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2023 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

An Introduction to Spanish Legal Culture

Authors : Josep Maria de Dios Marcer, Josep Cañabate Pérez

Published in: Handbook on Legal Cultures

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

The Spanish legal culture is strongly impacted by and can be ascribed to the civil law tradition and has been labelled part of the Romano-French legal family. The strong focus on the division between private and public law, both in education and in the institutional structures of the Spanish legal order as well as the rather formalistic and legalistic approach to the law also resembling the style of judgments and the framing of legislation, seem to support this traditional taxonomy. However, applying the legal cultural model as presented in this volume, reveals also some rather unique features of the contemporary Spanish legal culture, which are not captured by this traditional view. One of these features—at least seen from the perspective of Catalan-based Spanish lawyers (both authors of this chapter are professors at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)—is the internal tensions between autonomous communities and the central state. These tensions are caused by the existence of both separate political but also legal cultures in the different communities which are today united under the umbrella of Spain. Interestingly, despite having established a unified system of courts and other means of conflict resolution, norms are produced by multiple legislators, including not only the national Spanish parliament, the EU and other international organisations, but also the parliaments of the autonomous communities. Conflicts arising from conflicting internal regulations are solved by applying the principles of international private law. Other interesting features are the rather unique way of implementing international law and the outstanding role of public notaries in the Spanish legal culture.

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previous chapter An Introduction to Scottish Legal Culture

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47,394,223 inhabitants on 1 January 2021. See https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176951&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735572981.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Spain is US$1425 billion (2021). See https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=ES.

International Monetary Fund (2022).

Theodorician laws, promulgated by Theodoric I (419–451) and Theodoric II (453–466), have not survived to the present, so we know them through indirect references. The full text and many data about them are not preserved, but there are allusions to them that prove their existence.

See Blume (1889), pp. 148–179.

See http://www.leges.uni-koeln.de/en/lex/leges-visigothorum/ and https://www.boe.es/biblioteca_juridica/abrir_pdf.php?id=PUB-LH-2014-1.

See Haenel (1962).

See Vismara (1968).

The Codex Revisus (the Code of Leovigild) promulgated by Leovigild in the year 580 based on the Code of Euric was not preserved and is only reconstructed by comparison with the laws of the Lex Visigothorum and what is conserved in the Code of Euric itself.

See the Visigothic Code https://libro.uca.edu/vcode/visigoths.htm.

Barbero (1966), pp. 67–75; Chandler (2002), pp. 507–527; Chandler (2013), pp. 739–750.

Clavero (1977); Lalinde Abadia (1986); Clavero (1990), pp. 47–86; Garriga (2006), pp. 59–104.

Ríos Saloma (2011).

Garcia Sanjuan (2013).

Lalinde Abadia (1976).

See Libro de las Leyes or Las siete partidas https://www.boe.es/biblioteca_juridica/publicacion.php?id=PUB-LH-2011-60.

See Elias (1983). ‘court society: the elaboration of etiquette and standards of ‘cultivated’ manners that occurred in the courts of Western European monarchs in the post-feudal era. Elias’s book details the life of the king and his courtiers during the reign of Louis XIV in France. Elias argues that the growth of court society, whereby a warrior nobility was eventually replaced by a courtly nobility is one instance of a general civilizing process within European society Court society is therefore a significant social formation and a major step in the development of the modern world’. https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/court+society.

Fernández Albaladejo (1992).

Garriga (2010), pp. 715–765; Gay Escoda (1997).

The French occupation in 1808 triggered a political crisis in New Spain (Mexico) which led to the armed movement. In that year, King Carlos IV and Fernando VII successively abdicated in favor of Napoleon Bonaparte, who left the crown of Spain to his brother José Bonaparte. In response, the city council of Mexico, with the support of Viceroy José of Iturrigaray, claimed sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate king. See Naime and Cervantes (this volume), Sect. 1.2.

Clavero (1990), pp. 47–86.

Tusell Gómez (2009).

Gordillo Pérez et al. (2017); Fernández Vivas (2022), pp. 185–210.

Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (2013), pp. 323–354.

Tusell Gómez (2007).

Ysàs and Molinero Ruíz (2018).

The system of political-legal territorial division known as the State of Autonomies differs from federalism in that there are no sovereign entities that cede part of their sovereign powers to a federation. An autonomism it is understood that there is a single sovereignty, although the legislative and executive powers are exercised at two levels: the state or central level and the 17 regional level. Although conceptually it is not a federalist system, it is certainly a very similar model in practice.

