A province in Spain is a territorial division defined as a collection of municipalities . The current provinces of Spain correspond by and large to the provinces created under the purview of the 1833 territorial re-organization of Spain , with a similar predecessor from 1822 (during the Trienio Liberal ) and an earlier precedent in the 1810 Napoleonic division of Spain into 84 prefectures. There are many other groupings of municipalities that comprise the local government of Spain .
56-405: Soria is a province of central Spain , in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León . Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. It is bordered by the provinces of La Rioja , Zaragoza , Guadalajara , Segovia , and Burgos . Soria is the least populous of all of Spain's provinces, with a density of around 9 inhabitants/km—one of the lowest in
112-608: A ceremony in the presence of parliamentarians. It came into effect on 29 December, the day it was published in the Official Gazette. Constitution Day ( Spanish : Día de la Constitución ) on 6 December has since been a national holiday in Spain . The Constitution contains 169 articles as well as a number of additional and transitory provisions. Notably, the Constitution also formally repealed several important Spanish laws related
168-501: A male preference primogeniture to the successors of King Juan Carlos I and his dynasty, the Bourbon dynasty . The heir to the throne receives the title of Prince or Princess of Asturias as well as the other historic titles of the heir and the other children received the title of Infantes or Infantas. If some person with rights of succession marries against the will of the King or Queen regnant or
224-598: A preamble, several additional and interim provisions, a series of repeals, and it ends with a final provision. The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the Constitution of 1812 . After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, a general election in 1977 convened the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving
280-579: A progressive and non-confiscatory tax system . The principles of family law are laid out in Section 32. Chapter Two also deals with the right to property (Section 33), to create foundations (Section 34), to work (Section 35), to create professional associations (Section 36) and to collective bargaining (Section 37). This Section also guarantees economic freedom and calls for a market economy which can be subject to government planning (Section 38). Chapter Three includes Sections 39 to 52. They lay out
336-459: A reduced array of rights, among which the right of association, the right to honour, the right to due process of law, freedom of speech and the inviolability of the home are included. Chapter Two begins with Section 14, an equal rights clause . Section One (Sections 15 to 29) includes an enumeration of fundamental rights and public freedoms. This section is entrenched , meaning it is extremely difficult to modify or repeal, in order to prevent
392-692: A very low productivity. In 1960, while the agricultural sector accounted for 69% of workers in the province, 70% of farms were used exclusively for animal rearing. There are currently about 100,000 hectares of land in the province dedicated to the cultivation of wheat and other 100,000 hectares for barley cultivation. The indigenous forest resources are also being exploited for timber, resin and collecting mushrooms. Marble quarries are located in Espejón while Sierra de Toranzo and Ólvega have iron mines. Magnetite sources are also being exploited in Borobia. The capital city Soria
448-520: Is 16.9%. There are 183 municipalities in Soria, of which nearly half are hamlets of under 100 people and of which only 12 have more than 1,000 people. The cathedral town of the province is El Burgo de Osma . The historical population is given in the following chart: The province's most important agricultural products are cereals. In the 1950s, there were a total of 70,000 hectares cultivated land, but excessive fragmentation and lack of mechanization resulted in
504-410: Is also present in civil procedures; in practice, the King has never been prosecuted and it is unlikely that he would be prosecuted even if it was proven that the monarch had committed a crime. The legal justification for royal immunity is that the King is mandated by the Constitution to fulfill several roles as the head of state; thus, the King is obligated to perform his actions and fulfill his duties, so
560-430: Is an important tourist destination. While the agricultural sector has a very high contribution to GDP of the province, the industrial sector represents a small proportion, just over 20% of GDP. Apart from these the province also has important food, wood processing , furniture production and auxiliary automotive components industries. Soria has 183 municipalities divided in 10 comarcas: The province's coat of arms bears
616-429: Is done through a procedure or institution called the refrendo (" countersigning " in the official English translation of the constitution). All the King's acts have to undergo the refrendo procedure. Through the refrendo, other persons assume legal and political responsibility for the King's acts, if such responsibility is demanded from them. Article 64 explains the refrendo and transfers responsibility for royal acts to
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#1733093055244672-517: Is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs and a link to a list of municipalities in the province. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered alphabetically according to the form in which they appear in the main Misplaced Pages articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same; locally valid names in Spain's other co-official languages ( Basque , Catalan , which
728-509: Is no person entitled to exercise the regency, the Cortes Generales shall appoint one regent or a council of three or five persons known as the Council of Regency. The regent must be a Spaniard and legally of age. The Constitution also establishes in article 60 that the guardian of the King or Queen during their minority cannot be the same as the person who acts as regent, unless the regent is
