Protocol and the Cortes Generales

Abstract

According to Article 66 of the Constitution, the Cortes represent the Spanish people, who holds the sovereignty of which the powers of the State emanate (Article 1.2 of the Constitution). Hence, the official position of the parliamentary authorities, and especially in the ceremonies held in Congress or in the Senate, always symbolizes the presence of citizenship as a whole and deserves to be organized in such a way as to make visible that centrality, plurality inherent, and the pre-eminence that corresponds in each case with other concurrent authorities.

Dividing the presentation into three parts, people, solemnities and symbols, we propose to analyze successively the placement of the authorities, as well as the most relevant acts in which its constitutional position is captured, to conclude with some notes on the symbols that accompany the parliamentary ceremonial.

The evolution experienced in this 40 years period time is given by the historical context in which the different ceremonies and official acts take place, in which tradition and custom are combined with reasons of opportunity, in order to give a balanced view of the different political forces chosen by the voters.