Martínez Sospedra (2021), pp. 59–78.

Spain has 17 autonomies (Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla la Mancha, Castilla y León, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra (with a special charter regime) and the Basque Country) and two autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla).

See Sect. 3.2. The dispositive principle of autonomy allows the autonomous communities in Spain to assume in their statutes all powers not reserved to the state in the Constitution and to have their own political and administrative organisation with no more limits than those established in the Constitution and state laws.

Treaty of Accession of Spain and Portugal (1985), Official Journal of the European Communities, L 302, 15 November 1985. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:1985:302:TOC.

Sunde (this volume).

Grossi (1996); Hespanha (1993).

Grossi (1998).

Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (2012), pp. 191–208.

Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (2011), pp. 11–49.

Caroni (1996).

The Inquisition was established in 1478 by a papal bull to act as a tribunal to identify heretics and bring them to justice. The first task of the Spanish Inquisition was to question Jewish converts to Christianity and to expose and execute those found guilty of reversion. See Pérez (2006).

Art. 242 of the Cádiz Constitution.

Art. 245 of the Cádiz Constitution.

Art. 246 of the Cádiz Constitution.

Arts. 249 and 250 of the Cádiz Constitution.

See Lorente Sariñena et al. (2012), pp. 115–145.

In the Law of 6 July 1845, the double nature, consultative and jurisdictional, of the Royal Council was clearly outlined in the law. In effect, in addition to the advisory sections, which corresponded to the ministries, there was a Contentious Section that was a true court, with a public hearing of the parties.

González Pérez (1999).

Marín Marín (2021), p. 42.

Valenciano Almoyna (1986), pp. 141–152.

Which was further developed in The Organic Law 6/1985 of the judicial power.

Rosado Iglesias (2022), pp. 271–292.

Sánchez Barrilao (2006), pp. 93–126.

Article 301 et seq. of the Organic Law 6/1985.

Article 30 of the Organic Law 6/1985.

Valencia Miron and González Montes (2014).

For example, Argentina or Mexico that is carrying out reforms to be a mixed accusatory system.

Under Article 123 of the Spanish Constitution: ‘The Supreme Court, with jurisdiction over the whole of Spain, is the highest judicial body in all branches of justice, except with regard to the provisions concerning Constitutional guarantees’. Under Article 53 of the Organic Law 6/1985 of Judicial Power: ‘The Supreme Court, based in the town of Madrid, is the highest court in all orders, except for the provisions on Constitutional guarantees. It will have jurisdiction throughout Spain and no other may have the title of Supreme’.

Article 55 of the Organic Law 6/1985.

In military courts lay judges with military education and background are usual, they are not necessarily trained lawyers, but experts in military jurisdiction.

In the year 2018, they solved 832,352 civil affairs and 748,751 criminal matters in of the territory of the Spanish state, according to the National Statistics Institute (www.ine.es).

In Spain, there are 874 courts of first instance (of which 124 are specialised in family matters, three in mortgage matters, 22 in guardianships and one in awards and arbitrations). See Consejo General del Poder Judicial, La justicia dato a dato año 2020, 2020. Available at https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Temas/Estadistica-Judicial/Estudios-e-Informes/Justicia-Dato-a-Dato/. The data on courts that appears in the following footnotes are also based on this source, and also refer to the total amount in Spain.

There are 499 courts of instruction (juzgados de instrucción).

There are 74 Commercial Courts.

See Organic Law 1/2004, on comprehensive protection measures against gender violence. In the explanatory memorandum of this regulation, it establishes that there is already a technical definition of the battered women syndrome, which consists of ‘aggressions suffered by women as a consequence of the socio-cultural conditioning factors that act on the masculine and feminine gender, placing them in a position of subordination to men and manifested in the three basic areas of the person’s relationship: mistreatment within relationships, sexual assault in social life and harassment in the workplace’. This specific reality of gender violence is what would justify the existence of these Courts for Violence against Women.

There are 81 Juvenile Courts.

Organic Law 2/1979 of 3 October (hereinafter OLCA).

Goig Martínez (2014), pp. 247–274.

Article 159.1 of the Spanish Constitution.

Examples include the prior appeal of unconstitutionality against projects and proposals for the reform of the Statutes of Autonomy, appeals related to tax regulations of the territories of Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay (Organic Law 1/2010 of 19 February), or the conflicts in defence of the autonomy of the historical territories (charter regions): Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay (Organic Law 1/2010 of 19 February).

