| SPAIN Kingdom of Spain Reino de Espana Joined United Nations: 14 December 1955 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 28 December 2012 |
Title I Basic Rights and Duties
[Chapter 0 General Provision]
Article 10 [Human Dignity, Human Rights]
(1) The dignity of the person, the inviolable rights which are inherent, the free development of the personality, respect for the law and the
rights of others, are the foundation of political order and social peace.
(2) The norms relative to basic rights and liberties which are recognized by the Constitution shall be interpreted in conformity with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international treaties and agreements on those matters ratified by Spain.
Chapter I Spaniards and Aliens
Article 11 [Spanish Nationality]
(1) Spanish nationality is acquired, preserved, and lost in accordance with provisions established by law.
(2) No one of Spanish birth may be deprived of his nationality.
(3) The State may make dual nationality treaties with the
Ibero-American countries and with those which may have had, or have, a special bond with Spain. In these countries, even when they do
not grant their own citizens a reciprocal right, Spaniards may become naturalized without losing their nationality of origin.
Article 12 [Majority]
Spaniards become adults at 18 years of age.
Article 13 [Aliens, Extradition, Asylum]
(1) Aliens in Spain may enjoy the public freedoms guaranteed by the present Title under the terms which treaties or laws may establish.
(2) Only Spaniards shall have the rights recognized in Article 23 except that which in keeping with the criteria of reciprocity may be
established by treaty or law for the right to active and passive suffrage in municipal elections.
(3) Extradition will only be granted in compliance with a treaty or the law in keeping with the principle of reciprocity. Excluded from
extradition are political crimes and acts of terrorism not being considered as such.
(4) The law shall establish the terms under which citizens of other countries and stateless persons may enjoy the right to asylum in Spain.
Chapter II Rights and Freedoms
[Section 0 General Provision]
Article 14 [Equality]
Spaniards are equal before the law, without any discrimination for reasons of birth, race, sex, religion, opinion, or any other personal or
social condition or circumstance.
Section 1 Basic Rights, Public Liberties
Article 15 [Life, Personal Integrity, No Death Penalty]
Everyone has the right to life and physical and moral integrity and in no case may be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading
punishment or treatment. The death penalty is abolished except in those cases which may be established by military penal law in times of
war.
Article 16 [Religion, Belief, No State Church]
(1) Freedom of ideology, religion, and cult of individuals and communities is guaranteed without any limitation in their demonstrations
other than that which is necessary for the maintenance of public order protected by law.
(2) No one may be obliged to make a declaration on his ideology, religion, or beliefs.
(3) No religion shall have a state character. The public powers shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and maintain
the appropriate relations of cooperation, with the Catholic Church and other denominations.
Article 17 [Personal Liberty]
(1) Every person has the right to liberty and security. No one may be deprived of his liberty without observance of the provisions of this
article and only in the cases and in the form prescribed by law.
(2) Preventive arrest may not last more than the time strictly necessary for the investigations which tend to clarify events, and in every
case, within a maximum period of 72 hours, the person detained must be freed or placed at the disposal of the judicial authority.
(3) Every person arrested must be informed immediately, and in a way that is understandable to him, about his rights and the reasons for
his arrest, and he may not be forced to make a statement. The assistance of an attorney to the arrested is guaranteed during police and
judicial proceedings under the terms established by law.
(4) The law will regulate a process of habeas corpus so that any person who is illegally arrested may be immediately placed at the disposal
of the judiciary. The maximum period of provisional imprisonment shall also be determined by law.
Article 18 [Honor, Privacy, Home, Secrecy of Communication]
(1) The right of honor, personal, and family privacy and identity is guaranteed.
(2) The home is inviolable. No entry or search may be made without legal authority except with the express consent of the owners or in
the case of a flagrante delicto.
(3) Secrecy of communications, particularly regarding postal, telegraphic, and telephone communication, is guaranteed, except for
infractions by judicial order.
(4) The law shall limit the use of information, to guarantee personal and family honor, the privacy of citizens, and the full exercise of their
rights.
Article 19 [Freedom to Move]
Spaniards have the right to freely select their residence and to travel in the national territory. They also have the right to enter and leave
Spain freely under the conditions established by law. That right cannot be restricted because of political or ideological motives.
Article 20 [Specific Freedoms, Restrictions]
(1) The following rights are recognized and protected: a) To express and disseminate thoughts freely through words, writing, or any other
means of reproduction. b) Literary, artistic, scientific, and technical production, and creation.
c) Academic freedom.
d) To communicate or receive freely truthful information through any means of dissemination. The law shall regulate the right to the
protection of the clause on conscience and professional secrecy in the exercise of these freedoms.
(2) The exercise of these rights cannot be restricted through any type of prior censorship.
(3) The law shall regulate the organization and parliamentary control of the means of social communication owned by the State or any
public entity and shall guarantee access to those means by significant social and political groups, respecting the pluralism of society and
the various languages of Spain.
