How Spain organizes its national defense and armed forces

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The law regulates national defense and the bases of military organization. Defense policy protects Spanish society, the Constitution and Spain's territorial integrity, and helps preserve international peace.
2. The Prime Minister directs defense policy, manages crises and directs military operations. The Minister of Defense carries it out, and the National Defense Council is created as an advisory and coordinating body.
3. The Congress of Deputies authorizes armed forces missions abroad when they are not directly linked to Spain's defense, and the Government must report on them periodically, never more than a year apart.
4. The armed forces are conceived as a single entity made up of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. A distinction is drawn between the organic structure, which prepares the force, and the operational structure, which employs it under the Chief of the Defense Staff.
5. The law lists the armed forces' missions: guaranteeing sovereignty, contributing to peace and humanitarian aid, and acting in disasters or evacuations of Spanish residents abroad. Foreign missions must meet conditions such as respecting the United Nations Charter.
6. The Civil Guard depends on the Minister of the Interior and on the Minister of Defense for military missions. The role of reservists is strengthened, and the 1980 defense law and the military service law are repealed. Within three months the Government must send Congress a bill on the fundamental rights of professional soldiers.

Who it affects

• The Spanish armed forces: They are reorganized as a single entity, with separate organic and operational structures and newly defined missions.
• The Government and the Prime Minister: They hold the direction of defense and must consult Congress and report on foreign missions.
• The Congress of Deputies: It gains a bigger role: it authorizes missions abroad and receives periodic reports on them.
• The Civil Guard (Guardia Civil): It is defined as an armed military institute, under both the Interior and Defense ministries.
• Citizens: They can join the armed forces as reservists, and foreign missions must meet legal conditions.

Words worth knowing

Ley orgánica (organic law)

A type of Spanish law reserved for major matters, such as fundamental rights, requiring a special vote in Congress.

Jefe de Estado Mayor de la Defensa (Chief of the Defense Staff)

The highest-ranking military officer, who commands the operational structure of the armed forces and advises the Government.

Reservistas (reservists)

Civilians who commit to serving in the armed forces part time or when needed.

Estado de sitio (state of siege)

An exceptional measure declared by Congress in serious cases, such as invasion, which suspends some normal rights.

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