Under the current Spanish Constitution of 1978, a writ of amparo may be filed by any natural or legal person, domestic or foreign, as well by the Public Prosecutor and the Ombudsman, at the Constitutional Court. Its function is to protect the rights enshrined in the Constitution-the fundamental rights contained in the Preliminary Title and First Section of Chapter II of Title I, to protect rights recognised in the Articles 14–29 of the Constitution and as well as conscientious objection to military service under Article 30.

Whether a case will be considered in the Constitutional Court.

Decrees (providencias) are accessory acts to resolve issues of procedures, on the contrary, orders (autos) need a legal reasoning. For example, an order of inadmissibility could be as complex as judgment in relation to legal reasoning.

Constitutional Court Statistics (year 2021), available at https://www.tribunalconstitucional.es/es/memorias/Documents/MEMORIA-2021.pdf.

Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Spain is governed by the Convention of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 10 June 1958.

The statistics on mediation, arbitration, and labour conciliation can be found at the following link by the Ministry of Work and Social Economy: https://www.mites.gob.es/estadisticas/mac/welcome.htm.

60/2003 Arbitration Act.

The main arbitration organisations used to resolve commercial disputes are the following: Spanish Court of Arbitration, Civil and Commercial Court of Arbitration (CIMA), Court of Arbitration of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, Barcelona Arbitration Court, and ad hoc arbitrations in charge of the bar associations of Madrid and Barcelona.

Article 1.6 of the Spanish Civil Code: ‘6. La jurisprudencia complementará el ordenamiento jurídico con la doctrina que, de modo reiterado, establezca el Tribunal Supremo al interpretar y aplicar la ley, la costumbre y los principios generales del derecho’.

Carpio Marcos (2004), pp. 145–183.

Bercovitz Rodríguez-Cano (2001), pp. 2173–2175.

Gómez Fernández (2006), pp. 61–98.

La supremacía de la Constitución es, pues, compatible con regímenes de aplicación que otorguen preferencia aplicativa a normas de otro Ordenamiento diferente del nacional siempre que la propia Constitución lo haya así dispuesto, que es lo que ocurre exactamente con la previsión contenida en su Art. 93. Declaration of the Constitutional Court of 1/2004. Judicial basis 4. Translation: ‘The supremacy of the Constitution is, therefore, compatible with regimes of application that grant applicative preference to rules of another legal system different from the national one, provided that the Constitution itself has so provided, which is exactly what happens with the provision contained in its Art. 93’.

In Spain, there are two civil codes: the Spanish Civil Code of 1889 (and their constant updates), and the Catalan Civil Code. The last one is newer (2002) and is a compilation of six laws (six books). This civil code is the result of the competence of the Catalan autonomous community in Civil Law (Art. 129 of the Estatut d’Autonomia de Catalunya).

Pérez Royo (2007).

These regulations, under Article 81 of the Spanish Constitution, are those related to the development of fundamental rights and public freedoms, those approved by the Statutes of Autonomy and the electoral regime, and the others provided for in the Constitution. The approval of the organic laws requires the favourable vote of the absolute majority of the members of the Congress of Deputies in a final vote on the approved project as a whole. The jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court makes a restrictive interpretation of the matters that can be regulated by organic law. The relations of this with the ordinary law are not based on the principle of hierarchy, but on that of competence.

Law 40/2015 of 1 October, legal regime of the public sector.

Articles 9.2, 81 et seq. of the Spanish Constitution.

Article 37, Law 39/2015 of 1 October, of the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations).

The nationalist parties, apart from an anticapitalist and separatist party the CUP, run for the elections as a single candidacy (Junts pel Sí), presenting the elections as a plebiscite. The nationalist parties (Junts per Sí and CUP) received 47.74% of the valid votes, the called sovereigntist parties (non-separatist) 48.11% of the valid votes. However, due to the electoral law, which gives overrepresentation to rural territories, the separatist parties won the majority of seats (with 72 out of a total of 135). The non-separatist parties won 63 seats. See http://www.gencat.cat/governacio/resultatsparlament2015/resu/09AU/DAU09999CM_L4.htm.

Resolution 98/III on the right to self-determination of the Catalan nation, Resolution 631/VIII on the right to self-determination and on the recognition of popular consultations on independence and Resolution 5/X by which the Declaration of sovereignty and the right to decide of the people of Catalonia is approved.