(4) These liberties find their limitation in the respect for the rights recognized in this Title, in the precepts of the laws which develop it
and, especially, in the right to honor, privacy, personal identity, and protection of youth and childhood.
(5) The seizure of publications, recordings, or other means of information may only be determined by a judicial resolution.
Article 21 [Assembly]
(1) The right to peaceful, unarmed assembly is recognized. The exercise of this right does not require prior authorization.
(2) In the cases of meetings in places of public transit and of manifestations prior notification shall be given to the authorities, which can
only forbid them when there are reasons based on disturbances of public order with danger for persons or property.
Article 22 [Association]
(1) The right to association is recognized.
(2) Associations which pursue purposes or use methods which are classified as crimes, are illegal.
(3) Associations constituted under the provisions of this article must register for purposes of public information only.
(4) Associations may only be dissolved or their activities suspended by virtue of a motivated judicial order.
(5) Secret and paramilitary associations are prohibited.
Article 23 [Participation, Election, Office]
(1) Citizens have the right to participate in public affairs, directly or through representatives freely elected in periodic elections by
universal suffrage.
(2) They also have the right to accede, under conditions of equality, to public functions and positions, in accordance with the
requirements established by law.
Article 24 [Legal Remedies]
(1) All persons have the right to the effective protection of the judges and courts in the exercise of their rights and legitimate interests, and
in no case may there be a lack of defense.
(2) Likewise, all have the right to the ordinary judge predetermined by law, to defense and assistance of an attorney, to be informed of the
accusation made against them, to a public trial without delays and with all the guarantees, to utilize the means of proof pertinent to their
defense, to refrain from self-incrimination, to refrain from pleading guilty, and to the presumption of innocence.
The law shall regulate the cases in which for reasons of family relationship or professional secrecy it shall not be obligatory to make
declarations concerning allegedly criminal actions.
Article 25 [Nulla Poena Sine Lege, Rights of Prisoners]
(1) No one may be convicted or sentenced for actions or omissions which when committed did not constitute a crime, misdemeanor, or
administrative infringement as established by legislation in force at that moment.
(2) Prison sentences and security measures shall be oriented towards reeducation and social rehabilitation and may not consist of forced
labor. The person sentenced to prison shall enjoy, during his imprisonment, the fundamental rights contained in this chapter, with the
exception of those which are expressly restricted by the content of the prison sentence, the purpose of the sentence, and the penitentiary
law. In any case, he shall have the right to remunerated work and the pertinent benefits of Social Security, as well as access to culture
and the integral development of his personality.
(3) The Civil Administration may not impose sanctions which directly or indirectly imply deprivation of freedom.
Article 26 [No Courts of Honor]
Courts of Honor are prohibited within the framework of the Civil Administration or professional organizations.
Article 27 [Education]
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Freedom of instruction is recognized.
(2) The objective of education shall be the full development of the human personality in respect for the democratic principles of
coexistence and the basic rights and liberties.
(3) The public authorities guarantee the right which will assist parents to have their children receive the religious and moral formation
which is in keeping with their own convictions.
(4) Basic education is obligatory and free.
(5) The public authorities guarantee the right of all to education
through a general educational program, with the effective participation of all the sectors affected, and the creation of educational centers.
(6) The freedom of physical and legal persons to create educational centers which respect constitutional principles, is recognized.
(7) Teachers, parents, and in some cases, the students, shall participate in the control and management of all centers maintained by the
Administration with public funds, under the terms established by law.
(8) The public authorities shall inspect and standardize the educational system so as to guarantee compliance with the laws.
(9) The public authorities shall help the teaching centers which meet the requirements established by law.
(10) The autonomy of universities is recognized under the terms established by law.
Article 28 [Unions, Strikes]
(1) All have the right to unite freely. The law may limit or except from the exercise of this right the Armed Forces or Military Institutes,
or the other Corps subject to military discipline and shall regulate the peculiarities of its exercise for political functionaries. Syndical liberty
includes the right to found unions and to join the union of one's choice, as well as the right of the unions to form confederations to found
international union organizations or to join them. No one may be forced to join a union.
(2) The right of workers to strike in defense of their interests is recognized. The law which regulates the exercise of this right shall
establish precise guarantees to insure the maintenance of essential services of the community.
Article 29 [Petition]
(1) All Spaniards shall have the right to personal and collective petition, in writing, in the form and with the effects the law shall define.
(2) Members of the Armed Forces, Institutes, or the Corps subject to military discipline, may exercise this right only individually and in
accordance with the provisions of their specific legislation.
Section 2 Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 30 [Military, Civilian, Emergency Duties]
(1) Citizens have the right and the duty to defend Spain.
(2) The law shall determine the military obligations of Spaniards and shall regulate, with all due guarantees, conscientious objection as well
as other causes for exemption from compulsory military service, and it may, when appropriate, impose a substitute social service.
(3) A civilian service may be established for the accomplishment of objectives of general interest.
(4) The duties of citizens in cases of serious risk, catastrophe, or public calamity may be regulated by law.
