Spain

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Introduction

Country's recent history

Spain consists of most of the Iberian peninsula, plus the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and two North African enclaves.

Spain's modern history is marked by the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, and the 36-year dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

After Franco’s death in November 1975, a new Constitution was approved in 1978, the monarchy restored and political and social transition achieved. The peaceful transition from a highly centralized, dictatorial regime to a pluralistic, liberal democracy showed a remarkable political sophistication and a determination. With the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 (Spanish Constitution or SC) Spain became a Social and Democratic State ruled by law and a Parliamentary Monarchy with King Juan Carlos I as Chief of State.

The Spanish Constitution enshrines respect for linguistic and cultural diversity within Spain. The country is divided into 17 regions which all have their own directly elected authorities. The level of autonomy afforded to each region is far from uniform. The country's regional picture is a complex and evolving one. Spain became part of the European Union (former European Economic Community) on 1 January 1986, at the same time as Portugal. This resulted in economic growth and Spain had the highest growth rate in the European Union for 5 consecutive years. One of Spain's most serious domestic issues has been tension in the northern Basque region. A violent campaign by the armed Basque separatist group ETA has led to nearly 850 deaths over the past four decades. After several stalled cease-fires, in 2012 it announced that it was ready to disband.

Until 2008, the Spanish economy was one of the most dynamic within the EU. However, the main pillars of the economy were tourism and a booming housing market and construction industry. That is why the global economic crisis of 2008-9 hit the country so hard.

The bursting of the housing bubble took Spain into a severe recession and by the end of 2011 the country had an unemployment rate of nearly 23%. By the spring of 2013 this had risen still further, to 27.2%.

Austerity measures were imposed by the government in an effort to reduce the level of public debt.

Type of system

In the context of contemporary legal systems, the Spanish legal system belongs to the continental and civil law group.

This model has the following characteristics:

  • (i) There is a separation between the public and private sector in the legal system. Inside these two groups, smaller areas of law can be found: constitutional, criminal, administrative, tax, civil, commercial, labor law and litigation.
  • (ii) Supremacy of written law over customary or general principles of law.
  • (iii) Hierarchical organization of courts due to the two-tier appeal system.

Courts’ organization

The courts and judiciary are regulated by Title VI of the Spanish Constitution.

  • (i) Territorial organization

According to Organic Law 6/1985 1 July, which regulates the courts and the Judiciary, the Justice Administration is organized territorially in municipalities, judicial districts (partidos judiciales), provinces and autonomic regions. The following courts exercise their jurisdiction in this territorial manner: Court of Peace (Juzgados de Paz); Court of First Instance and Preliminary Investigations (Juzgados de Primera Instancia e Instrucción); Administrative Court (Juzgados de lo Contencioso-Administrativo); Labor Court (Juzgados de lo Social); Penitentiary surveillance and Minors Court (Juzgados de Vigilancia Penitenciaria y de Menores); Provincial Audience (Audiencias Provinciales); and Superior Court of Justice (Tribunales Superiores de Justicia). The following courts have national jurisdiction: the National Audience (Audiencia Nacional); the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo); the Central Court for Preliminary Investigation (Juzgados Centrales de Instrucción); and Central Administrative Court (Juzgados Centrales de los Contencioso-Administrativo).

  • (ii) Single judge or a judicial panel

All the courts and judicial bodies are formed by a single judge except for the Supreme Court, National Audience, the Superior Courts of Justice and the Provincial Audiences which each have a judicial panel.

  • (iii) Organization according to the matter in dispute

There are four jurisdictional areas according to the matter of the dispute at stake: civil, administrative, labor and criminal.

  • (iv) Hierarchy

Where a matter is heard in a lower court, there is a right of appeal to a higher court.



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