Bayona Statute
The Bayona Statute (Estatuto de Bayona) of 1808 was the first written Spanish constitution. The Constitution of Cádiz from 1812 is often referred to as the first written constitution of Spain, as it was also created by Spaniards in Spain and was also the first constitution to be enacted in all parts in Spain. The Bayona Statute was an imposed constitution through which Napoleon wanted to impose an autocratic system on Spain.
Emergence
The Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) allowed the French army to march through Spain to Portugal . Napoleon took the opportunity to send more troops to Spain than agreed in the treaty and to occupy large parts of the country . After both Charles IV and Ferdinand VII had renounced the Spanish crown during a visit to Bayonne (Spanish: Bayona) in France under pressure from Napoleon, Napoleon installed his brother as Joseph I as King of Spain. In order to give Joseph's claim to the throne a legal appearance, a Diputación general was convened on May 19, 1808 , which met on June 15, 1808 in Bayonne. In the preamble this assembly is called the Junta Nacional (National Assembly). The convening of the members of the assembly was based on the procedure of calling the Cortes . The intended representatives of the nobility and the clergy were named directly. The representatives of the people should be elected from the cities that traditionally sent representatives to the Cortes, universities, chambers of commerce, etc. Of the planned 150 delegates, only 75 were present at the opening session and 91 at the closing session.
Napoleon had, through Hugues-Bernard Maret , who was already involved in the formulation of some other constitutions, e.g. B. who was involved in the Batavian Republic , made a draft in which some Spanish characteristics were taken into account. The assembly met for three weeks and made some changes that did not, however, call into question the fundamentally authoritarian character of the constitution. After the Assembly approved the Bayona Statute on July 7, 1808, the text was published in the Gaceta de Madrid , the traditional Spanish law and regulation gazette. The transitional provisions of the constitution provided for a gradual implementation. Due to the political and military situation during the Spanish War of Independence , only a few more steps could be taken to ensure full validity. With the Treaty of Valençay in December 1813, the Spanish crown was transferred back to King Ferdinand VII . At the latest by this the validity of the constitution was completely abolished.
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Declaratory part
In the preamble , the constitution is presented as a contract between the king and his people. However, this contradicts the fact that the text corresponded to the will of Napoleon and not that of the Spanish people on whom this constitution was imposed. The text implicitly assumes that sovereignty has passed to the king with the consent of the population. The constitution does not specifically state the rights of the king. When rights or tasks are assigned to an organ, it can be assumed that this restricts the king in the exercise of these rights or tasks. A separation between the legislative and executive branches is not sought.
Citizens' rights and freedoms are not grouped in a separate paragraph, but are distributed throughout the Constitution. The most important rights are freedom of the press , freedom of trade , freedom of the person and the inviolability of the home . The abolition of the prerogatives of the nobility in taxes and the allocation of public offices, the harmonization of the rights of overseas territories and the abolition of domestic customs duties were intended to promote the country's economy.
In comparison to other constitutions influenced by Napoleon, the establishment of the Roman Catholic religion as the state religion and the prohibition of all other religions is striking .
Organizational part
The Cortes should have 172 members and were designed as a unicameral parliament in which the clergy should be represented by 25 archbishops and bishops . The nobility should be represented by 25 nobles who called themselves Grandes de Cortes . The third estate, the people, was to be represented by 62 MPs from the provinces in Spain and overseas. 30 more MPs should be elected in the main cities of Spain and the neighboring islands ( Balearic and Canary Islands ). For this purpose, 15 MPs should be appointed by the King according to a list of proposals from the Chambers of Commerce. The king should also appoint the 15 representatives of the universities according to a list of proposals from the universities and the Consejo Real .
The Cortes should convene at least every three years. Only the king could convene the Cortes and dissolve them. The meetings should not be open to the public. The chairman of the Cortes was to be determined by the King from a three-party proposal by the Cortes. The king should, if necessary, mark the laws with the remark that he had heard the Cortes.
The Senate provided for in the Bayona Statute is not a legislative body. The Senate was to consist of the Infante of Spain, who were over 18 years old, and of 24 members who were to be appointed for life by the King from the group of ministers, captains-general of the Army and Navy, ambassadors, members of the Council of State and the Royal Council. The task of the Senate should be to monitor compliance with personal freedoms and freedom of the press. The Senate should be responsible for contesting elections and as an address for citizens' petitions .
The constitution provides for nine ministers with equal rights and defined responsibilities. A state secretary with the rank of minister was responsible for drawing up the laws. A cabinet as a collegiate body was not planned.
The Council of State (Consejo de estado) consisted of the king as chairman and at least 30 and at most 60 people. It was divided into six divisions: the Justice and Church Affairs Division, the Domestic and General Policy Division, the Taxes Division, the War Division, the Navy Division, and the India Overseas Division. Each department should consist of a chairman and at least four other people. The ministers should be free to attend the meetings of the State Council. They were not taken into account in the membership figures. The Council of State was a body that should prepare legislative initiatives that could then be approved and enacted by the king with or without treatment in the Cortes.
The legal system is regulated in a special section. The courts were independent. Various freedoms were granted in principle. The law should be simplified by a uniform code of law. The same rights are to apply in the overseas territories as in the European provinces.
The Bayona Statute does not contain any rules on regional division or local government.
The State Council (Consejo de Estado) was able to repeal the constitution as an emergency measure. It should not be possible to amend the constitution before 1820.
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- Constitution of Bayonne s: es: Constitución de Bayona de 1808 , 6 July 1808 (date: see last line of the document)
- Actas de la diputación general de Españoles…, Imprenta y Fundacion de JA García, Madrid 1874
- Ignacio Fernández Sarasola: La primera Constitución Española: El Estatuto de Bayona, Biblioteca Miguel de Cervantes, 2005 / Revista de derecho Nº 26, Barranquilla, 2006 ISSN 0121-8697 (.pdf) .
Bayona Statute (1808) | Constitution of Cadiz (1812) | Royal Statute of Spain from 1834 | Spanish Constitution of 1837 | Spanish Constitution of 1845 | Spanish Constitution of 1869 | Project of the Federal Spanish Constitution of 1873 | Spanish Constitution of 1876 | Constitution of the Spanish Republic of 1931 | Spanish Constitutional Laws 1938 to 1977 | Constitution of the Kingdom of Spain (1978)