Article 31 [Taxes]
(1) Everyone shall contribute to the sustenance of public expenditures according to their economic capacity through a just tax system
based on the principles of equality and progressive taxation which in no case shall be of a confiscatory scope.
(2) Public expenditure shall realize an equitable allocation of public resources and its programming and execution shall be in keeping with
criteria for efficiency and economy.
(3) Personal or property contributions of a public nature may only be made in accordance with the law.
Article 32 [Marriage, Matrimonial Equality]
(1) Man and woman have the right to contract matrimony with full legal equality.
(2) The law shall regulate the forms of matrimony, the age and capacity for concluding it, the rights and duties of the spouses, causes for
separation and dissolution and their effects.
Article 33 [Property, Inheritance]
(1) The right to private property and inheritance is recognized.
(2) The social function of these rights shall determine the limits of their content in accordance with the law.
(3) No one may be deprived of his property and rights except for justified cause of public utility or social interest after proper
indemnification in accordance with the provisions of law.
Article 34 [Foundations]
(1) The right to foundation for purposes of general interest is recognized in accordance with the law.
(2) The provisions of Article 22 (2) and (4) shall also be applicable to foundations.
Article 35 [Work]
(1) All Spaniards have the duty to work and the right to work, to the free election of profession or office career, to advancement through
work, and to a sufficient remuneration to satisfy their needs and those of their family, while in no case can there be discrimination for
reasons of sex.
(2) The law shall regulate a statute for workers.
Article 36 [Professional Colleges, Degrees]
The law shall regulate the peculiarities of the legal governance of the Professional Colleges and the exercise of professions requiring
academic degrees. The internal structure and functioning of the Colleges must be democratic.
Article 37 [Labor Agreements, Labor Conflicts]
(1) The law shall guarantee the right to collective labor negotiations between the representatives of workers and employers, as well as the
binding force of agreements.
(2) The right of the workers and employers to adopt measures concerning collective conflict is recognized. The law which shall regulate
the exercise of this right, without prejudice to the limitations it may establish, shall include precise guarantees to insure the functioning of
the essential services of the community.
Article 38 [Free Enterprise]
Free enterprise within the framework of a market economy is recognized. The public authorities guarantee and protect its exercise and the
defense of productivity in accordance with the demands of the general economy, and as the case may be, in keeping with planning.
Chapter III Guiding Principles of Economic and Social Policy
Article 39 [Family, Children]
(1) The public authorities shall assure the social, economic, and legal protection of the family.
(2) The public authorities shall assure the complete protection of children, who are equal before the law regardless of their parentage and
regardless of the marital status of their mothers. The law shall make it possible to investigate paternity.
(3) Parents must provide their children, born in or out of wedlock, with assistance of every kind during the time they are minors and in
other cases where it is legally proper.
(4) Children shall enjoy the protection provided in international agreements which safeguard their rights.
Article 40 [Economic Policies, Worker Protection]
(1) The public authorities shall promote favorable conditions for social and economic progress and for a more equitable distribution of
regional and personal income within the framework of a policy of economic stability. Special emphasis will be placed on the realization of
a policy aimed at full employment.
(2) Likewise, the public authorities shall promote a policy which guarantees professional training and readaptation, insures work safety
and hygiene, and guarantees necessary rest through limitations on the length of the work day, paid periodic vacations, and the promotion
of suitable centers.
Article 41 [Social Security, Unemployment Benefits]
The public authorities shall maintain a public system of social security for all citizens which will guarantee social assistance and services
which are sufficient in cases of need, especially in cases of unemployment. Complementary assistance and services shall be free.
Article 42 [Workers Abroad]
The state shall especially try to safeguard the economic and social rights of Spanish workers abroad and orient its policy toward their
return.
Article 43 [Health Protection, Sports, Leisure]
(1) The right to health protection is recognized.
(2) It is incumbent upon the public authorities to organize and watch over public health and hygiene through preventive measures and
through necessary care and services. The law shall establish the rights and duties of all in this respect.
(3) The public authorities shall foster health education, physical education, and sports. Likewise, they shall facilitate adequate utilization of
leisure.
Article 44 [Culture, Science]
(1) The public authorities shall promote and watch over access to culture, to which all have a right.
(2) The public authorities shall promote science and scientific and technical research for the benefit of the general interest.
Article 45 [Environment]
(1) Everyone has the right to enjoy an environment suitable for the development of the person as well as the duty to preserve it.
(2) The public authorities shall concern themselves with the rational use of all natural resources for the purpose of protecting and
improving the quality of life and protecting and restoring the environment, supporting themselves on an indispensable collective solidarity.
(3) For those who violate the provisions of the foregoing paragraph, penal or administrative sanctions, as applicable, shall be established
and they shall be obliged to repair the damage caused.
Article 46 [National Heritage]
The public authorities shall guarantee the preservation, and promote the enrichment, of the historical, cultural, and artistic heritage of the
peoples of Spain and the property that makes them up, regardless of their legal status and their ownership. The penal law shall punish any
offenses against this heritage.
