every week in a parliamentary meeting known as a sesión de control (control session) ( Part V § 108 ). Questioning minor-rank ministers, such as Secretaries of State or Under Secretaries, must be done in Parliamentary Committees . While

2277-686: Is responsible before the Parliament ( Cortes Generales ), and more precisely before the Congress of the Deputies , a body which elects the Prime Minister or dismisses them through a motion of censure . This is because Spain is a parliamentary system established by the Constitution of 1978 . Its fundamental regulation is placed in Title IV of the Constitution, as well as in Title V of that document, with respect to its relationship with

2376-620: Is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain . The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers ; the prime minister has the overall direction of the Ministers and can appoint or terminate their appointments freely and all of them belong to the supreme decision-making body, known as the Council of Ministers . The Government

2475-555: The Cortes approve and the Spanish people ratify the following Constitution. As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution does not formally state that Spain is a federation (nor a unitary state), actual power shows, depending on the issue considered, widely varying grades of decentralization, ranging from

2574-574: The Cortes Generales , composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . While both the Congress and Senate propose legislation, albeit by different procedural mechanisms, the Government has the right to be consulted for such proposals. The Government may also propose law directly. A Government-sponsored bill is known as a proyecto de ley , contrasting with a proposición de ley which

2673-676: The Autonomous Communities , because in the majority of them there are Delegations and Sub-delegations with the exception of the single- province Autonomous Communities, that do not have Sub-delegations, since the competences of these are taken by the Delegations itself (the Autonomous Community of Madrid is a single-province autonomous community that due to its status of Capital of the Kingdom and his population size, has Delegations and Sub-delegations). In

2772-582: The Canary Islands , Castile-La Mancha , Navarre , Murcia and La Rioja . The last four regions to get their autonomy were the Balearic Islands , Castile and León , Extremadura and Madrid , all of them in 1983. The Constitution also grants the cities of Ceuta and Melilla autonomy, which they got in 1995. The Constitution also gives them the possibility to become fully autonomous communities, but so far these cities have not requested

2871-474: The Cortes Generales , and in Law 50/1997, of 27 November, of the Government. According to Article 97 of the Constitution and Article 1.1 of the Government Act, " the Government directs domestic and foreign policy, the civil and military administration and the defense of the State. It exercises the executive function and the regulatory regulation according to the Constitution and the laws ". The current prime minister

2970-497: The Cortes Generales , they shall be excluded from succession to the Crown, as shall their descendants. This article also establishes that if the lines are extinguished, the Cortes Generales shall decide who will be the new King or Queen attending to the general interests of the country. Finally, article 57.5 establishes that abdications or any legal doubt about the succession must be clarified by an Organic Act. This legal forecast

3069-512: The Government Law , the Government of Spain is composed of: In accordance with article 11 of the Law of the Government, " to be a member of the Government it is required to be Spanish, adult, to enjoy the rights of active and passive suffrage, as well as not to be disabled to exercise employment or public office by sentence Judicial firm ." The members of the Government enjoy their own criminal procedure so that they will only be tried by

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3168-502: The Kingdom of Spain before the European Union or an International Organization . They shall be Observatory Representations when Spain is not part of the organization to which they are accredited. Spanish Constitution of 1978 The Spanish Constitution ( Spanish : Constitución Española ) is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain . It was enacted after its approval in a constitutional referendum ; it represents

3267-477: The Prime Minister in most cases, though it also allows other ministers to assume responsibility for royal acts as well. In general, when there is not a formed government, the responsibility is assumed by the President of the Congress of Deputies . Without the refrendo, the King's actions are null and void . There are only two royal acts that do not require the refrendo. The first encompasses all acts related to

3366-502: The right of assembly (Section 21), right of association (Section 22), right of suffrage (Section 23), right to education (Section 27) and the right to strike (Section 28). The due process of law is covered by Sections 24 to 26. Section Two of Chapter Two (Sections 30 to 38) includes a list of civic rights and duties. Section 30 includes military duties with guarantees and alternatives for conscientious objectors (this section has been inactive since 2002). Section 31 establishes

3465-538: The Chambers or the Cortes Generales , raising the question of confidence, or proposing to the King the calling for a consultative referendum" and on the Government prohibiting it from "the approval of the State General Budget Bill or presenting bills to the Cortes Generales ". The government neither may exercise the legislative delegations that the parliament has granted to it while acting as

