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

Administrative actions are considered vitiated, and therefore invalid, when their components fail to meet the requirements established by law for their validity. There are two main categories: void acts and voidable acts.

Void Acts (Article 62.1 of the LRJAPPAC)

Voidness is reserved for more serious defects, which include:

• Acts that infringe upon constitutional rights and liberties (Articles 14 to 29 and 30.2).
• Dictates issued by a manifestly incompetent organ due to subject matter or territory.
• Acts having an impossible content (Example: an order of demolition for a building that does not exist).
• Acts that establish a criminal offense or are issued as a result of one (e.g., a license granted through bribery).
• Dictates that outright ignore legally

Sources of Legal Interpretation

• Jurisprudence (e)

  Jurisprudence is the wise interpretation of the law by judges when applying legal norms to specific cases submitted to their jurisdiction. Today, jurisprudence is generally not considered a primary source of law but rather a crucial legal institution for interpreting existing legal norms.

• The Doctrine (f)

  The Doctrine refers to the legal opinions expressed by scholars and lawyers regarding legal institutions. While not typically a primary source of law, the doctrine serves as an essential means for understanding and interpreting legal institutions and norms.

Defining Acts of Commerce

Acts of Commerce are the typical expressions or manifestations of commercial activity. These acts are conducted through... Continue reading "Legal Interpretation and Classification of Commercial Acts" »

The 1812 Spanish Constitution: Principles and Structure

The Constitution of 1812, a landmark in Spanish history, aimed to establish equality for the entire population under one law, ensuring the same judges and courts for all citizens. Its preliminary speech emphasized a continuation of the Spanish legal and historical tradition, satisfying more moderate liberals and figures like Jovellanos.

Individual Rights and Freedoms

Individual rights were not systematized in a single, dogmatic body within the Constitution; there was no Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed in the style of the French Revolution of 1789. Instead, these rights were scattered throughout the articles. Fundamental human rights were enshrined, reflecting:

• Freedom in all its aspects:

Employment Contracts and Arrangements

Definition of the Employment Contract

The employment contract is an agreement between the employer and employee. The worker agrees voluntarily to provide services and submit to the organizational and management power of the employer.

Essential Elements of the Contract

The essential elements that must be defined in the employment contract include:

• The parties entering into the contract (identity of the employer and the worker).
• Working time, start date, and duration.
• Workplace.
• The category or professional group.
• Salary.
• Vacation entitlement.
• Notice periods and the applicable collective agreement.

Employer Duties Regarding Documentation

The employer has the following duties:

• Submit a copy of the contract to the worker.

Understanding Legal Standards

Standards, advertising standards, the non-retroactivity of punitive provisions unfavorable or restrictive of individual rights, legal certainty, accountability, and prohibition of arbitrary action by public authorities.

The EC prohibits retroactivity of punitive provisions unfavorable or restrictive of rights, so that you cannot post a rule harmful to citizens in situations that have already happened.

Article 2 CP: "1. There is no crime punished with a penalty or lack who is not prescribed by law prior to its commission. Will lack, also backdated laws to establish security measures. 2. However, those laws shall have retroactive effect to favor the criminal defendant, but upon entry into force have been decided and... Continue reading "Understanding Legal Standards: Retroactivity, Repeal, and Sources of Law" »

The Role of Government

Direction of Domestic Policy

The direction of domestic policy includes:

• Reference to the dissolution of the chambers and call for elections (Art. 115 CE).
• Advisory referendum and far-reaching political decisions (Art. 92 CE).
• The declaration of a state of alert, emergency, and siege.
• The powers of the Autonomous Regions (CCAA).

Normative Dimension of Domestic Policy

• The Government's legislative initiative.
• The reservation of government initiative in the budget.

Direction of Foreign Policy

The direction of foreign policy falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State (Art. 149.1.3 CE).

Normative Dimension: International Treaties

State Defense and Security

State defense is intrinsically connected to the direction of domestic policy,... Continue reading "Constitutional Role and Functions of the Spanish Government" »

Contractual Principle of Relativity

Contracts only produce effects on the contracting parties. Exceptionally, this principle supports affecting heirs, unless the rights and obligations are of a personal nature.

Contracts Affecting Third Parties

Sometimes a contract may affect third parties outside the contracting parties. This situation occurs in:

Contract for the Benefit of a Third Party

An agreement establishing the contents wholly or partly for the benefit of a third person outside the contract. It results in a **right** which allows the third party to **benefit from** the content of the contract as agreed. E.g., Life insurance.

The parties involved in this type of contract are:

• Promisor: The contracting party obliged to **benefit** the third party

Context of Legal Humanism

On a philosophical level, legal humanism stems from the contrast between medieval scholasticism, subject to the authority of tradition but also attentive to existing reality, and Renaissance Neoplatonism, which believed in the free and unlimited power of reason and was attracted by pure ideal forms.

In legal terms, the humanistic orientation was facilitated by the gradual rise of national legal systems, which freed the study of Roman law from practical objectives and transformed it into a historical and literary activity, increasingly similar to the task of the antiquarian.

Socially, humanist criticism of earlier legal discourse and its proponents, traditional jurists, was fueled by widespread social antipathy towards... Continue reading "Legal Humanism: Principles and Historical Impact" »

Accrual

Article 21 of the General Tax Law (LGT) defines accrual as the moment which determines the event performed that produces the birth of the principal tax liability. To narrow down the moment in time that this occurs, we must differentiate between tax accrual of taxable periodic taxes and instant taxes. In the first case, the legislature must enter narrow time periods. Fiction serves to establish that the moment the taxable event occurs, usually periods of months or years. The rule in instant charges will be that in force when the taxable event occurs. In contrast to periodic taxes, and unless otherwise provided herein, the applicable standard for reasons of legal certainty will be in force at the time of commencement of the tax period.... Continue reading "Tax Liability: Accrual, Prepayments, and Inspection Procedures" »

The European Union employs several committee procedures to facilitate the adoption of implementing acts. These include:

• The Advisory Procedure
• The Management Procedure
• The Regulatory Procedure
• The Regulatory Procedure with Scrutiny
• Procedural Safeguards

Common Elements of Advisory, Management, and Regulatory Procedures

In all these cases, a committee composed of representatives from the Member States and chaired by a representative of the European Commission is involved. The Commission submits its draft implementing measures to the Committee for an opinion within a specified period. The Committee acts by qualified majority.

European Parliament (EP) participation is limited to when the Commission sends its draft measures, allowing the EP to adopt a... Continue reading "EU Committee Procedures: Decision-Making Framework" »