Cortes Generales

Time you got around to sponsoring a child

This article is part of the series
Politics of Spain

The Crown - Head of State
The King / Queen
King Juan Carlos I

Cortes Generales - Legislative branch
   Congress of Deputies
   Senate
   Regional legislatures

Government - Executive branch
   President of the Government
   Council of Ministers
   Regional governments

Judicial system - Judicial branch
   General Council of the Judicial Power
   Constitutional Court
   Supreme Court
   Regional high courts

Constitution
   1977 Political Reform Act
   1978 Constitution
   Amendments
Autonomous communities
Madrid (capital city)

Cortes Generales is the name given to the Spanish Parliament. It is a bicameral legislature, composed of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house, and the Senate, the upper house.

It has full legislative power (i.e. can enact any law and amend the Constitution), only under the European Parliament-European Council tandem and the European Constitution, that the Spanish Parliament can't amend.

Table of contents

1 History of the Cortes

1.1 Origins: the Feudal Age
1.2 The rise of the bourgeoisie
1.3 The Catholic Kings
1.4 The Imperial Cortes
1.5 The First Republic Parliament
1.6 The Restoration Cortes
1.7 The Second Republic Parliament
1.8 The Cortes Generales under the Franco's regime
1.9 The democratic Cortes Generales

History of the Cortes

Origins: the Feudal Age

The system of Cortes started in the Middle Age with the appearance of the feudalism. A Corte was an advisory council made up by the feudal lords. The King had the ability to call and dismiss them, but, as the lords of the Corte had the army and the money, the King usually signed treaties with them to pass bills for war at the payoff of more powers for the lords and the Cortes.

The rise of the bourgeoisie

With the reappearance of the cities near the 12th century, a new social class started to grow: people living in the cities was neither part of the feudal servants (because they weren't under the protection of feudal lords) nor nobles themselves. Furthermore, the nobles were passing a very hard economic situation due to the Reconquista, so now the bourgeoisie (Spanish burguesÃÂa, from burgo, city) had the money and thus the power. It's somehow happy to see that things have always been as they are now: who has the money has the power. So the King started admitting representants from the cities to the Cortes in order to get more money for the Reconquista. The frequent payoffs were the Fueros, grants of authonomy to the cities and their inhabitants. At this time, the Cortes already had the power to opposs to the King's decision, thus effectively vetoing them. In addition, some representants (elected from the Corte members by itself) were permanent King advisors even when the Corte was not in session.

The Catholic Kings

Isabella and Fernando, the Catholic Kings started a heavy politic to diminish the power of the bourgeoisie and noble lords. They significantly reduced the powers of the Cortes and switched the nobility to their side (those who didn't, had their neck under danger).