3564-577: The Congress approves a full budget amend, the budget is automatically rejected. Since the approval of the Constitution of 1978 , Spain was established as a decentralized unitary country which grants its regions a high degree of autonomy. The first two regions to be granted autonomy were the Basque Country and Catalonia in 1979. In 1981, four further regions achieved their autonomy: Andalusia , Asturias , Cantabria and Galicia . A year later, seven more regions were granted autonomy: Aragon ,

3663-547: The Congress denounced the Executive Power before the Constitutional Court for refusing to submit to its control and, on 22 November 2018, the high court ruled that the Government "undermined the constitutional attribution" that the Constitution confers on Congress and that although "control of the Government's action will normally be exercised within the framework of the confidence that must exist between

3762-478: The Congress's confidence in the Government: the motion of no-confidence ( Part V § 113 ), by which members of parliament can ask the Congress to rescind its confidence in the prime minister and to elect another, and the question of confidence ( Part V § 112 ), by which the prime minister asks the Congress if it supports the Government's political programs generally or a specific piece of legislation. A loss by

3861-507: The Constitution and the laws. The King's official title is "King of Spain" ( Spanish : Rey de España ), but he is allowed to use any other titles that are associated to the Spanish Crown . The King of Spain enjoys immunity and is not subject to legal accountability. In a broad sense, this means that the King cannot be legally prosecuted. Some jurists say that this only refers to criminal procedures, while others claim this immunity

3960-428: The Constitution establishes that the monarch is the head of state and symbolizes the unity of the Spanish state. It refers to the monarch's role as a "moderator" whose main role is to oversee and ensure the regular functioning of the institutions. The monarch is also the highest-ranked representative of the Spanish state in international relations and only exercises the functions that are explicitly attributed to him by

4059-422: The Constitution, not being able to deny the Chambers all exercise of the control function, since this would affect to the balance of powers foreseen in our Constitution". The longest caretaker government of the Spanish politics since the restoration of democracy in 1977 has been the 2015–2016 Rajoy government with a record of 316 days. The Office of the Prime Minister as well as the official headquarters of

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4158-562: The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court . The initiation of a case for treason or against the security of the State can only respond to the initiative of a quarter of the Congress of Deputies , approved by an absolute majority thereof, and can not be granted a pardon in such cases. The Caretaker Government is regulated in Section 101 of the Spanish Constitution which says that "the Government shall resign after

4257-524: The General State Administration. It will depend hierarchically on the Delegate of the Government or the Sub-delegate, when this position exists. The holder must have a degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent. It

4356-476: The Government Law. Law 6/1997 qualifies it as a governing body, whose holder must be a career official of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local Entities, in addition to having the status of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent. This is a high position of political trust, appointed by the Government on the proposal of the Minister concerned, and whose dismissal is equally free. Since

4455-434: The Government and the Congress of Deputies", this does not mean that "exceptionally, as are the periods in which there is no relationship of trust between Congress and the Government, the aforementioned control function can not be exercised" since "the control function that corresponds to the Cortes Generales is implicit in its representative character and in the form of parliamentary government that establishes Article 1.3 of

4554-536: The Government are located in the Palace of Moncloa , outside Madrid . The Council of Ministers meetings also take place here. In this palace is also the office of the deputy prime minister , the headquarters of the Ministry of the Presidency and the office of the Government's Spokesperson . Most of the government departments are located in the centre of the city of Madrid, each having its own buildings. One of

4653-436: The Government in either case may result in the removal of the prime minister. The Spanish monarch , currently King Felipe VI , is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. As a monarch of a parliamentary monarchy, the executive power does not belong to The Crown and is independent from it. The Constitution gives the monarch a symbolic role, but also a moderating role, being able to intervene if there

4752-448: The King cannot be judged for actions that he is constitutionally obligated to perform. The King is vested with executive power, but is not personally responsible for exercising it. This does not mean that his actions are free of responsibility. The responsibility for the King's actions falls into the persons who hold actual political power and who actually take political decisions, which the King only formally and symbolically ratifies. This

