Introduction

• Author: Lorenzo Cachón
• Pages: 12-12

12

INTRODUCTION

The national legal system

The public administration, as defined in the Spanish Constitution (SC)19 of 1978, is

structured on three levels: central Government; autonomous communities (regional

Governments); and local authorities. Central Government has a series of exclusive powers

(SC, Article 149) that include criminal and procedural law, civil legislation, labour and social

security law, the basic structu re and coordination of healthcare, the basic structure of

education and the basic legal system for public administration. The autonom ous

communities ma nage some of these fields, such as health and education, and have the

power to adopt legal regulations developing or complementing central Government

legislation in some fields. In some of the fields mentioned in Directive 2000/43, such as

‘social advantages’ (i.e. benefits), and access to and supply of goods and services that are

available to the public, including housing, all three tiers of government – central, regional

and local – have jurisdiction. Conflicts of power between central Government and the

autonomous communities are resolved by the Constitutional Court (SC, Article 161).

International treaties signed by Spain are included in the domestic legal system (SC, Article

96). Spain has ratified practically all the international instruments combating

discrimination, including Protocol 12 to the ECHR. These instruments can be relied upon

before national courts.

Spain is a non-confessional state: the Spanish Constitution clearly proclaims a separation

between church and state. In practice, religions are treated in different ways. Catholicism

is the dominant religion, and is expressly mentioned in the Constitution.

List of main legislation transposing and implementing the directives

The main pieces of legislation transposing and implementing the two anti-discrimination

directives are the following two laws:

Law 62/2003 of 30 December 2003 on Fiscal, Administrative and Social Measures (Ley

62/2003, de 30 de diciembre, de medidas fiscales, administrativas y de orden social)20

Date of adoption: 30 December 2003

Grounds covered: Racial or ethn ic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age, sexual

orientation

Material scope: Employment, social protection, social advantages (i.e. benefits), education,

access to goods and services

General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and their So cial Inclusion (RLD

1/2013, 29 November 2013) (Ley General de derechos de las personas con discapacidad

y de su inclusión social)21

Date of adoption: 29 November 2013

Ground covered: Disability

Material scope: Equal opportunities, non-discrimination and universal access for persons

with disability in all fields (employment, social protection, social advantages, education,

access to goods and services)

19 Spanish Constitution (Constitución Española) (BOE, 29 December 1978),

https://www.boe.es/eli/es/c/1978/12/27/(1)/con.

20 Law 62/2003 of 30 December 2003 on Fiscal, Administrative and Social Measures (Ley 62/2003, de 30 de

diciembre, de medidas fiscales, administrativas y de orden social) (BOE, 31 December 2003),

http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2003/12/31/pdfs/A46874-46992.pdf.

21 RLD 1/2013, General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and their Social Inclusion (Ley General

de derechos de las personas con discapacidad y de su inclusión social), 29 November 2013 (BOE, 3

December 2013), https://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/2013/BOE-A-2013-12632-consolidado.pdf.