Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations - New York ...

I. COUNTRY PROFILE (Civil Law)
SPAIN
España (Kingdom of Spain)
Spain is a parliamentary monarchy comprised of seventeen autonomous communities
(comunidades autonomas) and two autonomous cities (ciudades autonomas). Spain’s official
national language is Castilian Spanish, while Catalan, Galician, and Basque are official in
particular regions. Spain’s legal system is based on the civil law tradition. It is a Member State
of the European Union.
The Spanish Constitution, which took effect on December 29, 1978, establishes the form
of government. Executive power is vested in the Monarch, who is the head of state, but whose
role is primarily ceremonial. The monarchy is hereditary. Executive power is exercised
primarily by the President (Presidente), who is the head of Government, with the advice of the
Council of Ministers (Consejo de Ministros). The President is nominated by the Monarch and
elected by the National Assembly. Generally, the Monarch nominates the leader of the party or
parties who form a majority of the National Assembly. The First and Second Vice President are
nominated by the President and appointed by the Monarch. Members of the Council of Ministers
are appointed by the President. Finally, the Council of State (Consejo del Estado) is the supreme
consultative organ of the government, although its recommendations are nonbinding.
Legislative power is vested in the bicameral National Assembly (Cortes Generales),
which consists of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) and the Senate
(Senado). The 350 Members of the Congress of Deputies are elected by the people on the basis
of proportional representation. 208 of the 259 Members of the Senate are directly elected by the
people, while the remaining fifty-one Members are appointed by the regional legislatures.
Members of both houses serve four-year terms. All legislation is introduced in the Congress of
Deputies, although it may be initiated by the leader of the Senate. The Senate has the power to
amend or veto legislation initiated by the Congress of Deputies. Once passed by the National
Assembly, legislation must be promulgated by the King in order to become law.
Judicial power is vested in the courts, which are administered by the General Council of
Judicial Power (Consejo General del Poder Judicial). The Constitutional Court (Tribunal
Constitutional) is the highest court for constitutional matters. For all other subject matters, the
Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) is the highest court. The National Audience (Audiencia
Nacional) has jurisdiction to hear matters of national interest, such as extradition proceedings or
crimes against the Crown.
Lower civil courts include Justices of the Peace (Juzgado de Paz), which hear very minor
claims, and Courts of First Instance (Juzgado de Primera Instancia), which hear most civil
claims in the first instance. Criminal matters are investigated by the Investigating Magistrate
(Juzgado de Instrucción) and decided in the first instance by the Criminal Court (Juzgado de la
Penal). The Provincial Audiences (Audiencia Provincial) hear appeals from decisions of both
the Juzgado de Paz and the Juzgado de Primera Instancia. Appeals from decisions of the
Provincial Audiences are heard by the Supreme Court. Specialized courts include the
Administrative Courts (Juzgado de lo Contencioso-Administrativo) and Labor Courts (Juzgado
de lo Social).
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