4851-539: The Ministry, the determination of their internal organizational structure, human resources management, issues Economic and budgetary aspects of its Department, and to end representative functions, in a political (relations with the Autonomous Communities , etc.) and legal (acting on behalf of the legal entity of the State and imputation of its acts) sense. Finally, it should be pointed out the office of non-suitcase minister, an infrequent position and intimately linked to

4950-531: The Organic Act 4/2014 modified the Organic Act of the Judiciary to allow the former Kings to conserve their judicial prerogatives (immunity). The Regency is regulated in article 59. The Regency is a period in which a person exercises the duties of the King or Queen regnant on behalf of the real monarch who is a minor. This article establishes that the King or Queen's mother or father shall immediately assume

5049-656: The Provinces. In the single-province Autonomous Communities, its powers are assumed by the Government Delegate. The holder must have a degree of competence and professional experience, and will be selected from career officials of the State, Autonomous Communities or Local entities, also demanding the title of Doctor, Licensee, Engineer, Architect or equivalent In the islands of Menorca , Ibiza , Formentera , Lanzarote , Fuerteventura , La Palma , El Hierro and La Gomera , there will be an Insular Director of

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5148-612: The Public Administrations that act abroad. The Special Diplomatic Missions temporarily represent the Kingdom of Spain to one or more States, with their consent, for a specific purpose, or to one or more States where there is no permanent Diplomatic Mission or to all States for a special purpose . The Consular Offices are the bodies of the General State Administration in charge of the exercise of consular functions and especially of providing assistance and protection to Spaniards abroad. The Consular Offices shall exercise

5247-492: The Spanish Constitution establishes an exhaustive list of the King's functions, all of which are symbolic and do not reflect the exercise of any political power. The King sanctions and promulgates the laws, which are approved by the Cortes Generales , which the King also symbolically and formally calls and dissolves. The King also calls for periodic elections and for referendums in the cases that are included by

5346-475: The activation of this clause. Although it is not a very common position within the Administration , it has existed the position of Commissioner or High Commissioner, a senior official normally holding the position of Secretary of State or Under Secretary, being entrusted with a specific task. Currently, there are two high commissioners, three special commissioners and two commissioners, all of them with

5445-537: The base element of an organ of political character, as it is the own Government. They are named and separated by the King of Spain on the proposal of the President of the Government of Spain . In the event that the President himself ceases, his ministers will leave the post together with him, something completely logical given that the bond of trust between the legislative branch and the executive branch occurs through

5544-627: The civil and military ranks and employments, and he also grants honors and distinctions according to the laws. The King is also the supreme head of the Armed Forces of Spain, although the effective lead is held by the Government of Spain. Finally, the King holds the High Patronage of all the Royal Academies and other organizations that have a royal patronage. The succession to the Crown is regulated in article 57 which establishes

5643-422: The constitution. A seven-member panel was selected among the elected members of the Cortes to work on a draft of the Constitution to be submitted to the body. These came to be known, as the media put it, as the padres de la Constitución or "fathers of the Constitution". The seven people were chosen to represent the wide (and often, deeply divided) political spectrum within the Spanish Parliament, while

5742-666: The corresponding information to the General Direction, for its departmental superiors. They are the technical bodies of the Ministry, with the rank of General Director. They are under the immediate dependence of the Undersecretary. Their functions are: They are consultation bodies generally composed of a technical secretary and several technicians who support the president, vice president, ministers, Secretaries of State, etc. in their relations with institutions, in making decisions and performing special advisory tasks in

5841-440: The creation of the office in 1834, its functions have evolved from the original supervision of the instruction of the administrative records to the contemporary headquarters of the general and instrumental services of the Department. Their current functions are: The Directorates-General are management departmental bodies and steering bodies, hierarchically inferior to Secretaries of State and Secretaries General. The holder must have

5940-497: The culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy . The current version was approved in 1978, three years after the death of dictator Francisco Franco . There have been dozens of constitutions and constitution-like documents in Spain; however, it is "the first which was not imposed by a party but represented a negotiated compromise among all the major parties". It was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos I on 27 December, before it

6039-424: The doctrine and parliamentary practice said. With this constitutional precept it was intended that the succession of one Government by another does not affect the fundamental continuity of the governmental action or that paralysis or dysfunctions occur in the system as a whole. This need of not leaving a modern state without its central governing body is explained very well in a Supreme Court sentence saying that "It