Article 47 [Housing]
All Spaniards have the right to enjoy decent and adequate
housing. The public authorities shall promote the conditions necessary and establish the pertinent norms to make this right effective,
regulating the use of land in accordance with the general interest to prevent speculation.
The community shall share in the increased values generated by urban activities of public bodies.
Article 48 [Participation of Youths]
The public authorities shall promote the conditions for the free and effective participation by the young in political, social, economic and
cultural development.
Article 49 [Handicapped]
The public authorities shall implement a policy of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and integration of those who are physically,
sensorially, or mentally handicapped, who shall be given the special attention which they require and be afforded special protection for the
enjoyment of the rights which this Title grants to all citizens.
Article 50 [Old People, Pensions, Social Services]
To citizens in old age, the public authorities shall guarantee economic sufficiency through adequate and periodically updated pensions.
Likewise, and independently of the family obligations, they shall promote their welfare through a system of social services which shall
take care of their specific problems of health, housing, culture, and leisure.
Article 51 [Consumer Protection]
(1) The public authorities shall guarantee the defense of the consumers and users, protecting their safety, health, and legitimate economic
interests through effective procedures.
(2) The public authorities shall promote the information and education of consumers and users, foster their organizations, and hear them
in those questions which could affect them under the terms which the law shall establish.
(3) Within the framework of the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs, the law shall regulate domestic commerce and the system of
licensing commercial products.
Article 52 [Professional Organizations]
The law shall regulate the professional organizations which contribute to the defense of their own economic interests. Their internal
structure and operation must be democratic.
Chapter IV Guarantees and Fundamental Rights
Article 53 [Regulation, Judicial Protection]
(1) The rights and liberties recognized in the second chapter of the present Title are binding on all public authorities. Only by law, which
in every case must respect their essential content, could the exercise of such rights and liberties be regulated, and they shall be protected
in accordance with the provisions of Article 161 (1) b).
(2) Any citizen may make a claim to the liberties and rights recognized in Article 13 and the first Section of the Second Chapter before the
regular courts through a process based on the principles of preference and speed and through the recourse before the Constitutional
Court. This last recourse shall be applicable to objections of conscience recognized in Article 30.
(3) Recognition, respect, and protection of the principles recognized in the Third Chapter shall guide positive legislation, judicial practice
and the actions by public authorities. They may also be argued before ordinary jurisdiction through procedures established in the laws
affecting them.
Article 54 [High Commissioner, Parliament]
An organic law shall regulate the institution of the Defender of the People as the High Commissioner of the Parliament, appointed for the
protection of the rights contained in this Title, for which purpose he may supervise the activity of the administration, informing the
Parliament of it.
Chapter V Suspension of Rights and Liberties
Article 55 [Emergency, Siege, Terrorism]
(1) The rights recognized in Articles 17, 18 (2) and (3), 19, 20 (1)(a) and (d) and (5), 21, 28 (2), and Article 37 (2) may be suspended
when a state of emergency or siege is declared under the terms provided in the Constitution. Article 17 (3) is exempted from that which
was established previously in the event of the declaration of a state of emergency.
(2) An organic law may determine the manner and the cases in which, in an individual manner and with the necessary judicial intervention
and adequate parliamentary control, the rights recognized in Article 17 (2) and 18 (2) and (3) may be suspended for certain persons with
respect to investigations having to do with the activities of armed bands or terrorist elements. The unwarranted or abusive utilization of
the powers recognized in said organic law will result in criminal responsibility as a violation of the rights and liberties recognized by the
laws.
[Chapter 0 General Provision]
Article 10 [Human Dignity, Human Rights]
(1) The dignity of the person, the inviolable rights which are inherent, the free development of the personality, respect for the law and the
rights of others, are the foundation of political order and social peace.
(2) The norms relative to basic rights and liberties which are recognized by the Constitution shall be interpreted in conformity with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international treaties and agreements on those matters ratified by Spain.
Chapter I Spaniards and Aliens
Article 11 [Spanish Nationality]
(1) Spanish nationality is acquired, preserved, and lost in accordance with provisions established by law.
(2) No one of Spanish birth may be deprived of his nationality.
(3) The State may make dual nationality treaties with the
Ibero-American countries and with those which may have had, or have, a special bond with Spain. In these countries, even when they do
not grant their own citizens a reciprocal right, Spaniards may become naturalized without losing their nationality of origin.
Article 12 [Majority]
Spaniards become adults at 18 years of age.
Article 13 [Aliens, Extradition, Asylum]
(1) Aliens in Spain may enjoy the public freedoms guaranteed by the present Title under the terms which treaties or laws may establish.
(2) Only Spaniards shall have the rights recognized in Article 23 except that which in keeping with the criteria of reciprocity may be
established by treaty or law for the right to active and passive suffrage in municipal elections.
(3) Extradition will only be granted in compliance with a treaty or the law in keeping with the principle of reciprocity. Excluded from
extradition are political crimes and acts of terrorism not being considered as such.
