The paralysis of the legislative procedure as a violation of the ius in officium: constitutional limits on successive extensions of amendment deadlines Commentary on Constitutional Court Judgment 32/2026, of April 14. Concerning the appeal for legal protection num. 878-2023. (BOE num. 118, of May 15, 2026)

Abstract

The Judgment (STC) 32/2026, of April 14, sets an important precedent, under which the successive extension of the deadline for amendments, by the Bureau of the Congress of Deputies, during the processing of a bill—in this case, originating from a ratified decree-law (Royal Decree-Law 36/2020, of December 30, approving urgent measures for the modernization of public administration and for the execution of the recovery, transformation, and resilience plan)—led in practice to the standstill of the legislative procedure, with the bill expiring as a consequence of the dissolution of the Chambers in 2023. Consequently, the Court considers that the successive extension of the amendment period (in this case, more than seventy times) by the Bureau of the Congress of Deputies, lacking sufficient justification, violated the appellants' right to exercise representative functions in accordance with the requirements established by law, thereby declaring the challenged resolutions of the Bureau null and void. The Judgment has significant implications regarding the powers and responsibilities of the Bureaus of the Chambers as their governing bodies.