A claim to the law and consequent demands on the legislator of our time

Abstract

The article examines the characteristics that laws must fulfil, in accordance with the Constitution, observing the principles of generality and abstraction, the non-arbitrariness of the legislator, the principles of better regulation, and the guarantees that the rule of law will prevail in the face of laws with intrusive precepts and omnibus laws, the abuse of urgencies and special procedures, the frequent amending laws or the complex specialities required by legislation in technical or scientific fields. Instead of indulging in the literature on the crisis of the law, it is proposed that laws should be drafted with rigour, respecting these principles and after due reflection and plural debate. This involves all the powers, but especially the Legislative Power, because if Parliament does not assume responsibility so that the law can consolidate itself as the great instrument of coexistence that it should be in this XXI century, no one will replace it in this task.  To this end, a comprehensive modification of the legislative procedure by means of an in-depth reform of the Standing Orders of the Parliament is considered indispensable. Dealing with the bodies, by strengthening the decisive role of the Bureaux of the Chambers, assisted by the Clerks, the General Secretariats as a whole and a new Office of Legislative Quality, and by introducing the figure of the Coordinator of each bill, who will oversee its coherence and quality throughout the processing [...]