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6138-519: The due process of law, including the process of habeas corpus . In addition to this, the Prime Minister, the Ombudsman, 50 members of the Congress of Deputies, 50 Senators, and regional governments and legislative assemblies may lodge unconstitutionality appeals before the Constitutional Court . The Constitution dedicates its Part II to the regulation of the monarchy, which is referred to as The Crown ( Spanish : La Corona ). Article 56 of

6237-518: The establishment of a legal dictatorship via constitutional amendment. Furthermore, an individual can request the protection of a justice court if any of these rights are infringed. Individual rights include the right to life (Section 15), freedom of conscience (Section 16), right to freedom and security (Section 17), honour, privacy and inviolability of the home (Section 18), freedom of movement and residence (Section 19), and freedom of speech (Section 20). The list of collective rights include

6336-442: The executive power. Section 54 calls for the creation of an Ombudsman ( Defensor del Pueblo ), accountable to the legislative power, the Cortes Generales . It acts as a supervisor of administrative activity. In addition to this, it has standing before the Constitutional Court to lodge unconstitutionality appeals and individual appeals for protection (recurso de amparo) . Sections 14 to 29 and Section 30, Part 2, enjoy

6435-450: The father, the mother, or a direct ancestor of the King. Parents can be guardian while widowed. If the parent marries again, the parent loses the guardianship, and the Cortes Generales shall appoint a guardian who must comply with the same requirements as to be regent. Article 60 § 2 also establishes that the exercise of the guardianship is also incompatible with the holding of any office or political representation so that no person can be

6534-480: The figure of the President of the Government, in this way, it is logical that if such a link is broken, all the components of the executive fall with him. Along the same lines, the President will be in charge of determining the number and competencies of the Ministries. Regarding the functions of the Minister, they can be divided between those that he serves as a member of the Government , and those he performs as

6633-434: The following operating principles: The Kingdom of Spain is a constitutional monarchy in which executive decisions are made by the Government. More specifically, the Spanish Constitution describes Spain's form of government as monarquía parlamentaria , or parliamentary monarchy, in which the monarch acts as a moderator rather than a source of executory authority. Spain possesses an asymmetric bicameral parliament, called

6732-535: The former sanctioning powers of the Civil Governor, directs integrated territorial services and appoints the Sub-delegate of the Government, which is the figure that properly replaces that of civilian governors. The Sub-delegations of the Government in the Provinces are bodies of the Delegations of the Government that carry out the functions that the Delegate assigned them and represents the Government in

6831-453: The foundations of the Spanish welfare state in accordance with the constitutional mandate for a social state (Section 1) and for effective freedom and equality and societal integration for all citizens and collectives (Section 9, Part 2). It includes provisions for a public pension system , a social security system, public healthcare and cultural rights . Chapter Four includes a series of guarantees for fundamental rights. Section 53 limits

6930-461: The functions attributed to them by the current regulations, International Law and international treaties to which Spain is a party. The Permanent Diplomatic Missions represent the Kingdom of Spain before one or more States with which it has established diplomatic relations. When a Mission represents Spain before several States it will do it in multiple accreditation system and with residence in one of them. The Permanent Representations represent

7029-635: The guardian of the monarch while holding a political office. Part III (Sections 66 to 96) deals with the Cortes Generales , the Spanish legislature. It consists of two chambers: the Congress of Deputies and the Senate of Spain , with the former being privileged above the latter, in contrast with other upper chambers, such as the Italian Senate of the Republic. Government of Spain The government of Spain ( Spanish : Gobierno de España )

7128-468: The holding of general elections, in the event of loss of parliamentary confidence as provided in the Constitution, or on the resignation or death of the President. The outgoing Government shall continue as acting body until the new Government takes office". Between the approval of the Constitution in 1978 and the approval of the Government Act of 1997, there were no explicit limitations to the Government powers while acting as acting government except for what

7227-638: The islands, there exists the Island Director. The Delegations of the Government in the Autonomous communities are administrative bodies whose head is a high position appointed in the discretion of the Government , responding before the Ministry of Public Administration . Has Undersecretary rank. He is in charge of the management of the State Administration in the territory of a certain Autonomous Community . In addition, it assumes