See Mora-Sanguinetti (2022).

See, e.g. Díez Picazo (1984).

It is disputed whether the constitution is included in this concept, or if the constitution is a source of law.

Arts. 81–86 of the Spanish Constitution, and Arts. 148 and 149 applicable to the autonomous communities and their competences.

Article 1 paragraph 3 of the Spanish Civil Code.

Case 885/2022 of the Spanish Supreme Court, 30 November 2022; case 798/2022 of the Spanish Supreme Court, 21 November 2022; case 817/2022 of the Spanish Supreme Court, 22 November 2022. See https://www.poderjudicial.es/search/indexAN.jsp.

Art. 1 of the Spanish Civil Code, and Art. 111-1 of the Civil Code of Catalonia.

Díez Picazo (1983).

499/2003 case, of the Spanish Supreme Court, Civil Chamber, of 16 May 2003.

In this field, there are many decisions of the EU Court of Justice. See, e.g. Case 11-70 Internationale Handelsgesellschaft [1970] ECR 1125; Case 106/77 Simmenthal [1978] ECR 629. More recently, we can consider Case C-497/20 Randstad Italia SpA [2021] ECLI:EU:C:2021:1037. See also Leiss (this volume), Sect. 1.2.1.

There are many decisions of the EU Court of Justice in this sense. See, e.g. Case C-62/14 Peter Gauweiler and Others [2015] ECLI:EU:C:2015:400. In this case the EU Court of Justice stated (para. 16): ‘It must also be borne in mind that it is settled case-law of the Court that a judgment in which the latter gives a preliminary ruling is binding on the national court, as regards the interpretation or the validity of the acts of the EU institutions in question, for the purposes of the decisions to be given in the main proceedings’.

100

Art. 107 CE and Organic Law 3/1980.

101

See https://www.mjusticia.gob.es/es/areas-tematicas/actividad-legislativa/comision-general-codificacion/quienes-somos.

102

An international administrative agreement is an international agreement not constituting a treaty. This agreement is concluded by organs, agencies, or entities of a subject of international law competent by reason of the matter, whose celebration is foreseen in the treaty, that executes or concrete. The usual content of these agreements is of a technical nature whatever its name and is governed by international law. An international administrative agreement does not constitute an agreement entered by these same bodies, agencies, or entities when it is governed by an internal legal culture.

103

Under Articles 48–51 of the Spanish Law of International Treaties, autonomous communities have competence of initiative, information, and participation.

104

See Andrés Sáez de Santamaria (2016), pp. 51–102.

105

See Borrás (2009), p. 83.

106

See Garzón Clariana (2007), pp. 487–488.

107

See Arts. 23 and 24 of the Spanish Law of International Treaties (Ley de Tratados Internacionales). Ley 25/2014 of 27 November 2014, de Tratados y otros acuerdos internacionales (on Treaties and other International agreements). Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) of 28 November 2014. This law entered into force on 18 December 2014. Exceptionally, the Council of Ministers has the competence to authorise the provisional application of a treaty (Art. 15 of the Law).

108

See de Miguel Bárcena (2009), pp. 77–93; Roldán Barbero (2003), pp. 227–237; Jerez Delgado (2005), pp. 765–812.

109

Arts. 27–29 of the Spanish Law of International Treaties.

110

See Jiménez Piernas (2011), p. 149.

111

Arts. 23.3 and 29 of the Spanish Law of International Treaties. In this sense, all Spanish authorities are bound by the principle of primacy.

112

See Mariño (2005), p. 138.

113

See Villaseca Ballescá (2019), pp. 278–296.

114

It is necessary to distinguish between internal conditions and international conditions. For the applicability of an international treaty, the entry into force of this legal instrument is compulsory.

115

This is the difference among self-executing provisions and non-self-executing treaties. On the difference, see Art. 30 of Spanish Law of International Treaties. See Andrés Sáez de Santamaría (2016), pp. 71–91.

