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Spain The 1978 Constitution
The Constitution proclaims Spain to be a social and
democratic state governed by law and declares liberty,
justice,
equality, and political pluralism to be the country's
foremost
values. National sovereignty resides in the people, from
whom all
powers of the state emanate. The new Constitution defines
Spain
as a parliamentary monarchy, with the king as head of
state and
symbol of its unity and permanence. It establishes a
bicameral
legislature, the Cortes, and an independent judicial
system
(see Government
, this ch.).
The Constitution delineates the role of political
parties and
requires that they adhere to democratic structures and
procedures. It provides for universal suffrage at the age
of
eighteen and abolishes the death penalty, except under
military
law in time of war.
The longest section of the Constitution sets forth the
basic
civil, political, and socioeconomic rights of citizens,
all of
whom are equal before the law, regardless of birth, race,
sex, or
religion. They are protected against unlawful arrests,
searches,
seizures, and other invasions of privacy. If accused of a
crime,
they are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and they
have the
right to a legally appointed judge, a solicitor, and a
public
trial without delay. The Constitution guarantees the
freedoms of
religion, assembly, and association, and it stipulates
that
citizens may make individual or collective petitions in
writing
to the government.
Individual liberties are further strengthened by
constitutional provisions recognizing the right to
organize trade
unions, to join them or to refrain from joining them, and
to
strike. The Constitution links the right to work with the
duty to
work, and it calls for sufficient remuneration to meet
individual
and family needs, without discrimination as to sex. It
also
guarantees adequate pensions for the elderly, protection
of the
handicapped, and decent housing, and it ascribes to the
state a
fundamental role with regard to the organization and
protection
of health care and welfare.
The Constitution declares that the rights and the
liberties
described therein are binding on all public authorities. A
provision exists (Article 55) for the suspension of these
rights
and liberties, but this can be used only under strictly
regulated
circumstances.
The Constitution includes significant provisions
pertaining
to the armed forces and to the Roman Catholic Church, two
institutions that have played dominant roles in Spain's
political
history. The framers of the new document sought to reduce
the
influence of these historically powerful institutions,
and, at
the same time, tried not to alienate them to the point
that they
might become sources of opposition. The role of each of
these
traditional institutions is clearly defined and is
strictly
limited in the new Constitution. While assigning to the
army the
role of safeguarding the sovereignty and independence of
Spain
and of defending its territorial integrity and
constitutional
order, the Constitution emphasizes that ultimate
responsibility
for Spain's defense rests with its popularly elected
government,
not with the armed forces
(see Jurisdiction Over National Defense
, ch. 5).
The role of the Roman Catholic Church also is reduced
in the
1978 Constitution, which denies Catholicism the status of
state
religion. The provisions of the new Constitution with
regard to
the church are, however, not as stridently secular as
those of
the 1931 constitution, which so antagonized the
conservative
elements of Spanish society. The 1978 document guarantees
complete religious freedom and declares that there will be
no
state religion, but it also affirms that public
authorities are
to take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish
society and
that they are to maintain cooperative relations with the
Roman
Catholic Church and with other religions
(see Religion
, ch. 2).
Religion was also a factor in the formulation of
constitutional provisions concerning education. There was
considerable controversy over the issue of providing
private
schools with public funds, because in Spain most private
schools
are run by the church or by the religious orders. The
Constitution guarantees freedom of education and calls for
the
government to provide some financial assistance to private
schools. It further stipulates that children in state
schools may
receive religious teaching, if their parents so desire. At
the
same time, the Constitution gives the government the
authority to
inspect and to license the schools, thus granting it some
control
over the institutions it subsidizes. Conflicts over this
issue of
state control led to the passage in 1984 of the Organic
Law on
the Right to Education (Ley Organica del Derecho a la
Educacion--
LODE), which established three categories of schools and
set
forth conditions to be met by private institutions
receiving
financial aid from the government
(see Education
, ch. 2).
Along with constitutional provisions pertaining to
education
and to the church, those dealing with regional issues were
sources of bitter controversy. Historical tensions between
the
center and the periphery in Spain made it difficult for
the
framers of the Constitution to reach agreement on matters
of
regional autonomy. The compromise that they eventually
reached
was unsatisfactory to extremist elements on both sides of
the
issue, and the terrorist movement that grew out of this
controversy continues to be the major threat to Spain's
stability
(see Political Developments, 1982-88
, this ch.).
The new Constitution seeks to recognize, and to respond
to,
deep-seated cultural differences among the existing
nationalities
by allowing for substantial regional autonomy, in contrast
to the
stifling centralism imposed by Franco. Although it affirms
the
indissoluble unity of the nation, it also grants a greater
degree
of autonomy to Spain's nationalities and regions, which
are
allowed to use their own languages and flags without
interference
(see Regional Government
, this ch.).
Data as of December 1988
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