Understanding the Relationship Between Organic and Ordinary Law

The relationship between regular and organic law is not hierarchical, but based on competence. Basic Law: Organic laws pertain to the development of fundamental rights and public law, which approve the statutes of autonomy and the general electoral system. There is a list of revisions in the constitution that must be regulated by organic law. Approval requires an absolute majority. To adopt organic laws, an absolute majority (176 seats in Congress) must be achieved. The purpose of this absolute majority is to foster consensus and ensure guarantees for the opposition's participation. A committee in parliament cannot be tasked with making law. Organic laws can only be those specified in Article 81. All deployment or interpretation must adhere strictly to its essential core. This restrictive interpretation has been upheld by the Constitutional Court. Normative Range of Organic Law and Its Relationship to Ordinary Law: The areas of competence differ depending on whether the matter pertains to ordinary or organic law. An organic law cannot regulate matters of ordinary law and vice versa. Ordinary law is the standard legal norm that typically occupies the third tier in the legal hierarchy of a state, following the Constitution and organic laws or their equivalents (which often have unique approval requirements and address specific matters). Ordinary laws are subject to approval by Congress or Parliament, usually by a simple majority. They may be initiated either by the Chamber or by the executive. Additionally, ordinary laws can be passed by the legislatures of federated states, territories, and autonomous regions within a federal state or regional autonomy, which have been granted this authority. Decree-Law: The parliament delegates authority to the government. Features include:

• Legislative decrees are rules that emanate from the government.
• Government rules carry the force of law.
• Parliament delegates this authority through an act of delegation, allowing the government to issue these rules, known as legislative decrees.
• Delegation must be explicit and is not supported by time constraints.

All organic law matters must be addressed through legislative decrees. The constitution outlines how the courts control and establish legislative decrees. In the regional context, the prevailing doctrinal position does not support executive orders in the Autonomous Regions. However, in the 1980s, a legislative decree was enacted in the Basque Country, and for political expediency, it was not appealed. Nonetheless, the doctrine generally denies that decree law is an autonomous source of law. Some statutes, such as those in the Community of Madrid, have recognized autonomous legislative decrees.