(4) The law shall establish the terms under which citizens of other countries and stateless persons may enjoy the right to asylum in Spain.
Chapter II Rights and Freedoms
[Section 0 General Provision]
Article 14 [Equality]
Spaniards are equal before the law, without any discrimination for reasons of birth, race, sex, religion, opinion, or any other personal or
social condition or circumstance.
Section 1 Basic Rights, Public Liberties
Article 15 [Life, Personal Integrity, No Death Penalty]
Everyone has the right to life and physical and moral integrity and in no case may be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading
punishment or treatment. The death penalty is abolished except in those cases which may be established by military penal law in times of
war.
Article 16 [Religion, Belief, No State Church]
(1) Freedom of ideology, religion, and cult of individuals and communities is guaranteed without any limitation in their demonstrations
other than that which is necessary for the maintenance of public order protected by law.
(2) No one may be obliged to make a declaration on his ideology, religion, or beliefs.
(3) No religion shall have a state character. The public powers shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and maintain
the appropriate relations of cooperation, with the Catholic Church and other denominations.
Article 17 [Personal Liberty]
(1) Every person has the right to liberty and security. No one may be deprived of his liberty without observance of the provisions of this
article and only in the cases and in the form prescribed by law.
(2) Preventive arrest may not last more than the time strictly necessary for the investigations which tend to clarify events, and in every
case, within a maximum period of 72 hours, the person detained must be freed or placed at the disposal of the judicial authority.
(3) Every person arrested must be informed immediately, and in a way that is understandable to him, about his rights and the reasons for
his arrest, and he may not be forced to make a statement. The assistance of an attorney to the arrested is guaranteed during police and
judicial proceedings under the terms established by law.
(4) The law will regulate a process of habeas corpus so that any person who is illegally arrested may be immediately placed at the disposal
of the judiciary. The maximum period of provisional imprisonment shall also be determined by law.
Article 18 [Honor, Privacy, Home, Secrecy of Communication]
(1) The right of honor, personal, and family privacy and identity is guaranteed.
(2) The home is inviolable. No entry or search may be made without legal authority except with the express consent of the owners or in
the case of a flagrante delicto.
(3) Secrecy of communications, particularly regarding postal, telegraphic, and telephone communication, is guaranteed, except for
infractions by judicial order.
(4) The law shall limit the use of information, to guarantee personal and family honor, the privacy of citizens, and the full exercise of their
rights.
Article 19 [Freedom to Move]
Spaniards have the right to freely select their residence and to travel in the national territory. They also have the right to enter and leave
Spain freely under the conditions established by law. That right cannot be restricted because of political or ideological motives.
Article 20 [Specific Freedoms, Restrictions]
(1) The following rights are recognized and protected: a) To express and disseminate thoughts freely through words, writing, or any other
means of reproduction. b) Literary, artistic, scientific, and technical production, and creation.
c) Academic freedom.
d) To communicate or receive freely truthful information through any means of dissemination. The law shall regulate the right to the
protection of the clause on conscience and professional secrecy in the exercise of these freedoms.
(2) The exercise of these rights cannot be restricted through any type of prior censorship.
(3) The law shall regulate the organization and parliamentary control of the means of social communication owned by the State or any
public entity and shall guarantee access to those means by significant social and political groups, respecting the pluralism of society and
the various languages of Spain.
(4) These liberties find their limitation in the respect for the rights recognized in this Title, in the precepts of the laws which develop it
and, especially, in the right to honor, privacy, personal identity, and protection of youth and childhood.
(5) The seizure of publications, recordings, or other means of information may only be determined by a judicial resolution.
Article 21 [Assembly]
(1) The right to peaceful, unarmed assembly is recognized. The exercise of this right does not require prior authorization.
(2) In the cases of meetings in places of public transit and of manifestations prior notification shall be given to the authorities, which can
only forbid them when there are reasons based on disturbances of public order with danger for persons or property.
Article 22 [Association]
(1) The right to association is recognized.
(2) Associations which pursue purposes or use methods which are classified as crimes, are illegal.
(3) Associations constituted under the provisions of this article must register for purposes of public information only.
(4) Associations may only be dissolved or their activities suspended by virtue of a motivated judicial order.
(5) Secret and paramilitary associations are prohibited.
Article 23 [Participation, Election, Office]
(1) Citizens have the right to participate in public affairs, directly or through representatives freely elected in periodic elections by
universal suffrage.
(2) They also have the right to accede, under conditions of equality, to public functions and positions, in accordance with the
requirements established by law.
Article 24 [Legal Remedies]
(1) All persons have the right to the effective protection of the judges and courts in the exercise of their rights and legitimate interests, and
in no case may there be a lack of defense.
(2) Likewise, all have the right to the ordinary judge predetermined by law, to defense and assistance of an attorney, to be informed of the
accusation made against them, to a public trial without delays and with all the guarantees, to utilize the means of proof pertinent to their
defense, to refrain from self-incrimination, to refrain from pleading guilty, and to the presumption of innocence.