784-651: Is officially called Valencian in the Valencian Community , Galician ) are also indicated where they differ. Constitution of Spain The Spanish Constitution ( Spanish : Constitución Española ) is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain . It was enacted after its approval in a constitutional referendum ; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy . The current version
840-546: The Cortes approve and the Spanish people ratify the following Constitution. As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution does not formally state that Spain is a federation (nor a unitary state), actual power shows, depending on the issue considered, widely varying grades of decentralization, ranging from
896-493: The Cortes Generales , they shall be excluded from succession to the Crown, as shall their descendants. This article also establishes that if the lines are extinguished, the Cortes Generales shall decide who will be the new King or Queen attending to the general interests of the country. Finally, article 57.5 establishes that abdications or any legal doubt about the succession must be clarified by an Organic Act. This legal forecast
952-521: The European Union . The average population density of provinces in Spain and European Union are 83.6 and 116 inhabitants per square km respectively. In comparison, the Soria province is less dense than some northern parts of the Nordic countries . Of the province's population of 91,487 (2002), nearly 40% live in the capital, Soria . 26.7% of its population was above 65 years of age while the nation's average
1008-617: The Francoist regime into a democratic state. The Constitution was redacted, debated and approved by the constituent assembly ( Spanish : Cortes Constituyentes ) that emerged from the 1977 general election . It then repealed all the Fundamental Laws of the Realm (i.e., the constitution of the Francoist regime), as well as other major historical laws and every pre-existing law that contradicted
1064-579: The Prime Minister in most cases, though it also allows other ministers to assume responsibility for royal acts as well. In general, when there is not a formed government, the responsibility is assumed by the President of the Congress of Deputies . Without the refrendo, the King's actions are null and void . There are only two royal acts that do not require the refrendo. The first encompasses all acts related to
1120-502: The right of assembly (Section 21), right of association (Section 22), right of suffrage (Section 23), right to education (Section 27) and the right to strike (Section 28). The due process of law is covered by Sections 24 to 26. Section Two of Chapter Two (Sections 30 to 38) includes a list of civic rights and duties. Section 30 includes military duties with guarantees and alternatives for conscientious objectors (this section has been inactive since 2002). Section 31 establishes
1176-575: The "building-blocks" from which the autonomous communities were created following processed defined in the 1978 Constitution . Consequently, no province is divided between these communities. The importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy . They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections. Provinces are also used as geographical references: for instance in postal addresses and telephone codes. National media will also frequently use
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#17330930552441232-500: The Constitution and the laws. The King's official title is "King of Spain" ( Spanish : Rey de España ), but he is allowed to use any other titles that are associated to the Spanish Crown . The King of Spain enjoys immunity and is not subject to legal accountability. In a broad sense, this means that the King cannot be legally prosecuted. Some jurists say that this only refers to criminal procedures, while others claim this immunity
1288-428: The Constitution establishes that the monarch is the head of state and symbolizes the unity of the Spanish state. It refers to the monarch's role as a "moderator" whose main role is to oversee and ensure the regular functioning of the institutions. The monarch is also the highest-ranked representative of the Spanish state in international relations and only exercises the functions that are explicitly attributed to him by
1344-448: The King cannot be judged for actions that he is constitutionally obligated to perform. The King is vested with executive power, but is not personally responsible for exercising it. This does not mean that his actions are free of responsibility. The responsibility for the King's actions falls into the persons who hold actual political power and who actually take political decisions, which the King only formally and symbolically ratifies. This
1400-520: The Organic Act 4/2014 modified the Organic Act of the Judiciary to allow the former Kings to conserve their judicial prerogatives (immunity). The Regency is regulated in article 59. The Regency is a period in which a person exercises the duties of the King or Queen regnant on behalf of the real monarch who is a minor. This article establishes that the King or Queen's mother or father shall immediately assume
1456-540: The Spanish Constitution establishes an exhaustive list of the King's functions, all of which are symbolic and do not reflect the exercise of any political power. The King sanctions and promulgates the laws, which are approved by the Cortes Generales , which the King also symbolically and formally calls and dissolves. The King also calls for periodic elections and for referendums in the cases that are included by
1512-806: The UN's Second Administrative Level Boundaries data set project (SALB). Most of the provinces are named after their capital town —with the exceptions of Álava , Asturias , Biscay , Cantabria , Gipuzkoa , the Balearic Islands , La Rioja , and Navarre , and a name reduction in Las Palmas and Castellón — and biggest town —with the exception of Pontevedra ( Vigo ), Asturias ( Gijón ) and Cádiz ( Jerez ). Only two capitals of autonomous communities— Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia —are not also
1568-469: The capitals of provinces. Seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each: Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid , Murcia , and Navarre. These are sometimes referred to as "uniprovincial" communities. Ceuta , Melilla , and the plazas de soberanía are not part of any province. The table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the capital city
