The Spanish Constitution and the new Euro-American Constitutionalism

Abstract

The pace of Latin-American constitutionalism has been very dynamic. This essay examines some of the convergencies between the Spanish constitutional system and the common features of the new Latin-American constitutionalism. It is not possible to confirm, in all cases, a causal link between the former and the latter. In fact, many ideas belong to the democratic constitutionalism heritage of our times. Nonetheless, we can affirm that every Latin-American constituent congress has considered the Spanish case, although its level of influence has varied in each case. The Constitution of 1978 has been examined from a double perspective in Latin-America: its content and its elaboration process. As for the former aspect, the essay aims to present the similarities between some rights and institutions contained within the new constitutions. With regards to the procedure followed to draft the Spanish Constitution, we will refer to certain negotiating processes undertaken in Latin-America, which have led to the new democratic institutions, and inspiring some renewal apporaches, such as the Mexican case. The institutional and conceptual richness of the Spanish Constitution has been a continuous example for the Latin-American constituents. This is understandable especially because the Spanish Constitution is a structured norm emmanating from an intelligent and responsible consensus.