Spanish Constitution of 1812: Key Features & Impact
The Dawn of Liberalism: The Spanish Constitution of 1812
The Genesis of a Modern Nation
During the War of Independence in Spain, areas not occupied by the French army not only resisted and fought the invader in the military field but also sought to sow the necessary legal foundations for the modernization of the country. In this way, when the king returned to Spain, he would only have to implement the new laws.
The process of convening the Cortes (courts) began with the Supreme Central Junta, whose initial aim was to carry it out as in the old regime (by estates). However, the liberals achieved a different approach: the call was not made by estates but by a unique assembly in which each member had a vote equal to any other.
In 1810, the Central Board transferred its powers to a Regency Council that was established in Cadiz, considered the safest area from the advancing Napoleonic forces. The election of deputies from each province was carried out by a vote of males over 25 years of age. Despite the large share of the popular classes in the war, their representation in the Cortes was limited, with the majority being intellectual bourgeois members.
The Principles of the Constitution
In its initial decree, the Constitution established several key decisions:
- Declared that sovereignty resided in the Cortes.
- Established the division of powers within the state.
- Allocated legislative power to the Cortes.
- Set as one of its main objectives the development of a Constitution.
Its main objective was to create a model of society built on three fundamental bases of liberalism:
- Economic freedom, which demanded the abolition of the feudal aristocratic regime and the liberalization of property and labor.
- Legal equality, which required the abolition of feudal privileges of the nobility and clergy and the consideration of all people as equal citizens before the law.
- A parliamentary and constitutional political system, which claimed the abolition of the king’s absolute power and the elaboration of a Constitution defining the new model of state and the functioning of its institutions.
Key Features of the 1812 Constitution
National Sovereignty: Power resides in the nation, an idea opposed to monarchical sovereignty.
Division of Powers:
Legislative branch: Unicameral Cortes
Judiciary: Courts
Executive branch: King, but with significant limitations:
His orders must be validated by the signature of the relevant minister.
He cannot dissolve the Cortes.
He has a temporary suspension veto for two years; after this, the decision of the Parliament becomes law.
He appoints the ministers, but they must be countersigned by the Cortes (“double trust”).
New Right of Representation: The nation exercises its sovereignty through its representatives in Parliament.
Complicated Electoral Procedure: Indirect universal male suffrage in the fourth degree. Voting rights for all men over 25 years of age, who chose a few electors who in turn elected the deputies.
Equality of Citizens before the Law: This represented the end of estate privileges.
It omits any reference to territories with privileges, equivalent to their non-recognition. However, the provincial regimes of the Basque provinces and Navarra were not explicitly repealed.
Recognition of Individual Rights: To education, freedom of the press, inviolability of domicile, liberty, and property.
Catholicism is the Only Permitted Religious Denomination: The need for collaboration of the clergy in the fight against the French explains this intolerant feature that clashes with the advanced spirit of the Constitution.