Law for Political Reform

LAW FOR POLITICAL REFORM
of 4th January, 1977

The Bill of the Law for Political Reform, with the quality of Fundamental Law, adopted by the Spanish Cortes in plenary session of 18th November, 1976, having been submitted to the consultation of the Nation and ratified ⁠by a majority of the votes in the national Referendum held on 15th December, 1976,

I resolve:

Article One

1. Democracy in the Spanish State is based on the supremacy of Law, the expression of the sovereign will of the people.

The fundamental rights of the person are inviolable and are binding upon all the organs of the state.

2. The power to prepare and approve laws rests in the Cortes. The king sanctions and promulgates the laws.

Article Two

1. The Cortes is composed of the Congress of Deputies and of the Senate.

2. The Deputies of the Congress will be elected by direct and secret universal suffrage of Spaniards who have reached their majority.

3. Senators will be elected in representation of the Territorial entities. The King will be able to designate for each legislatures Senators in a number not greater than the fifth part of those elected.

4. The duration of the mandate of Deputies and Senators will be four years.

5. The Congress and the Senate will establish their own Rules and elect their respective Presidents.

6. The President of the Cortes and of the Council of the Realm will be named by the King.

Article Three

1. The initiative for constitutional reform will correspond:

a) to the Government.

b) to the Congress of Deputies.

2. Any constitutional reform will require the approval by absolute majority of the members of the Congress and of the Senate. The Senate will consider the text previously approved by the Congress, and if it is not accepted in the same terms, the differences will be submitted to a Mixed Commission, under the presidency of he who holds that of the Cortes, and of which will form part the Presidents of the Congress and of the Senate, four Deputies and four Senators, elected by their respective chambers. If this commission does not reach agreement or if the terms of the agreement do not obtain the approval of one and the other chamber, the decision will be adopted by absolute majority of the components of the Cortes in joint session of both chambers.

3. The King, before approving a Constitutional Reform Law, shall submit the Bill to a National referendum.

Article Four

In the handling of ordinary Bills, the Senate will consider the texts previously approved by the Congress. In the case that it is not accepted in the same terms, the differences will be submitted to a Mixed Commission, composed in the same way as is established in the previous article.

If this Commission does not reach agreement or if the terms of the agreement do not obtain the approval, by simple majority, of one and the other Chamber, the Government will be able to request the Congress of Deputies to resolve (the matter) definitively by absolute majority of its members.

Article Five

The King will be able to submit directly to the people a political option of national interest, whether or not of a constitutional nature, so that they may decide by means of a referendum, the result of which will apply to all organs of the State.

If the subject of the consultations refers to material within the competence of the Cortes and the Cortes does not take the corresponding decision in agreement with the results of the referendum, the Cortes will be dissolved, and new elections will be called.

TRANSITORY DISPOSITIONS

First

The Government will regulate the first elections to the Cortes in order to constitute a Congress of 350 Deputies and elect 207 Senators, four for each province and one more for each insular province, two for Ceuta and two for Melilla. The Senators will be elected by direct and secret universal suffrage of Spaniards who have reached their majority who reside in their respective territories.

The elections to the Congress will follow criteria of proportional representation in accordance with the following bases:

1.—Corrective dispositions will be applied to avoid the unsuitable (inconveiente) fragmentation of the chamber to which effect minimum percentage of vote for access to the Congress will be fixed.

2.—The electoral district (circunscripción) will be the province, an initial minimum number of Deputies being fixed for each one of them.

The elections to the Senate will follow criteria of majority scrutiny.

Second

Once the new Cortes is constituted:

1. A Commission composed of the the Presidents of the Cortes, of the Congress of Deputies and of the Senate, of four Deputies elected by the Congress and four Senators elected by the Senate, will assume the functions which Article Thirteen of the Law of the Cortes gives to the Commission which it mentions.

2. Each Chamber will establish a Commission to assume the other functions given to the Commission contemplated in Article Twelve of the Law of the Cortes.

3. Each Chamber will elect from among its members five Councilors of the Realm to govern the vacancies produced by the cessations of the current elective Councilors.

Third

Beginning with the establishment of the new Cortes and until each Chamber establishes its own rules it will be ruled by those of the current Cortes insofar as they do not contradict this Law, without prejudice to the ability to agree on, in an immediate way, the partial modifications which may become necessary or be considered useful.

FINAL DISPOSITIONS

This Law will have the quality of Fundamental Law.

Given in Madrid on the fourth day of January nineteen hundred and seventy-seven.

JUAN CARLOS

Witnessed by:
TORCUATO FERNÁNDEZ-MIRANDA Y HEVIA
President of the Spanish Cortes