116

It is worth highlighting the decision of the German Constitutional Court of 5 May 2020, which considered that it was not bound by a decision of the EUCJ. Subsequently, this EU institution published a press release (Communiqué 58/20 of 8 May 2020) recalling its jurisprudence on the matter, where it indicated that ‘it is recalled that the Court of Justice has consistently held that a judgment in which the Court gives a preliminary ruling is binding on the national court for the purposes of the decision to be given in the main proceedings. To ensure that EU law is applied uniformly, the Court of Justice alone—which was created for that purpose by the Member states—has jurisdiction to rule that an act of an EU institution is contrary to EU law. Divergences between courts of the Member states as to the validity of such acts would indeed be liable to place in jeopardy the unity of the EU legal order and to detract from legal certainty. Like other authorities of the Member states, national courts are required to ensure that EU law takes full effect. That is the only way of ensuring the equality of Member states in the Union they created’.

117

This situation has occurred on two occasions: in 1992 for the signature of the Constitutive Treaty of the European Economic Community (Maastricht Treaty), and in 2011 to be able to participate in the European Financial Stability Found.

118

See Artoz Santistenban (2013), pp. 491–564.

119

ECJ, Case C-210/06, Cartesio [2008] ECR I–9641.

120

See Martin Sánchez (2002), p. 78.

121

This interpretation has been endorsed by the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, for example, in Judgment 161/1987 of 27 October 1987, Judgment 41/2006 of 13 February 2006, or Judgment 198/2012 of 6 November 2012. See Gutiérrez Espada (2018), pp. 836–851.

122

See https://hj.tribunalconstitucional.es/HJ/ca/Resolucion/List and https://www.poderjudicial.es/search/indexAN.jsp.

123

An appeal for review may be filed with the supreme court against a final judicial decision, in accordance with the procedural rules of each jurisdictional order, when the European Court of Human Rights has declared that said resolution has been issued in violation of any of the recognised rights in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its Protocols, provided that the violation, by its nature and seriousness, entails effects that persist and cannot be stopped in any other way than through this review.

124

See Villan Duran and Faleh Pérez (2017).

125

See Gutiérrez Espada (2018), pp. 836–851.

126

Royal Decree 822/2021 of 28 September 2021, Official State Gazzette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) num. 233 of 28 September 2021.

127

Data extracted from the official website of the Spanish Ministry of universities (2020–2021). https://www.universidades.gob.es/stfls/universidades/Estadisticas/ficheros/Datos_y_Cifras_2020-21.pdf.

128

Arts. 5.2 and 14 of Royal Decree 822/2021.

129

Universities can decide how many credits they will offer for this research work but it cannot be less than 6 or more than 24 for studies of 240 credits.

130

There are different rules regulating these practices in Spain. The most recent law is the Royal Decree (Real Decreto) 822/2021 of 28 September 2021 establishing the organisation of university education and the quality assurance procedure. However, the Law 592/2014 of 11 July 2014 is the specific regulation of external practices in Spain. According to this law, external practices are not employment relation, and they could be curricular or non-curricular practices. By curricular practices, students receive credits, and by non-curricular practices, students improve their training from an agreement between the university, the entity of practices and the student. Usually, these practices are longer than the curricular practices.

131

Registro de Universidades, Centros y Títulos. Royal Decree 1509/2008 of 12 September 2008.

132

The main mission of these representatives is the technical representation of the parties in the proceedings. Procedural laws establish in which proceedings this legal and professional representation is required. Royal Decree 1881/2002 of 5 December 2002, of Spanish Statute of Court Representatives (Estatuto General de los Procuradores de España).

133

Law 34/2006, on the access to the lawyer professions and defence attorneys (Procuradores de los Tribunales), and the Royal Decree 135/2021 approving the General Statute of the Spanish Lawyers (Estatuto General de la Abogacía), impose these requirements. Law 15/2021 has amended this law recently on 23 October 2021.

134

Guide for the preparation and verification of proposals for bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Agency for the Quality of the University System of Catalonia (AQU) November 2021.

135

This is a compulsory legal requirement. Any university (public or private) or any bar association can offer a professional master’s program without having signed a previous agreement among them. This agreement guarantees the balance between theoretical and practical training.

136

Presently in Spain there are 83 bar associations, with important differences between them. Some of these bar associations have a reduced number of members, while others have a very large number of members (Barcelona or Madrid for example). However, this situation has changed in recent years because to practice in any Spanish jurisdiction (in contrast to years prior), it is sufficient to have been admitted in one of these Spanish bar associations. In the autonomous community of Catalonia, it is a special law for professional organisations. Is the Catalan Law 7/2006 of 31 May 2006 of exercise of professions requiring academic degrees and professional associations (llei de l’exercici de professions titulades i de col·legis professionals).

