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Type a law, a topic, a person or a province.

What it is

Proposal to remove the crime of insulting the Crown

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Unfinished

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 19 January 2012. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario de IU, ICV-EUiA, CHA: La Izquierda Plural.

Official title: Private member's bill for an Organic Law amending the Penal Code to decriminalize insults against the Crown.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000039· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The bill would remove section 3 of Article 490 of the Criminal Code, which punishes insults against the King.
  2. It would also delete Article 491, which punished insults against other people linked to the Crown.
  3. The authors argue that criminal protection of the Crown's prestige is disproportionate and clashes with freedom of expression. They note that the crime of contempt of authorities was already removed.
  4. If passed, the law would take effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette.

Who it affects

  • The King and people linked to the Crown: They would no longer have special criminal protection against insults, though they would still be protected by ordinary honor crimes.
  • Anyone who criticizes the Crown: They could no longer be criminally punished for insulting the Crown.
  • Judges and courts: They would no longer be able to try or punish these acts as the crime of insulting the Crown.

Words worth knowing

Injuria
Insulting or seriously harming someone's honor or reputation.
Desacato
A crime that punished insulting or disrespecting authorities and public officials.
Proposición de ley
A bill introduced by members of the Spanish Parliament (Congreso de los Diputados or Senado) for debate and a vote. It is not a law until passed.
Ley Orgánica
An organic law, a type of Spanish law reserved for major matters such as fundamental rights, which requires a special majority to pass.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.

  1. Introduced19 January 2012Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted31 January 2012The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 6 official steps on a timeline
Dec 2012Dec 2013Dec 201411. 19 January 2012: Presentación22. 31 January 2012: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 31/01/2012 hasta 03/02/201233. 31 January 2012: Calificación44. 3 February 2012: Gobierno Contestación desde 03/02/2012 hasta 10/03/201255. 10 March 2012: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 10/03/2012 hasta 27/10/201566. 27 October 2015: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 27/10/2015 hasta 20/11/2015

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.

It has not been presented again yet.

Presented before in:

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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