PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT ON THE RULE OF LAW BY THE FUNDACIÓN HAY DERECHO

MEP Javier Zarzalejos stated on 13 September that ‘never before in history has Spain been so “de-parliamentarised”. Not even with absolute majorities has the Spanish Parliament been so depreciated’. He did so during the presentation of the report on the rule of law drawn up by the Hay Derecho Foundation. The MEP stressed that there is a ‘slippage’ in some countries, including Spain, towards practices that have ‘little to do’ with what should be the embodiment of the rule of law.

In his speech, Zarzalejos pointed out the central problems facing the Spanish democratic system. Firstly, he pointed to a ‘deterioration’ in the separation of powers; secondly, he referred to the ‘degradation of the quality of the legislative process’, which, according to him, directly affects both legal security and the process of democratic deliberation itself. The third major problem identified by Zarzalejos is what he called the ‘de-parliamentarisation’ of Spanish democracy. He insisted that Parliament has lost its role as a forum for debate and consensus-building, a situation that he considers extremely dangerous.

Zarzalejos stressed that this trend is not exclusive to Spain, but is part of a wider phenomenon in the European Union, where there is a ‘slippage’ in some countries towards practices that weaken the rule of law.

The chairman of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs did not fail to mention some recent examples of what he considered to be ‘interference’ by the executive in the judiciary, such as the recent amnesty law, the proposed reform of crimes such as sedition and embezzlement, which, according to him, weaken the legal framework and ‘render ineffective’ firm judicial sentences.