7326-454: The laws or the Constitution. The King also proposes a candidate for Prime Minister, which is probably the King's most 'political' function, as he traditionally holds meetings with the leaders of all the major political parties in order to facilitate the formation of a government. If a candidate is successfully invested by the Parliament, he formally names him Prime Minister of Spain. When a Prime Minister has been named, he also formally names all

7425-467: The leading role was given to then ruling party and now defunct Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD). The members included: The writer (and Senator by Royal appointment) Camilo José Cela later polished the draft Constitution's wording. However, since much of the consensus depended on keeping the wording ambiguous, few of Cela's proposed re-wordings were approved. One of those accepted was

7524-479: The management of the Royal House of Spain; the King can freely hire and fire any employees of the Royal House and he receives an annual amount from the state budget to operate the Royal House, which he freely distributes across the institution. The second one refers to the King's will, which enables him to distribute his material legacy and name tutors for his children, if they are not legal adults. Article 62 of

7623-434: The members of his government, all of which are proposed by the Prime Minister himself. The King has both a right and a duty to be informed of all the state affairs; he is also allowed to preside over the government meetings when the Prime Minister invites him to do so, although he has the ability to reject this invitation. Regarding the Government, the King also formally issues the governmental decrees, as well as bestowing all

7722-503: The most famous places where ministries are located is the gubernatorial complex of New Ministries . The Spanish Government has two main advisory bodies: The General State Budget is considered one of the most important legislations that a Government can pass. According to the Constitution , the Government is the only body that can make the Budget bill , although it is the parliament who must accept it, reject it or propose modifications. If

7821-442: The new constitution. The Spanish Constitution is a written document that takes cues from both older Spanish constitutions and other then-current European constitutions. For example, it contains the provision for a constructive vote of no confidence , which was inspired by German Basic Law . The Constitution is organized in ten parts ( Spanish : Títulos ) and contains an additional introduction ( Spanish : Título Preliminar ),

7920-483: The office of regent and, in the absence of these, the oldest relative of legal age who is nearest in succession to the Crown. Article 59 § 2 establishes that the monarch may be declared incapacitated by Parliament if the monarch becomes unfit for the exercise of authority, in which case the Prince or Princess of Asturias shall assume the regency if they are of age; if not, the previous procedure must be followed. If there

8019-497: The person appointed for it, who does not hold the title of any Ministry, but whose presence in the Council of Ministers is necessary, either because he is a figure of trust for the President , or because it is a government fruit of an alliance between different parties, and for that reason, has to go to this position as a way for the minority party to accede to the Government . The Secretariats of State are departmental superior bodies of management and sectorial management that occupy

8118-442: The political and social order. Chapter One deals with the entitlement of constitutional rights. Section 11 provides for the regulation by statute of Spanish nationality whilst providing for its inalienability for Spaniards. Section 12 establishes the age of majority in Spain at 18. Section 13 limits the entitlement of public freedoms to aliens to the provisions of statutes and international treaties. Legal persons are entitled to

8217-611: The political history of the country: the Laws of 25 October 1839 and 21 July 1876, related to the Basque fuero s and the aftermath of the Carlist Wars , as well as all of the Fundamental Laws of the Realm were repealed. It also supersedes the Law of 4 January 1977, on Political Reform, which was conceived as a temporary mechanism to loosen restrictions on fundamental rights inherited from the Francoist period . Traditionally, writing

8316-476: The preamble to the constitution was considered an honour, and a task requiring great literary ability. The person chosen for this purpose was Enrique Tierno Galván . The full text of the preamble may be translated as follows: The Spanish Nation, wishing to establish justice, liberty and security, and to promote the welfare of all who make part of it, in use of her sovereignty, proclaims its will to: Establish an advanced democratic society, and Consequently,

8415-440: The prime minister is typically elected from the members of Congress, the current prime minister, Pedro Sánchez , was not a member of either chamber for the first year of his premiership. Under the parliamentary system, the Government is required to maintain the confidence of the Congress of Deputies. In the absence of such confidence, the Government may fall or prove unable to pass legislation. There are two procedures to ascertain

8514-496: The principle of human dignity as a foundation of the political order and social peace (Section 10). This can be achieved by means of constitutional reform, jurisprudential developments or the ratification of new international treaties. The effect of fundamental rights is twofold. They are subjective rights to be exercised both individually and collectively. In addition to this, they are a binding principle for all public authorities, which allows for peaceful coexistence and legitimates