The law shall regulate the cases in which for reasons of family relationship or professional secrecy it shall not be obligatory to make
declarations concerning allegedly criminal actions.
Article 25 [Nulla Poena Sine Lege, Rights of Prisoners]
(1) No one may be convicted or sentenced for actions or omissions which when committed did not constitute a crime, misdemeanor, or
administrative infringement as established by legislation in force at that moment.
(2) Prison sentences and security measures shall be oriented towards reeducation and social rehabilitation and may not consist of forced
labor. The person sentenced to prison shall enjoy, during his imprisonment, the fundamental rights contained in this chapter, with the
exception of those which are expressly restricted by the content of the prison sentence, the purpose of the sentence, and the penitentiary
law. In any case, he shall have the right to remunerated work and the pertinent benefits of Social Security, as well as access to culture
and the integral development of his personality.
(3) The Civil Administration may not impose sanctions which directly or indirectly imply deprivation of freedom.
Article 26 [No Courts of Honor]
Courts of Honor are prohibited within the framework of the Civil Administration or professional organizations.
Article 27 [Education]
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Freedom of instruction is recognized.
(2) The objective of education shall be the full development of the human personality in respect for the democratic principles of
coexistence and the basic rights and liberties.
(3) The public authorities guarantee the right which will assist parents to have their children receive the religious and moral formation
which is in keeping with their own convictions.
(4) Basic education is obligatory and free.
(5) The public authorities guarantee the right of all to education
through a general educational program, with the effective participation of all the sectors affected, and the creation of educational centers.
(6) The freedom of physical and legal persons to create educational centers which respect constitutional principles, is recognized.
(7) Teachers, parents, and in some cases, the students, shall participate in the control and management of all centers maintained by the
Administration with public funds, under the terms established by law.
(8) The public authorities shall inspect and standardize the educational system so as to guarantee compliance with the laws.
(9) The public authorities shall help the teaching centers which meet the requirements established by law.
(10) The autonomy of universities is recognized under the terms established by law.
Article 28 [Unions, Strikes]
(1) All have the right to unite freely. The law may limit or except from the exercise of this right the Armed Forces or Military Institutes,
or the other Corps subject to military discipline and shall regulate the peculiarities of its exercise for political functionaries. Syndical liberty
includes the right to found unions and to join the union of one's choice, as well as the right of the unions to form confederations to found
international union organizations or to join them. No one may be forced to join a union.
(2) The right of workers to strike in defense of their interests is recognized. The law which regulates the exercise of this right shall
establish precise guarantees to insure the maintenance of essential services of the community.
Article 29 [Petition]
(1) All Spaniards shall have the right to personal and collective petition, in writing, in the form and with the effects the law shall define.
(2) Members of the Armed Forces, Institutes, or the Corps subject to military discipline, may exercise this right only individually and in
accordance with the provisions of their specific legislation.
Section 2 Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 30 [Military, Civilian, Emergency Duties]
(1) Citizens have the right and the duty to defend Spain.
(2) The law shall determine the military obligations of Spaniards and shall regulate, with all due guarantees, conscientious objection as well
as other causes for exemption from compulsory military service, and it may, when appropriate, impose a substitute social service.
(3) A civilian service may be established for the accomplishment of objectives of general interest.
(4) The duties of citizens in cases of serious risk, catastrophe, or public calamity may be regulated by law.
Article 31 [Taxes]
(1) Everyone shall contribute to the sustenance of public expenditures according to their economic capacity through a just tax system
based on the principles of equality and progressive taxation which in no case shall be of a confiscatory scope.
(2) Public expenditure shall realize an equitable allocation of public resources and its programming and execution shall be in keeping with
criteria for efficiency and economy.
(3) Personal or property contributions of a public nature may only be made in accordance with the law.
Article 32 [Marriage, Matrimonial Equality]
(1) Man and woman have the right to contract matrimony with full legal equality.
(2) The law shall regulate the forms of matrimony, the age and capacity for concluding it, the rights and duties of the spouses, causes for
separation and dissolution and their effects.
Article 33 [Property, Inheritance]
(1) The right to private property and inheritance is recognized.
(2) The social function of these rights shall determine the limits of their content in accordance with the law.
(3) No one may be deprived of his property and rights except for justified cause of public utility or social interest after proper
indemnification in accordance with the provisions of law.
Article 34 [Foundations]
(1) The right to foundation for purposes of general interest is recognized in accordance with the law.
(2) The provisions of Article 22 (2) and (4) shall also be applicable to foundations.
Article 35 [Work]
(1) All Spaniards have the duty to work and the right to work, to the free election of profession or office career, to advancement through
work, and to a sufficient remuneration to satisfy their needs and those of their family, while in no case can there be discrimination for
reasons of sex.
(2) The law shall regulate a statute for workers.
Article 36 [Professional Colleges, Degrees]
The law shall regulate the peculiarities of the legal governance of the Professional Colleges and the exercise of professions requiring
academic degrees. The internal structure and functioning of the Colleges must be democratic.
