Cortes Generales and Parliamentary Groups

Abstract

Parliamentary Groups have played a major role in the development of the Spanish Parliament during the last forty years. From the very beginning, even before the Spanish Constitution was passed, the provisional Standing Orders did include relevant responsibilities for parliamentary Groups. Over the years, as a projection of the political parties in Parliament, they could be considered as key players in the progressive consolidation of the Spanish democracy itself. Their importance is reflected in organizational and operational aspects. Parliamentary groups are the ones which mainly curry out parliamentary functions.
Issues such as the legal nature and role of the Mixed Group, the so called “party mandate” or active legitimation of parliamentary groups before constitutional and ordinary courts are still discussed. What it is not a subject of discussion is that, according to the jurisprudence established by the Constitutional Court, the right to access on equal terms to public office include, under certain conditions, the right of parliamentarians to form a parliamentary group.