Understanding Decree-Laws: Requirements and Recognition
Decree-Laws: An Overview
A decree-law is a provisional legislative provision enacted by the Government in case of “extraordinary and urgent necessity.” It is a standard range of law whose validity is limited to a provisional 30 days from the date of publication. Through a Decree-Law, the government exercises its own power that derives directly from the Constitution, without a delegation from the Parliament.
Requirements for Decree-Laws
- The existence of an enabling budget: This requires the extraordinary and urgent need for the Government to be appreciated. There are controls by Parliament and the TC (Constitutional Court) for cases of abuse.
The constitutional jurisprudence has defined the pressing need as: the need in specific situations concerning government targets, which for some reason, require immediate regulatory action in a shorter period than the normal route or by the emergency procedure for parliamentary process of law.
The TC is clear that the government has to think of an adequate and objective situation if what is actually happening is truly exceptional and serious.
- Limitation of the scope that can regulate: Decree-Laws shall not affect the basic institutions of the State, or the rights, duties, and freedoms of citizens contained in its first title, nor those of the CCAA (Autonomous Communities), nor is the law on general elections.
- Provisional validity of the decree-law: For conversion into a permanent rule of law, it requires recognition by the Congress of Deputies, by certifying the existence of the state of necessity.
Recognition of Decree-Laws
Within 30 days of its enactment, the House of the Congress of Deputies or the Permanent Deputation (small committee of members staying in holiday season) must examine and decide to be validated, rescinded, or processed as a bill by a full debate and subsequent vote.
If validated, it joins the legal system as such; its legal nature is not transformed (i.e., does not become law; it remains a decree-law).
But it is possible to incorporate it as a stable standard of required system modifications. To do this, set the path for approval of Decree-Law as Law. In this case, the Constitution provides that within this period of 30 days “the Cortes may process them as bills for the emergency procedure.”
First, it validates the decree-law and then processed as a bill. The text that is finally passed into law by Congress and the Senate repeals the Decree-Law validated.
Moreover, bringing a constitutional complaint against a decree-law does not necessarily challenge the law that replaces the system; such approval is not deprived of their subject to appeal, which suggests that it is separate standards.
It also provides an implicit approval on after 30 days and not repealed.
Recognition of Decree-Laws (Repeated Section)
Within 30 days of its enactment, the House of the Congress of Deputies or the Permanent Deputation (small committee of members staying in holiday season) must examine and decide to be validated, rescinded, or processed as a bill by a full debate and subsequent vote.
If validated, it joins the legal system as such; its legal nature is not transformed (i.e., does not become law; it remains a decree-law).
But it is possible to incorporate it as a stable standard of required system modifications. To do this, set the path for approval of Decree-Law as Law. In this case, the Constitution provides that within this period of 30 days “the Cortes may process them as bills for the emergency procedure.”
First, it validates the decree-law and then processed as a bill. The text that is finally passed into law by Congress and the Senate repeals the Decree-Law validated.
Moreover, bringing a constitutional complaint against a decree-law does not necessarily challenge the law that replaces the system; such approval is not deprived of their subject to appeal, which suggests that it is separate standards.
It also provides an implicit approval on after 30 days and not repealing