Spanish Constitution: Economic Rights and Market Structure

Economic and Social Rights in the Spanish Constitution

The Spanish Constitution (CE) designs a proper economic system based on the concept of the Social Market Economy. Its fundamental regulatory content is found in two different parts of the Constitution:

Dual Regulatory Framework: Articles 33, 38, and Title VII

The regulatory framework is established in two key areas:

1. On the one hand, the First Title, which contains key Articles 33 and 38, guarantees the right to private property and free enterprise within the market economy.
2. In addition, Title VII, primarily in Articles 128 to 131, includes a wide range of possibilities for state intervention in the economy and public sector development.

Three Regulatory Layers of the Spanish Economic System

The Constitution establishes the Spanish economy as a systematic and coherent block, which actually comprises three different regulatory layers:

A) The Programmatic Block

This block is a set of provisions that seek to determine the general goals to be pursued by the State regarding economic activity. These are underlying principles of state action, reflecting the will of the Spanish nation to promote the progress of the economy to ensure a dignified quality of life. For example, the first paragraph of Article 40 obligates the authorities to promote conditions conducive to social and economic progress.

B) The Declarative Block of Rights

This second block is composed of regulatory Sections 33 and 38, which contain declarative content of rights. They recognize the right to private property and free enterprise, setting the basic framework of rules proper to a free market system. Article 38 establishes a mandate for the government to ensure security and protection according to the demands of the general economy and in cases of planning.

Thus, the market cannot be regarded as an area free from public interference; it is a regulated and controlled area where the freedom of entrepreneurs coexists with the active responsibility of public authorities.

C) The Instrumental or Operational Block

The general principle framing this regulation is established in Article 128.1 of the Constitution, according to which:

"The entire wealth of the country in different forms and whatever its ownership is subordinated to the general interest."

This principle is the legitimizing support for all public action in the field of the economy.