1624-660: The civil and military ranks and employments, and he also grants honors and distinctions according to the laws. The King is also the supreme head of the Armed Forces of Spain, although the effective lead is held by the Government of Spain. Finally, the King holds the High Patronage of all the Royal Academies and other organizations that have a royal patronage. The succession to the Crown is regulated in article 57 which establishes
1680-422: The constitution. A seven-member panel was selected among the elected members of the Cortes to work on a draft of the Constitution to be submitted to the body. These came to be known, as the media put it, as the padres de la Constitución or "fathers of the Constitution". The seven people were chosen to represent the wide (and often, deeply divided) political spectrum within the Spanish Parliament, while
1736-399: The date on which it became effective. The promulgation of the constitution marked the climax of the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of general Franco, on 20 November 1975, who ruled over Spain as a military dictator for nearly 40 years. This led to the country undergoing a complex process that included a series of political, social and historical changes, gradually transforming
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1792-633: The due process of law, including the process of habeas corpus . In addition to this, the Prime Minister, the Ombudsman, 50 members of the Congress of Deputies, 50 Senators, and regional governments and legislative assemblies may lodge unconstitutionality appeals before the Constitutional Court . The Constitution dedicates its Part II to the regulation of the monarchy, which is referred to as The Crown ( Spanish : La Corona ). Article 56 of
1848-518: The establishment of a legal dictatorship via constitutional amendment. Furthermore, an individual can request the protection of a justice court if any of these rights are infringed. Individual rights include the right to life (Section 15), freedom of conscience (Section 16), right to freedom and security (Section 17), honour, privacy and inviolability of the home (Section 18), freedom of movement and residence (Section 19), and freedom of speech (Section 20). The list of collective rights include
1904-442: The executive power. Section 54 calls for the creation of an Ombudsman ( Defensor del Pueblo ), accountable to the legislative power, the Cortes Generales . It acts as a supervisor of administrative activity. In addition to this, it has standing before the Constitutional Court to lodge unconstitutionality appeals and individual appeals for protection (recurso de amparo) . Sections 14 to 29 and Section 30, Part 2, enjoy
1960-450: The father, the mother, or a direct ancestor of the King. Parents can be guardian while widowed. If the parent marries again, the parent loses the guardianship, and the Cortes Generales shall appoint a guardian who must comply with the same requirements as to be regent. Article 60 § 2 also establishes that the exercise of the guardianship is also incompatible with the holding of any office or political representation so that no person can be
2016-453: The foundations of the Spanish welfare state in accordance with the constitutional mandate for a social state (Section 1) and for effective freedom and equality and societal integration for all citizens and collectives (Section 9, Part 2). It includes provisions for a public pension system , a social security system, public healthcare and cultural rights . Chapter Four includes a series of guarantees for fundamental rights. Section 53 limits
2072-507: The laws or the Constitution. The King also proposes a candidate for Prime Minister, which is probably the King's most 'political' function, as he traditionally holds meetings with the leaders of all the major political parties in order to facilitate the formation of a government. If a candidate is successfully invested by the Parliament, he formally names him Prime Minister of Spain. When a Prime Minister has been named, he also formally names all
2128-459: The leading role was given to then ruling party and now defunct Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD). The members included: The writer (and Senator by Royal appointment) Camilo José Cela later polished the draft Constitution's wording. However, since much of the consensus depended on keeping the wording ambiguous, few of Cela's proposed re-wordings were approved. One of those accepted was
2184-473: The management of the Royal House of Spain; the King can freely hire and fire any employees of the Royal House and he receives an annual amount from the state budget to operate the Royal House, which he freely distributes across the institution. The second one refers to the King's will, which enables him to distribute his material legacy and name tutors for his children, if they are not legal adults. Article 62 of
2240-434: The members of his government, all of which are proposed by the Prime Minister himself. The King has both a right and a duty to be informed of all the state affairs; he is also allowed to preside over the government meetings when the Prime Minister invites him to do so, although he has the ability to reject this invitation. Regarding the Government, the King also formally issues the governmental decrees, as well as bestowing all
2296-510: The motto Soria pura, cabeza de estremadura , which means "Soria the pure, head of the borderland", as Soria was centuries ago on the expanding borders between the northern Christian kingdoms and the territories then held by the Muslims. Province (Spain) The boundaries of provinces can only be altered by the Spanish Parliament, giving rise to the common view that the 17 autonomous communities are subdivided into 50 provinces . In reality
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2352-442: The new constitution. The Spanish Constitution is a written document that takes cues from both older Spanish constitutions and other then-current European constitutions. For example, it contains the provision for a constructive vote of no confidence , which was inspired by German Basic Law . The Constitution is organized in ten parts ( Spanish : Títulos ) and contains an additional introduction ( Spanish : Título Preliminar ),
