Constitutional Court of Spain

The Constitutional Court is authorized to rule on the constitutionality of laws, acts, or regulations set forth by the national or the regional parliaments.[6] 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.[6] 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".[3][6] Only individuals directly affected can make this appeal, called a recurso de amparo, and they can do this only after exhausting judicial appeals.[6] Public officials, specifically "the President of the Government, the Defender of the People, fifty Members of Congress, fifty Senators, the Executive body of an Autonomous Community and, where applicable, its Assembly",[7] 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.[3]

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.[6] 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.[6]The decisions of the Constitutional Court cannot be appealed by anyone.[3][8]

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;[6] all are formally appointed by the King.[3] 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,"[9] 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.[10]

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 secretary-general, that is the responsible for overseeing the staff of the court.[3]

Current magistrates

The Constitutional Court consists of a president, currently Pedro González-Trevijano, the vice president, currently Juan Antonio Xiol Ríos and ten magistrates (whom can be judges or jurists with relevant experience).

Magistrate / birthdate and place		Nominated by	Start date / length of service	Previous position or office (most recent prior to joining the Court)	Age at		Notes
					Election	Present
	Juan Ramón Sáez Valcárcel 1957 Madrid	14th Congress of Deputies	November 18, 2021 162 days	Magistrate of the Criminal Law Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional (2007–2021)[11]	64	65	To be replaced in 2030
	Enrique Arnaldo Alcubilla 1957 Madrid	14th Congress of Deputies	November 18, 2021 162 days	Professor of Constittuional Law at the King Juan Carlos University (?–2021)	64	65	To be replaced in 2030
	Concepción Espejel September 15, 1959 Madrid	14th Congress of Deputies	November 18, 2021 162 days	Chair of the Criminal Law Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional (2017–2021)	62	62	To be replaced in 2030
	Inmaculada Montalbán Huertas November 26, 1959 Iznalloz	14th Congress of Deputies	November 18, 2021 162 days	Magistrate of the Administrative Law Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, Ceuta and Melilla (2013–2021)	61	62	To be replaced in 2030
	Santiago Martínez-Vares García March 7, 1942 Santander	General Council of the Judiciary	June 13, 2013 8 years, 320 days	Chair of the Administrative Law Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia (1995–2013)	71	80	To be replaced in 2022
	Juan Antonio Xiol Ríos September 24, 1946 Barcelona	General Council of the Judiciary	June 13, 2013 8 years, 320 days	Chair of the Civil Law Chamber of the Supreme Court (2005–2013)	66	75	To be replaced in 2022
	Pedro González-Trevijano March 13, 1958 Madrid	Government (Rajoy I government)	June 13, 2013 8 years, 320 days	Rector of the King Juan Carlos University (2002–2013)	55	64	To be replaced in 2022
	Ricardo Enríquez Sancho 1944 Madrid	X Senate	March 18, 2014 8 years, 42 days	Member of the Governing Council of the Supreme Court (2004–2014)	69/70	78	To be replaced in 2022
	Antonio Narváez Rodríguez February 23, 1958 Badajoz	Government (Rajoy I government)	July 9, 2014 7 years, 294 days	Lieutenant Attorney of the Supreme Court (2013–2014)	56	64	To be replaced in 2026
	Alfredo Montoya Melgar September 25, 1937 Madrid	XII Senate	March 11, 2017 5 years, 49 days	Retired Professor of Labour and Social Security Law	79	84	To be replaced in 2026
	Cándido Conde-Pumpido September 22, 1949 La Coruña	XII Senate	March 11, 2017 5 years, 49 days	Magistrate of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court (2012–2017)	67	72	To be replaced in 2026
	María Luis Balaguer Callejón 1953 Almería	XII Senate	March 11, 2017 5 years, 49 days	Professor of Constittuional Law at the University of Malaga (1999–2017) and Member of the Consultative Council of Andalusia (2005–2017)	63/64	69	To be replaced in 2026

In 2005, the court ruled that the Spanish judicial system could handle cases concerning crimes against humanity, such as genocide, regardless of whether Spanish citizens were involved or directly affected.[12] In this instance, it reversed the decision made by the Supreme Court in the same case, which held that such cases could be brought before Spanish courts only if a Spanish victim was involved.[13]

In 2005, a challenge before the Court was presented denouncing the Same-sex Marriage Act of 2005 arguing that the Constitution says that «men and women have the right to marry with full legal equality» and this didn't allow same-sex marriages. In 2012, after seven years of study, the Court rule that the Constitution allows same-sex marriages because the social concept of marriage had evolved so the Constitution must to be interpreted according to the current cultural values.[14][15]

A controversial decision in 2010 declaring unconstitutional few articles of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia has been a source of much controversy and conflict since then, with some arguing that the judgement was illegitimate due to the removal of a judge and three more judges having their terms expired.[16]

In 2017, the court ordered those responsible for the referendum on November 9, 2014 to pay 5 million euros.[17] In addition, social agents from Spain have demanded that the distribution of public funds in the Catalan press should be audited.[18]

• Austrian System
• Judiciary
• Rule of law
• Rule according to higher law

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Part IX of the Spanish Constitution

• Official website