The following post is a guest post by foreign law specialist Eduardo Soares. Eduardo has previously published the following posts: The Law Library’s New Report on the Regulation of Stem Cell Research, The Civil Law System – Global Legal Collection Highlights, Laws Behind the Rio Olympics, and New Report on Civic Space Legal Framework in Portugal and Romania, among others.
A new report on the legal framework for civic space in Spain is now available on the Law Library of Congress website. The report examines the principles of anti-discrimination and equality; access to information; the freedom of thought, expression, and of the press; and the rights to peaceful unarmed assembly and association as reflected in the Spanish Constitution and some of the country’s regulations.
These principles were given a specific chapter in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, which lists rights and freedoms as well as the duties of citizens. In 1979, Spain ratified the European Convention of Human Rights which sets forth fundamental rights and freedoms also enshrined in the Constitution.
To further regulate the protection of personal data, another fundamental constitutional right, and adapt the Spanish legal system to European regulations, Spain enacted an organic law that transposed the European Union’s general data protection regulation (GDPR).
Several laws have been enacted in relation to the fight against terrorism and money laundering, including a law that recognizes the victims of terrorism and establishes a framework for providing compensation to the victims of terrorist actions.
Furthermore, while civic participation is guaranteed by the Constitution through the right to vote and be voted on, some constitutional limitations can be imposed on civil liberties, such as where there is a “state of alarm” or “state of siege.”
To find out more, we invite you to review our report, here.
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