2408-479: The office of regent and, in the absence of these, the oldest relative of legal age who is nearest in succession to the Crown. Article 59 § 2 establishes that the monarch may be declared incapacitated by Parliament if the monarch becomes unfit for the exercise of authority, in which case the Prince or Princess of Asturias shall assume the regency if they are of age; if not, the previous procedure must be followed. If there
2464-548: The pattern of the territorial division of the country carried out in 1833 . The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the division of the Province of Canary Islands into the provinces of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife . Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, as Spain was a highly centralised state for most of its modern history. The provinces were
2520-442: The political and social order. Chapter One deals with the entitlement of constitutional rights. Section 11 provides for the regulation by statute of Spanish nationality whilst providing for its inalienability for Spaniards. Section 12 establishes the age of majority in Spain at 18. Section 13 limits the entitlement of public freedoms to aliens to the provisions of statutes and international treaties. Legal persons are entitled to
2576-643: The political history of the country: the Laws of 25 October 1839 and 21 July 1876, related to the Basque fuero s and the aftermath of the Carlist Wars , as well as all of the Fundamental Laws of the Realm were repealed. It also supersedes the Law of 4 January 1977, on Political Reform, which was conceived as a temporary mechanism to loosen restrictions on fundamental rights inherited from the Francoist period . Traditionally, writing
2632-476: The preamble to the constitution was considered an honour, and a task requiring great literary ability. The person chosen for this purpose was Enrique Tierno Galván . The full text of the preamble may be translated as follows: The Spanish Nation, wishing to establish justice, liberty and security, and to promote the welfare of all who make part of it, in use of her sovereignty, proclaims its will to: Establish an advanced democratic society, and Consequently,
2688-496: The principle of human dignity as a foundation of the political order and social peace (Section 10). This can be achieved by means of constitutional reform, jurisprudential developments or the ratification of new international treaties. The effect of fundamental rights is twofold. They are subjective rights to be exercised both individually and collectively. In addition to this, they are a binding principle for all public authorities, which allows for peaceful coexistence and legitimates
2744-457: The province to disambiguate small towns or communities whose names occur frequently throughout Spain. A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the autonomous community of Castile and León . In addition, organisations outside Spain use provinces for statistical analysis and policy making and in comparison with other countries including NUTS , OECD , FIPS , CIA World Factbook , ISO 3166-2 and
2800-525: The quasi-confederal status of tax management in Navarre and the Basque Country to the total centralization in airport management. Part I of the Spanish Constitution encompasses Sections 10 to 55, establishing fundamental rights and duties. The scope of the rights recognised by the text is the largest in Spanish constitutional history. Scholars deem the enumeration open insofar as new rights can be included under
2856-576: The regulation of all rights in Chapter Two and Chapter Three to statutory law , which excludes administrative regulation ( reglamentos ). These statutes must respect the essential content of said rights. The fundamental rights and public freedoms included in Section One of Chapter Two can be invoked directly, and they ought to be regulated by means of Organic Law (which ensures greater political consensus). The creation of this statute cannot be delegated to
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#17330930552442912-469: The right to a preferential and summary procedure in the ordinary courts. Once this procedure is exhausted, citizens may lodge an individual appeal for protection (recurso de amparo) , a last instance unique to Spanish constitutional law and created in 1978 that, once exhausted, allows for an appeal before the European Court of Human Rights . This scope of additional protection reinforces the guarantees of
2968-406: The substitution of the archaic gualda (" weld -colored") for the plain amarillo (yellow) in the description of the flag of Spain . The constitution was approved by the Cortes Generales on 31 October 1978, and by the Spanish people in a referendum on 6 December 1978. 91.81% of voters supported the new constitution. Finally, it was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos on 27 December in
3024-529: The system is not hierarchical but defined according to jurisdiction ( Spanish : competencias ). The body charged with government and administration of a province is the Provincial council , but their existence is controversial . As the province is defined as a "local entity" in the Constitution, the Provincial council belongs to the sphere of local government . The layout of Spain's provinces closely follows
3080-524: Was approved in 1978, three years after the death of dictator Francisco Franco . There have been dozens of constitutions and constitution-like documents in Spain; however, it is "the first which was not imposed by a party but represented a negotiated compromise among all the major parties". It was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos I on 27 December, before it was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (the government gazette of Spain) on 29 December,
3136-560: Was exercised for the first time of the current democratic period in 2014 when King Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of his son. The Organic Act 3/2014 made effective the abdication of the King. A Royal decree of the same year also modified the Royal Decree of 1987 which establishes the titles of the Royal family and the Regents and arranged that the outgoing King and Queen shall conserve their titles. And
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