Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Law & Jurisprudence

Understanding Constitutional Justice and the Constitutional Court

Risks in Constitutional Justice

• Ambiguity of Text: Leads to hypertrophy of the Constitutional Court's action.
• Lack of Systematic Adherence: Political forces and public authorities do not systematically adhere to the Constitutional Court's decisions.
• Court's Self-Restraint: The Constitutional Court must exercise self-restraint to avoid being drawn into the arena of political forces.

Membership and Status of the Constitutional Court

Members of the Constitutional Court are elected from among jurists of recognized prestige, with more than 15 years in the exercise of their profession. While the King formally appoints, members are nominated by various bodies: four by the Congress, four by... Continue reading "Constitutional Justice: Court Structure, Powers, and Evolution" »

Constitutional Principles and Legal Application

Constitutional principles are derived from the legal system and assist in the application of the law, especially in cases lacking specific legal rules. The principle of legality dictates that public authorities cannot contravene the legal system.

Constitutional Review: Ensuring Compliance

Constitutional review is the legal mechanism designed to ensure compliance with constitutional norms and to ensure that lower-ranking norms do not override or contradict them.

Classifications of Constitutional Review

Positive Systems

These systems, either explicitly stated in the constitutional text or implicitly recognized by customary constitutional law, admit the existence of constitutional control. Sagüés distinguishes... Continue reading "Constitutional Foundations: Principles, Review, and State Powers" »

Special Obligations of Headquarters

• To exercise permanent hierarchical control over the operations of institutions and the performance of their dependent staff.
• To permanently ensure compliance with established plans and the implementation of regulations.
• To monitor and control the powers they delegate.
• To perform their duties fairly and in accordance with clear, objective instructions of general applicability.

Void Appointments

The appointment of an incompetent person is void. The law mitigates the invalidating effect by recognizing that it does not require the refund of payments for services rendered, provided that the oversight regarding the appointee's incompetence is not attributable to the appointee.

Right to Employment

An individual appointed... Continue reading "Public Sector Employment Rights and Regulations" »

Causes of Justification: Self-Defense Principles

Self-Defense: A Justification Principle

Self-defense shares with a state of necessity the factual existence of a conflict between two legal rights, where the legal system may sacrifice one to preserve the other. However, self-defense is distinguished by the fact that the conflict arises between the legal right of the attacker and that of the attacked. This gives it a greater scope of action compared to a state of necessity, where the subject acts to prevent harm for which "nobody is at fault."

Basis for Exemption from Punishment in Self-Defense

Self-defense is credited with a dual basis or function: self-governance and the protection of the law. Those who act in self-defense do not perform acts contrary... Continue reading "Self-Defense in Criminal Law: Justification Principles" »

The Law of October 25, 1839: An Introduction

This document examines the Law of October 25, 1839, a pivotal piece of Spanish legislation. Its legal nature is that of an implementable law, enacted by the Cortes (Spanish Parliament) and addressed to all Spanish citizens. The law was promulgated in Madrid on October 25, 1839. Historically, it emerged at the close of Queen Isabella II's reign, following the conclusion of the First Carlist War.

Origins: The Convention of Vergara

The genesis of this law lies in the Convention of Vergara, where General Baldomero Espartero's government committed to resolving the long-standing issue of Navarre's unique legal status. This agreement paved the way for legislative action.

Key Provisions and Constitutional Unity

The... Continue reading "The 1839 Foral Law: Charters and Constitutional Unity" »

Expert: A specialist who works with the judge in the investigation of fact. Legally authorized to give their opinion.

Demand for Expertise

The demand for expertise occurs when the act of the subject of the cause cannot be fully signified from the registration of legal discourse, where their conduct raises questions or presents gaps in signification that cannot be answered from the law alone. It is in this space, where the gap appears, that the expert psychologist is needed to speak more about subjectivity and individuality.

Points of Expertise

Expertise carves out a space not included in the process of developing legal truth. The demand for expertise produces a space of psychological interrogation.

• Psychological Subjectivity: To say psychic subjectivity.

Spain's Democratic Transition: Elections, Constitution, and Autonomy

Elections

The Cortes (Parliament) were composed of two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. With the legalization of all political parties, Spain conducted its first democratic elections since the Second Republic. The UCD (led by Adolfo Suárez) received a plurality of votes, closely followed by the PSOE. The PCE suffered a strong setback. The AP (Popular Alliance) was penalized for its commitment to the Franco regime, virtually disappearing. Extreme-right nationalist parties obtained results that foreshadowed their future role.

The Constitution

The elections initiated a constituent process, as the newly formed Cortes lacked a foundational text to define governmental... Continue reading "Spain's Democratic Transition: Elections and Constitution" »

Introduction

The Second Industrial Revolution and the second half of the twentieth century brought important changes in market structure: consolidation of big business and mass consumption, a shift away from the party responsible for damage (the manufacturer), internationalization of markets, etc. The traditional regulatory arsenal (Civil Code, Commercial Code, and Competition Law) proved insufficient to protect consumers. This led to a perceived degradation of the consumer's position and prompted calls for consumption standards.

In Spain, Article 51 of the Constitution (EC) contains the four basic consumer rights:

• Defense of consumer safety and health.
• Protection of their legitimate economic interests.
• Protection of information and education.
• Promotion

Geographic Mobility in the Workplace

Geographic mobility consists of changing the workplace. There are two types of geographical mobility:

Transfers

A transfer is the power that an employer has to change the geographical location of a worker providing services at a different site from the one they were initially hired for, provided that this involves a change of residence. It may involve a change of permanent location. For an employer to transfer an employee, it is required that there are economic, technical, organizational, or production reasons, or that such a change is permitted to improve the competitive position of the company. Transfers can be individual or collective.

When faced with a transfer, a worker may:

1. Accept the decision and move.

Karl Marx's Theory of Alienation

Biographical Context of Karl Marx

Born in Trier in 1818 and died in London in 1883, Karl Marx was the son of a wealthy family. He studied law in Bonn and Berlin. Pursued by authorities and expelled from several countries, he eventually settled in London, supported by a monthly pension from his friend Friedrich Engels. His most notable works include: Das Kapital (The Capital), The Communist Manifesto (co-authored with Engels), and The German Ideology.

Marx's Core Concept: Economic Alienation

The central theme of Marx's work discussed here is economic alienation.

Key Philosophical Ideas on Alienation

1. Alienation at Work: The worker is alienated from the product of their labor, from the act of labor itself, from their