President of the Constitutional Court (Spain)

President of the
Constitutional Court
Coat of Arms of Spain
since January 12, 2023
AbbreviationPTC
Member ofConstitutional Court
SeatConstitutional Court Headquarters, Madrid,
 Spain
NominatorPlenary Court
AppointerMonarch
Term length3 years, 2 terms limit
Constituting instrumentConstitution of 1978
FormationJuly 12, 1980; 44 years ago (1980-07-12)
First holderManuel García Pelayo[1]
DeputyVice President of the Constitutional Court
Salary€167,169 per year[2]
Websitetribunalconstitucional.es

The president of the Constitutional Court (Spanish: Presidente del Tribunal Constitucional) of Spain is the head of the Constitutional Court, the highest body with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts of the Spanish central and regional governments. It is defined in Part IX (i.e. section 160) of the Constitution of Spain, and further governed by Organic Laws 2/1979 (a.k.a. Law of the Constitutional Court of October 3, 1979).[3] The court is the "supreme interpreter"[4] of the Constitution, but since the court is not a part of the Spanish Judiciary,[4] the Supreme Court is the highest court for all judicial matters.[5]

The president, as the highest authority of the Court, exercises its representation and presides over the Plenary, as well as presides over the First Chamber. The president is appointed by the Monarch at the proposal of the rest of the Court's magistrates, who elect him or her by majority and for a three-year term with the possibility of a single reelection. In cases of vacancy, absence or other legal reason, he is substituted by the vice president, who presides over the Second Chamber.[6]

The Presidency of the Constitutional Court, created by the 1978 Constitution and effective since 1980, has as its direct predecessor the Presidency of the Constitutional Guarantees Court, a body similar to the Constitutional Court and which had Álvaro de Albornoz as president between 1933[7] and 1934, Fernando Gasset between 1934[8] and 1936 and Pedro Vargas Guerendiain as acting president from 1936 until the end of the Spanish Civil War.

The current and 12th president of Court is Cándido Conde-Pumpido since January 2023.[9][10]

  1. ^ Real Decreto 1322/1980, de 4 de julio, por el que se nombra Presidente del Tribunal Constitucional a don Manuel García-Pelayo y Alonso
  2. ^ Hidalgo, Emilio Sánchez (2022-10-06). "Así son los sueldos de los altos cargos: 167.000 euros para el presidente del Constitucional y 90.000 para el del Gobierno". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  3. ^ Newton, Michael T.; Peter J. Donaghy (1997). Institutions of modern Spain : a political and economic guide. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-57348-3.
  4. ^ a b Olga Cabrero. "A Guide to the Spanish Legal System". Law Library Resource Xchange, LLC. Archived from the original on 2006-12-14. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ § 123, clause 1, Spanish Constitution of 1978
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference TC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Office of the Prime Minister (22 July 1933). "Decreto nombrando Presidente del Tribunal de Garantías Constitucionales a don Álvaro de Albornoz y Liminiana" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  8. ^ Office of the Prime Minister (28 December 1934). "Decreto nombrando Presidente del Tribunal de Garantías Constitucionales a don Fernando Gasset Lacasaña" (PDF). www.boe.es. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  9. ^ Brunet, José María (2023-01-11). "Cándido Conde-Pumpido, elegido presidente del Tribunal Constitucional". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  10. ^ "Conde-Pumpido y Montalbán toman posesión como presidente y vicepresidenta del Tribunal Constitucional". Europa Press. 2023-01-12. Retrieved 2023-01-12.