Article 37 [Labor Agreements, Labor Conflicts]
(1) The law shall guarantee the right to collective labor negotiations between the representatives of workers and employers, as well as the
binding force of agreements.
(2) The right of the workers and employers to adopt measures concerning collective conflict is recognized. The law which shall regulate
the exercise of this right, without prejudice to the limitations it may establish, shall include precise guarantees to insure the functioning of
the essential services of the community.
Article 38 [Free Enterprise]
Free enterprise within the framework of a market economy is recognized. The public authorities guarantee and protect its exercise and the
defense of productivity in accordance with the demands of the general economy, and as the case may be, in keeping with planning.
Chapter III Guiding Principles of Economic and Social Policy
Article 39 [Family, Children]
(1) The public authorities shall assure the social, economic, and legal protection of the family.
(2) The public authorities shall assure the complete protection of children, who are equal before the law regardless of their parentage and
regardless of the marital status of their mothers. The law shall make it possible to investigate paternity.
(3) Parents must provide their children, born in or out of wedlock, with assistance of every kind during the time they are minors and in
other cases where it is legally proper.
(4) Children shall enjoy the protection provided in international agreements which safeguard their rights.
Article 40 [Economic Policies, Worker Protection]
(1) The public authorities shall promote favorable conditions for social and economic progress and for a more equitable distribution of
regional and personal income within the framework of a policy of economic stability. Special emphasis will be placed on the realization of
a policy aimed at full employment.
(2) Likewise, the public authorities shall promote a policy which guarantees professional training and readaptation, insures work safety
and hygiene, and guarantees necessary rest through limitations on the length of the work day, paid periodic vacations, and the promotion
of suitable centers.
Article 41 [Social Security, Unemployment Benefits]
The public authorities shall maintain a public system of social security for all citizens which will guarantee social assistance and services
which are sufficient in cases of need, especially in cases of unemployment. Complementary assistance and services shall be free.
Article 42 [Workers Abroad]
The state shall especially try to safeguard the economic and social rights of Spanish workers abroad and orient its policy toward their
return.
Article 43 [Health Protection, Sports, Leisure]
(1) The right to health protection is recognized.
(2) It is incumbent upon the public authorities to organize and watch over public health and hygiene through preventive measures and
through necessary care and services. The law shall establish the rights and duties of all in this respect.
(3) The public authorities shall foster health education, physical education, and sports. Likewise, they shall facilitate adequate utilization of
leisure.
Article 44 [Culture, Science]
(1) The public authorities shall promote and watch over access to culture, to which all have a right.
(2) The public authorities shall promote science and scientific and technical research for the benefit of the general interest.
Article 45 [Environment]
(1) Everyone has the right to enjoy an environment suitable for the development of the person as well as the duty to preserve it.
(2) The public authorities shall concern themselves with the rational use of all natural resources for the purpose of protecting and
improving the quality of life and protecting and restoring the environment, supporting themselves on an indispensable collective solidarity.
(3) For those who violate the provisions of the foregoing paragraph, penal or administrative sanctions, as applicable, shall be established
and they shall be obliged to repair the damage caused.
Article 46 [National Heritage]
The public authorities shall guarantee the preservation, and promote the enrichment, of the historical, cultural, and artistic heritage of the
peoples of Spain and the property that makes them up, regardless of their legal status and their ownership. The penal law shall punish any
offenses against this heritage.
Article 47 [Housing]
All Spaniards have the right to enjoy decent and adequate
housing. The public authorities shall promote the conditions necessary and establish the pertinent norms to make this right effective,
regulating the use of land in accordance with the general interest to prevent speculation.
The community shall share in the increased values generated by urban activities of public bodies.
Article 48 [Participation of Youths]
The public authorities shall promote the conditions for the free and effective participation by the young in political, social, economic and
cultural development.
Article 49 [Handicapped]
The public authorities shall implement a policy of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and integration of those who are physically,
sensorially, or mentally handicapped, who shall be given the special attention which they require and be afforded special protection for the
enjoyment of the rights which this Title grants to all citizens.
Article 50 [Old People, Pensions, Social Services]
To citizens in old age, the public authorities shall guarantee economic sufficiency through adequate and periodically updated pensions.
Likewise, and independently of the family obligations, they shall promote their welfare through a system of social services which shall
take care of their specific problems of health, housing, culture, and leisure.
Article 51 [Consumer Protection]
(1) The public authorities shall guarantee the defense of the consumers and users, protecting their safety, health, and legitimate economic
interests through effective procedures.
(2) The public authorities shall promote the information and education of consumers and users, foster their organizations, and hear them
in those questions which could affect them under the terms which the law shall establish.
(3) Within the framework of the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs, the law shall regulate domestic commerce and the system of
licensing commercial products.
Article 52 [Professional Organizations]
The law shall regulate the professional organizations which contribute to the defense of their own economic interests. Their internal
structure and operation must be democratic.
