Project of the Federal Spanish Constitution of 1873

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The federal constitution of the Spanish Republic (Proyecto de Constitución Federal de 1873) is a draft constitution that was submitted to the Constituent Cortes in 1873. The draft was not voted on. The federal constitution of the Spanish Republic never came into force. The draft was, however, again and again, especially after 1975, as an example of the possibility of a federal state structure in Spain.

History of the design

On February 10, 1873, King Amadeus renounced the Spanish crown after a two-year reign. One day later, on February 11, 1873, a joint session of the Congress and Senate, elected in August 1872, took place. Such a joint consultation was actually excluded according to the then valid constitution of 1869 . This assembly consisting of Congress and Senate was called the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). With 258 to 32 votes, the National Assembly passed a motion declaring the republic to be a form of government. This repealed the constitution of 1869. In addition, Estanislao Figueras was appointed "President of the executive power". Constituent Cortes should be convened.

The Constituent Cortes were elected on May 10, 1873. All male Spaniards over the age of 21 were eligible to vote. Neither the Carlist nor the Alphonsinos took part in the elections, nor did the Unitarian republicans or parties oriented towards the International . The turnout was the lowest in Spain's history. It is therefore not surprising that the Federal Republicans received 343 seats and all other groupings combined 31 seats. So there was no relation whatsoever between the distribution of seats in the Constituent Cortes and the actual political conditions. The assembly met in a first session from June 1, 1873 to September 20, 1873 and dealt not only with the drafting of a new constitution, but primarily with the politics of the day. The new session opened on January 2, 1874. After the government of the Prime Minister (Presidente del Poder Ejecutivo) Emilio Castelar was not given 100 to 120 votes on January 2, 1874 , the military under the leadership of General Manuel Pavía occupied the parliament on January 3, 1874. By decree of January 8, the newly formed government of the Prime Minister (Presidente del Poder Ejecutivo) Francisco Serrano Domínguez dissolved the Cortes. There was no further official discussion of the draft constitution during the first Spanish republic. A new, monarchist constitution did not come into force until 1876.

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Declaratory part

Specified states (Cuba and Puerto Rico are not on the map)

The Spanish nation should be composed of 17 individually listed states, including Cuba and Puerto Rico. The sovereignty should rest with the entirety of the citizens and should be exercised through the organs of the republic, which should be established through general elections. A merger of states and the division of states should in principle be possible. Freedom rights would have been greatly expanded by the constitution. Among other things, freedom to work, freedom of trade, freedom of association, freedom of thought and conscience and the right to a life in security and dignity were provided. For the male population there would have been compulsory military service. All worship services should be free in Spain. A separation of church and state was planned. The confederation of states, the individual states and the cities should be prohibited from directly and indirectly supporting religious communities. Civil status would have been a matter of civil administration alone.

Organizational part

The draft constitution foresaw a division of power in the state into four branches: The legislature was at the top level with the Cortes and the Congress. The executive was with the ministers. Judicial power was exercised by judges and juries. As a fourth power, a president of the republic was intended as a "mediating force" (poder de relación). The Cortes were intended as a parliament with two unequal chambers. The senators should be elected by the parliaments of the individual states. The Senate, which had a time-limited veto right, was supposed to check whether a law to be passed violated the rights of citizens or other organs. Members of Congress should be elected by direct universal suffrage for two years. A restriction through a census was not intended. The Cortes should meet for at least four months each year. The first meeting period should begin on March 15th, the second on October 15th. Parliament should choose its own president and set its own rules of procedure. Congress and the government, but not the Senate, should have the right to propose legislation. The tasks of central legislation were finally listed. The head of the executive power should be a Council of Ministers led by a Prime Minister. The Prime Minister should be chosen by the President at his own discretion. A supreme court should decide disputes between states. In addition, it should be able to determine the unconstitutionality of laws and override these laws. The president's task should be to represent the nation on the one hand, and to mediate between the legislature and the executive on the other. The president and his deputy should be elected at the state level by electoral boards, which should be elected by the electorate for that purpose only. The votes cast in the states should then be evaluated as a whole. A resolution of the Cortes should be necessary for a constitutional amendment, which would then have to be confirmed by the Cortes to be newly elected.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amadeo's abdication. (PDF; 26 kB) February 11, 1873, accessed on September 21, 2013 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ Gaceta de Madrid of February 12, 1873.
  3. ↑ Election law of March 11, 1873: Colección Legislativa de España. Madrid: Imprenta Nacional, Imprenta del Ministerio de Gracia y Justicia, 1847–1878. Primer Semestre de 1873. p. 480.
  4. ^ Stanley G. Payne: A History of Spain and Portugal vol. 2, The Library of Iberian Resources Online, http://libro.uca.edu/payne2/spainport2.htm p. 469.
  5. ↑ Decreto, exponiendo á la Nacion el orígen, actitud y propósitos del Poder Ejecutivo de la República y declarando disueltas las Córtes Constituyentes de 1873. (Colección Legislativa de España. Madrid: Imprenta Nacional, Imprenta y18 Ministerio de Gracia . Primer Semestre de 1874. pp. 35–40)
  6. ↑ s: es: Constitución española de 1876

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literature

  • Walter L. Bernecker and Horst Pietschmann: History of Spain, 4th edition Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005 ISBN 3-17-018766-X .
  • Stanley G. Payne: A History of Spain and Portugal vol. 2. The Library of Iberian Resources Online, online.
  • Angel Bahamonde: La I República (España). Gobierno de Castilla y León, online.