Budgetary autonomy

Abstract

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 expressly acknowledges the budgetary autonomy of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate in its article 72.

The budgetary one is the least visible and perhaps the most significant of the manifestations of the autonomy of the Chambers and in Spain is broad and is projected to the entire budget cycle and its control, which is what the Chambers decide that their accounts must have.

Its origins date back to the Middle Ages and its legal basis is constitutional and is nowadays linked to the concept of sovereignty and the principle of separation of powers, so it clearly differs from the true scope of financial autonomy that law accords to other constitutional bodies in different degrees.
In addition to the Constitution, this autonomy is gathered in the Regulations of each Chamber and in other internal rules. The laws on budgetary, contractual, grants and asset matters of the State, also gather the budgetary autonomy of the Cortes Generales.

In the 40 years of life of our Constitution, the Congress of Deputies and the Senate have exercised with moderation and responsibility their constitutional duty in this matter and have evolved in its interpretation in accordance with the principles of transparency and good governance of public funds.