Chapter IV Guarantees and Fundamental Rights
Article 53 [Regulation, Judicial Protection]
(1) The rights and liberties recognized in the second chapter of the present Title are binding on all public authorities. Only by law, which
in every case must respect their essential content, could the exercise of such rights and liberties be regulated, and they shall be protected
in accordance with the provisions of Article 161 (1) b).
(2) Any citizen may make a claim to the liberties and rights recognized in Article 13 and the first Section of the Second Chapter before the
regular courts through a process based on the principles of preference and speed and through the recourse before the Constitutional
Court. This last recourse shall be applicable to objections of conscience recognized in Article 30.
(3) Recognition, respect, and protection of the principles recognized in the Third Chapter shall guide positive legislation, judicial practice
and the actions by public authorities. They may also be argued before ordinary jurisdiction through procedures established in the laws
affecting them.
Article 54 [High Commissioner, Parliament]
An organic law shall regulate the institution of the Defender of the People as the High Commissioner of the Parliament, appointed for the
protection of the rights contained in this Title, for which purpose he may supervise the activity of the administration, informing the
Parliament of it.
Chapter V Suspension of Rights and Liberties
Article 55 [Emergency, Siege, Terrorism]
(1) The rights recognized in Articles 17, 18 (2) and (3), 19, 20 (1)(a) and (d) and (5), 21, 28 (2), and Article 37 (2) may be suspended
when a state of emergency or siege is declared under the terms provided in the Constitution. Article 17 (3) is exempted from that which
was established previously in the event of the declaration of a state of emergency.
(2) An organic law may determine the manner and the cases in which, in an individual manner and with the necessary judicial intervention
and adequate parliamentary control, the rights recognized in Article 17 (2) and 18 (2) and (3) may be suspended for certain persons with
respect to investigations having to do with the activities of armed bands or terrorist elements. The unwarranted or abusive utilization of
the powers recognized in said organic law will result in criminal responsibility as a violation of the rights and liberties recognized by the
laws.
Humans first inhabited the Iberian Peninsula north from the Pyrenees about 35,000 years
ago with its first civilization rising about 1,500 BCE. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and
Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading
colonies there over a period of several centuries. Rome encountered Iberians and Celts in
181 BCE. Rome's decline and dominance of Spain began in 306 CE, yielding to the advent of
the Germanic Visigoth tribes in 410. Muslim Berbers invaded from across the Strait of
Gibraltar in 711 and achieved dominance of the Iberian Peninsula by 718 whose European
ambitions were check by Franks in 732, thus beginning the era of Moorish influence over
Spain. The Caliphate of Cordoba was established in the 10th Century. During these years of
Muslim rule, Christian Kingdoms and principalities began to arise leading to the Reconquista
of the 15th Century and the uniting of the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile in
1469 which united through the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, leading to the creation of
the Kingdom of Spain, the expulsion of Jews and Muslims and the commissioning of
Christopher Columbus to explored the unknown world in 1492. Spain became one of the
world's most powerful empires, falling under the control of the Hapsburgs of Austria and the
Bourbons of France throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Spain promulgated a
constitution in 1812, achieved its independence from France in 1814, liberating itself at the
conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and restored the monarchy as the Kingdom of Spain.
Spain has undergone a number of Republican attempts but the nation inevitably reverted to
a Constitutional Monarchy, codified in the latest of its 19 constitutions, the current of which
was promulgated in 1988. Human rights are enumerated beginning with Title I (Basic rights
and Duties), conforms with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which Spain
is a signatory and are detailed below. For a full English translation of Spain's Constitution,
click here.
ago with its first civilization rising about 1,500 BCE. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and
Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading
colonies there over a period of several centuries. Rome encountered Iberians and Celts in
181 BCE. Rome's decline and dominance of Spain began in 306 CE, yielding to the advent of
the Germanic Visigoth tribes in 410. Muslim Berbers invaded from across the Strait of
Gibraltar in 711 and achieved dominance of the Iberian Peninsula by 718 whose European
ambitions were check by Franks in 732, thus beginning the era of Moorish influence over
Spain. The Caliphate of Cordoba was established in the 10th Century. During these years of
Muslim rule, Christian Kingdoms and principalities began to arise leading to the Reconquista
of the 15th Century and the uniting of the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile in
1469 which united through the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, leading to the creation of
the Kingdom of Spain, the expulsion of Jews and Muslims and the commissioning of
Christopher Columbus to explored the unknown world in 1492. Spain became one of the
world's most powerful empires, falling under the control of the Hapsburgs of Austria and the
Bourbons of France throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Spain promulgated a
constitution in 1812, achieved its independence from France in 1814, liberating itself at the
conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and restored the monarchy as the Kingdom of Spain.
Spain has undergone a number of Republican attempts but the nation inevitably reverted to
a Constitutional Monarchy, codified in the latest of its 19 constitutions, the current of which
was promulgated in 1988. Human rights are enumerated beginning with Title I (Basic rights
and Duties), conforms with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which Spain
is a signatory and are detailed below. For a full English translation of Spain's Constitution,
click here.