4.2. The Constitution

Spain is a democratic state in Europe. The fundamental law of the Spanish state is the Constitution.

Democracy means that:

• Everybody has the same rights and obligations. For example, we are all free to express our ideas, but we have to obey the law.
• We are all equal in the eyes of the law, whatever our gender, race or religion.
• Power resides with the people, who freely elect those who govern them.

In Spain, the head of state is the monarch.

The Constitution

It is the most important law in Spain. It was approved on 6th December 1978. It defines the organization os Spanish territory, the organisation of the government and the rights and responsabilities of citizens.
The Constitution establishes the system of government in Spain:

• Spain is a parliamentary monarchy, which means the king is head of state, but he does not govern.
• It is a democracy. This means that those in power must obey the law like any other citizen.
• The state has an obligation to guarantee the wellbeing of its citizens (through the welfare state).

The Constitution is organized in ten parts:

• Part I refers to fundamental rights and duties, which receive special treatment and protection under Spanish law. 
• Part II refers to the regulation of the Crown.
• Part III elaborates on Spain's legislature, the Cortes Generales. 
• Part IV refers to the Government of Spain, the executive power, and the Public Administration.
• Part V refers to the relations between the Government and the Cortes Generales; as a parliamentary monarchy, the Prime Minister is invested by the legislature and the Government is responsible before the legislature. 
• Part VI refers to the organization of the judicial power.
• Part VII refers to the principles that shall guide the economy and the finances of the Spanish state.
• Part VIII refers to the "territorial organization of the State" and establishes a unitary state that is nevertheless decentralized. This is referred to as an autonomous state or state of the autonomies (Estado de las Autonomías). 
• Part IX refers to the Constitutional Court, which oversees the constitutionality of all laws and protects the fundamental rights in Part I. 
• Part X refers to constitutional amendments.

English version of the Constitution

⇨What are the fundamental rights? Write three of these rights.

Rights and responsibilities of citizens.

The Constitution defines rights and responsibilities that all Spanish citizens should respect.

We have the obligation to...