8613-537: The quasi-confederal status of tax management in Navarre and the Basque Country to the total centralization in airport management. Part I of the Spanish Constitution encompasses Sections 10 to 55, establishing fundamental rights and duties. The scope of the rights recognised by the text is the largest in Spanish constitutional history. Scholars deem the enumeration open insofar as new rights can be included under

8712-510: The rank of Under-Secretary: Shown here is the official logo of the Government of Spain. On the left are the EU and the Spanish flags and in the centre is the coat of arms of Spain and the words Gobierno de España (in English: "Government of Spain"). The ministries ’ logos consist of additional yellow rectangles added to the right of the Government's logo, which read the name of the ministry in

8811-588: The regulation of all rights in Chapter Two and Chapter Three to statutory law , which excludes administrative regulation ( reglamentos ). These statutes must respect the essential content of said rights. The fundamental rights and public freedoms included in Section One of Chapter Two can be invoked directly, and they ought to be regulated by means of Organic Law (which ensures greater political consensus). The creation of this statute cannot be delegated to

8910-476: The right to a preferential and summary procedure in the ordinary courts. Once this procedure is exhausted, citizens may lodge an individual appeal for protection (recurso de amparo) , a last instance unique to Spanish constitutional law and created in 1978 that, once exhausted, allows for an appeal before the European Court of Human Rights . This scope of additional protection reinforces the guarantees of

9009-573: The same sense, the monarch is normally invited to the first Council of Ministers of every new government (and others if the prime ministers wants to) and to the meetings of bodies such as the National Security Council or the National Defence Council. The Royal prerogatives are: To see the current members, see Council of Ministers . According to Article 98 of the Spanish Constitution and Article 1.2 of

9108-436: The signing of international treaties, to declaring war and making peace or to dissolving the parliament. However, with the arrival of democracy, these prerogatives have been regulated and most of them must be countersigned by an official. Although the monarch is not part of the executive power, the prime minister has weekly meetings with him to inform him about the Government's activity and the King can express his opinion. In

9207-472: The status of official of the State. With respect to their functions, as indicated in Article 18 of Law 6/1997, the General Director will be in touch with the bureaucratic apparatus of the State, acting as a manager of a determined area. It will be the one who proposes the projects referred to its corresponding sector, and also, will be in charge of directing and supervising their execution, all with

9306-406: The substitution of the archaic gualda (" weld -colored") for the plain amarillo (yellow) in the description of the flag of Spain . The constitution was approved by the Cortes Generales on 31 October 1978, and by the Spanish people in a referendum on 6 December 1978. 91.81% of voters supported the new constitution. Finally, it was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos on 27 December in

9405-533: The superior level in the hierarchy of intermediate commands between the Minister and the official apparatus, above the General Director and of the General Secretary. When it is a position of strict political trust, his appointment is free, as is his removal. Contrary to what happens with the Ministers, the Secretaries of State do not fall with the President if he ceases. The Secretary of State is what

9504-408: The transfer of powers to it and limit its duties to the ordinary office of public affairs, abstaining from adopting, except in cases of urgency duly accredited or for reasons of general interest whose accreditation expressly justifies it, any other measures". This article also establishes explicit limitations on the Prime Minister , preventing him from "proposing to the King the dissolution of any of

9603-575: Was exercised for the first time of the current democratic period in 2014 when King Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of his son. The Organic Act 3/2014 made effective the abdication of the King. A Royal decree of the same year also modified the Royal Decree of 1987 which establishes the titles of the Royal family and the Regents and arranged that the outgoing King and Queen shall conserve their titles. And

9702-490: Was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (the government gazette of Spain) on 29 December, the date on which it became effective. The promulgation of the constitution marked the climax of the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of general Franco, on 20 November 1975, who ruled over Spain as a military dictator for nearly 40 years. This led to the country undergoing a complex process that included

9801-409: Was replaced by the 2015 law stated. The Ministers are the holders of a Ministry , being the hierarchically superior head of the branch in question. They perform the function of axis between their respective ministerial department and the own organ of Government , of which they are part. In this way, they are the head of a certain sector of the administrative apparatus, and at the same time, they are

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