Proposal to remove powers added to the Constitutional Court in 2015

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill would return the Constitutional Court's governing law to how it stood before the 2015 reforms, which created the prior constitutionality review and new mechanisms to enforce the Court's rulings.
2. The text criticizes the prior constitutionality review of Statutes of Autonomy bills: it says it works as a political veto not provided for in the Constitution and politicizes the Court.
3. It also criticizes the 2015 enforcement mechanisms, such as suspending authorities or public employees or handing enforcement to the Government, because it sees them as disguised sanctions that break the balance of powers.
4. The bill would remove the prior constitutionality review and the title of the law governing the reinforced enforcement of the Court's rulings, as well as Article 79.
5. It restores the earlier wording of several articles: the Court may impose coercive fines of €600 to €3,000 on anyone who fails to comply with its orders, and all public powers must comply with its rulings, with preferent judicial assistance from the courts.
6. The law would enter into force the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette.

Who it affects

• The Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional): It would lose the prior constitutionality review and the reinforced enforcement mechanisms for its rulings.
• The Spanish Parliament and regional parliaments: Prior review of Statutes of Autonomy reform bills would be removed.
• Authorities and public employees: They could no longer be suspended by the Court as an enforcement measure, though they could still face coercive fines for non-compliance.
• The Government: It would lose the possibility of being entrusted by the Court with substitute enforcement of its rulings.

Words worth knowing

Recurso previo de inconstitucionalidad

Prior constitutionality review: allows an organic bill to be brought before the Constitutional Court before it is passed, to check whether it fits the Constitution.

Estatuto de Autonomía

Statute of Autonomy: the basic law of each Spanish autonomous community, passed by Parliament and ratified by referendum.

Multas coercitivas

Coercive fines: repeatable fines meant to pressure someone into complying with an order, not to punish a crime.

Auxilio jurisdiccional

Judicial assistance: help that courts provide to another body to carry out its decisions.

Aforamiento

Special legal protection for certain officials, who can only be tried by specific courts.

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