137

It is in exception in the case of lawyers from the EU exercising legal activity with the provisions of the EU legislation on the freedom to provide services (Council Directive 77/249 of 22 March 1977, to facilitate the effective exercise by lawyers of freedom to provide services). In this field, it is also important for Directive 98/5 of 16 February 1998 to facilitate the practice of the profession of lawyer permanently in a Member State other than that in which the qualification was obtained.

138

Art. 14 of the General Statute.

139

Art. 9.1 of the General Statute of the Legal Profession.

140

According to the 2022 rule of Law Report of the EU Commission of 13 July 2022 (Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2022 Rule of Law Report The rule of law situation in the European Union), “the level of perceived judicial independence in Spain continues to be low among the general public and is now average among companies. Overall, 38% of the general population and 41% of companies perceive the level of independence of courts and judges to be ‘fairly or very good’ in 2022. According to data in the 2022 EU Justice Scoreboard, no clear trend can be identified in the evolution of the perceived level of independence since 2016. The perceived judicial independence among the general public remains at the same level as in 2021”. European Commission, Luxembourg, 13 July 2022 SWD(2022) 509 final.

141

Art. 117 Spanish Constitution and Arts. 1–20 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary (Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial (Ley Orgánica 6/1985 of 1 July 1985)).

142

See above Sect. 7.1.

143

Arts. 301–315 of the Organic Law of Judicial Power.

144

For Judges of the Supreme Court the regulation is Agreement of the General Council of the Judiciary approving Regulation 1/2010 of 25 February 2010 (Acuerdo del Consejo General del Poder Judicial que aprueba el Reglamento 1/2010 que regula la provision de plazas de nombramiento discrecional en los órganos judiciales). For Judges of the Constitutional Court the regulation is Organic Law 2/1979 of 3 October 1979, of the Constitutional Court (Ley Orgánica 2/1979, de 3 de octubre, del Tribunal Constitucional). See Abat Ninet (2012); Gerpe Landin and Cabellos Espiérrez (2015), pp. 13–44.

145

Art. 1 of the Organic Statute of the Public Prosecution Service, Law 50/1981 of 30th December 1981. Under Art. 2, public prosecution service is not an independent authority. Recently, the Spanish government approved new rules of procedure for the prosecution service; Royal Decree 305/2022 of 3 May 2022.

146

Royal Decree 1608/2005 of 30 December 2005 approving the Organic Regulation of the Court Clerks. Their function is also established in the Organic Law on the Judiciary (Art. 440). After 1 October 2015, they changed the traditional name ‘secretarios judiciales’ to ‘letrados de la administración de justícia’.

147

Their function is in detail regulated by Royal Decree 135/2021 of 2 March 2021.

148

Art. 1 of the General Statute.

149

According to data from the Spanish Council of the Legal Profession (Consejo General de la Abogacía), in Spain there are more than 154,000 lawyers exercising the professional activity. Considering that the population of Spain is 47,000,000 people, approximately one lawyer on 313 citizens.

150

Royal Decree 1281/2002 of 5 December, on the General Statute of Court Representatives.

151

Art. 274 mortgage regulation.

Abat Ninet A (2012) El estatuto jurídico de los Magistrados del Tribunal Constitucional Español. Aranzadi, Madrid

Andrés Sáez de Santamaria P (2016) La UE y el derecho de los tratados: una relación compleja. Revista Española de Derecho Internacional Sección Estudios 68(2):51–102CrossRef

Artoz Santistenban X (2013) La transposición de las Directivas en el Estado Autonómico: diagnóstico y perspectivas de futuro. In: Artoz Santisteban (ed) Transposición de Directivas y autogobierno: El desarrollo normativo del derecho de la Unión Europea en el Estado Autonómico, Ed. Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, pp 491–564

Barbero A (1966) La integración social de los ‘hispani’ del Pirineo oriental al reino carolingio. In: Gallais P, Riou Y-J (eds) Mélanges oferts à René Crozet. Société d’Études Médiévales, Potiers, pp 67–75

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Blume F (1889) Edictum Theoderici regis. In: Blume F (ed) MGH Leges nationum Germanicarum 5. Hahn, Hannover, pp 148–179

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Title: An Introduction to Spanish Legal Culture
Authors: Josep Maria de Dios Marcer
Josep Cañabate Pérez
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: Handbook on Legal Cultures
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-27744-3

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-27745-0

Copyright Year: 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27745-0_23