Purposes and Regulatory Structure of Administrative Procedures in Spain
Purposes and Regulatory Structure of Administrative Procedures in Spain

Author(s): Eduardo Gamero Casado
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Administrative Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: Spain; administrative procedures
Summary/Abstract: Spain was the first country to enact the Administrative Procedure Act, in 1889. It has an extremely protracted legal tradition in this area. This paper explains how this legislation on common administrative procedure has developed and how it has been structured and explains the purposes underlying these norms, allocation of jurisdictional authority in this area among the different political actors, and the existence of special common laws in specific areas to supplement the general provisions of the Spanish Common Administrative Procedure Act (CAPA) [Ley 39/2015, de 1 de octubre, del Procedimiento Administrativo Común de las Administraciones Públicas]. Administrative procedure has two main roles in Spain. According to the Constitutional Court, the two are complementary: one is to guarantee citizens’ rights, the other is to ensure that administrative decision-making reliably safeguards the underlying public interest. It also serves as a channel for citizens to participate in decision-making, an expression of democratic principles. Today a premium is being placed on simplifying procedure and shifting the traditional focus from due administrative procedures towards a new concept of proper administrative procedure, i.e., one that can better fulfil its overall function, shifting from Good Administration to better (and smart) regulation.

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