Spanish Constitution: Economic Rights, Law Hierarchy and Consumer Protection
Spanish Constitution
Spanish Constitution
Its social function regulates social relations. Here we refer to the first special aspect, which regulates the constitutional and economic relations in concrete. Private property, recognized as a right in Article 33 of the Constitution, is called to perform a social function. This means that the right to property is not only exclusive but also obliges the holder to satisfy other general interests, linking the interests of the owner with those of the community for certain categories of determined things. Nevertheless, it is not set without constraints; loads and limitations are imposed so that owners cannot fully exploit the thing or the assets, and the destination is decided by the law assigned. The expropriation of goods is only possible for a cause of public utility or social interest, and it must be compensated, with the indemnification to be determined.
Within the fundamental directives of economic policy, our Constitution occupies a primordial place with the right to freedom of enterprise, recognized in Article 39. The right to freedom of enterprise allows people to choose the economic activity they wish to carry out. As is logical, this right is not absolute and may be subject to limitations by the administration in general, taking into consideration the public interest.
Example: If you operate a radio or television channel, it is necessary to obtain the corresponding administrative authorization.
Principles of Social and Economic Policy
Chapter 3 of the Constitution is named: On the guiding principles of social and economic policy. Article 40 establishes the duty of public authorities to intervene in the economy in general for the common well-being. It states that public powers 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 general economic stability policy, in agreement with employment orientation. Paragraph 2 adds that public powers shall foster training and readaptation of professionals, guarantee safety and hygiene at work, and limit working hours, guarantee the necessary rest, and provide periodic paid holidays, and promote an adequate retirement policy.
Although in other provisions the legislator may incline toward a liberal vision of the economy, in this item it places strong emphasis on the administration's intervention in the economy in general.
Consumer Protection
Article 51 establishes an important principle for the protection of consumers and users. In its first paragraph, it states that public powers shall ensure the defense of consumers and users, protecting them through effective procedures for their safety, health and legitimate economic interests. Paragraph 2 provides that public powers shall promote information and education for consumers and users, encourage their organizations, and hear them on matters that may affect them, under the terms established by law. Finally, paragraph 3 provides that the framework provided in the preceding paragraphs shall be regulated by law, including domestic trade and the authorization regime for commercial products.
The modern Constitution explicitly contemplates the protection of consumers. These rights began to be taken into account from the decade of the 1960s, as an advance toward the consecration of the defense of specific consumers and users, recognized and developed in the Constitution and through various rules up to today.
Other Legal Rules
The Law:
An expressed and emanating legal rule may be published in conformity with determined solemnities, which are generally known as promulgation. Our legal system, in the law and the first category, is formally structured. This formality means that the rules adopted by Parliament, whatever their content and scope, have two consequences:
- The forced preference of the law over other standard provisions in the regulation of any matter.
- Renunciation of subordinate or conditioned regulations of the regulation.
In its last paragraph, the principle and purpose are established, and unless otherwise provided, laws remain in force indefinitely, as established in Article 2, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code, which states that laws are repealed only by subsequent ones.
The basic types of laws in the state are the following:
- Ordinary laws:
- a) Constituent: the general and common type of legislative provisions, to the exclusion of all others.
- b) Emanate from Cortes, generally supported by a simple majority.
- c) Type that may regulate any matter reserved for other types of law.
- Organic laws: These develop laws related to fundamental rights and public freedoms, approve the statutes of autonomy and the general electoral regime, and other matters provided for in the Constitution. They are characterized by their approval, modification or repeal, which requires an absolute majority in a final vote on the bill as a whole in the Congress of Deputies.
These laws, provided for in Article 81 of the Constitution, define their peculiarities according to two factors: the scope of matters they address, and the reason for their importance, which makes it necessary that they be regulated by a formal procedure more aggravated than that of ordinary laws.