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What it is

How Spain organizes its military justice system

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 9 October 1986. Introduced by: GOBIERNO.

Official title: Organic Government bill on the competence and organization of the Military Jurisdiction.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000011· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. Military jurisdiction is part of the state's Judiciary and, in peacetime, hears crimes under the Military Penal Code, military discipline matters and other strictly military issues. Command bodies lose the power to judge, which is reserved to military judicial bodies.
  2. A Military Chamber is created within the Supreme Court, with eight members: half from the judicial career and half from the Legal Corps of the Armed Forces. It hears appeals for cassation and review, and cases against senior military officials.
  3. Ordinary military justice is organized into the Central Military Court, based in Madrid, the Territorial Military Courts and the Togado Military Courts, which handle the investigation stage. Court panels are completed with military members drawn by lot from annual lists.
  4. The Legal-Military Prosecutor's Office becomes dependent on the Attorney General and is integrated into the Public Prosecutor's service. Its bodies are the Togado Prosecutor's Office, that of the Central Military Court and those of the Territorial Courts.
  5. The right to a lawyer is guaranteed and, in general, private prosecution and civil action are allowed, except when the injured party and the accused are military personnel in a relationship of subordination. Senior Military Commanders designated by Royal Decree may file cassation appeals to defend discipline.
  6. In wartime, the jurisdiction of military courts expands and the rules are loosened: commanders may appoint military judges from among their subordinates, and private prosecution and civil plaintiffs are not admitted. The law enters into force on May 1, 1988.

Who it affects

  • Career military personnel and members of the Armed Forces.: They are subject to a professionalized military court system, with togado judges and drawn military members.
  • Members of the Legal Corps of the Armed Forces.: They take on the judicial, prosecutorial and court clerk functions within military jurisdiction.
  • People harmed by crimes under military jurisdiction.: They may act as private prosecutors or bring civil claims, unless they are subordinate to the accused service member.
  • Senior Military Commanders.: They receive special standing to file cassation appeals in defense of discipline.
  • General Council of the Judiciary (Consejo General del Poder Judicial).: It inspects all military jurisdiction bodies and imposes sanctions for the most serious offenses.

Words worth knowing

Jurisdicción militar (military jurisdiction)
The set of military courts and judges that hear matters belonging to the Armed Forces.
Fuero (special forum)
The privilege of being tried by a specific court based on one's rank or office.
Casación (cassation appeal)
A special appeal asking the Supreme Court to review a ruling for legal errors, not to retry the case.
Cuerpos Jurídicos de los Ejércitos (Legal Corps of the Armed Forces)
Military officers with law degrees who serve as legal advisers, judges or prosecutors in the military field.
Estado de sitio (state of siege)
An exceptional declaration under the Spanish Constitution that changes the distribution of powers in serious situations.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. 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 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced9 October 1986Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted14 October 1986The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsno dateGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeeno dateA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senateno dateThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEno dateIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 2 official steps on a timeline
Oct 198611. 9 October 1986: Presentación22. 14 October 1986: Calificación

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?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Organic Law 4/1987, of July 15, on the Competence and Organization of the Military Jurisdiction.

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.

Read the full method · Report an error