The abdicacion bill was approved in the Spanish senate yesterday (233 in favour, 5 voted against, 20 abstentions).
In a ceremony at the Royal Palace tonight King Juan Carlos signed the abdication bill into law (which was also countersigned by President of the Government Mariano Rajoy). The act will come into effect "from the date of its publication in the Official State Gazette",* i.e. at midnight. 160 people attended the ceremony, including King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, the Prince and Princess of Asturias (soon-to-be King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia), Infanta Leonor, Infanta Sofia, Infanta Elena, the King's sisters Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajóz and Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria (the latter with her husband Carlos Zurita, Duke of Soria), the Duke and Duchess of Calabria (the king's first cousin Infante Carlos and his wife Anne, née d'Orleans), the king's aunt by marriage Infanta Alicia, as well as former King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes and the former King Simeon of the Bulgarians.
On Thursday morning, 19 June, King Felipe VI will take the oath in the proclamation ceremony before both houses of Parliament. Besides the new king and queen and their daughters the Princess of Asturias (Leonor) and Infanta Sofia, also Queen Sofia, Infanta Elena, Infanta Pilar and Infanta Margarita and members of Queen Letizia's family will be present. King Juan Carlos has decided not to attend so that the new king will get all the attention. The king and queen will observe the military parade from stairs of the Congress building before being driven to the Royal Palace where they will greet the Spanish people from the balcony. The Princess of Asturias, Infanta Sofia, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia will also be present.
At 1 p.m. a reception will be held attended by around 2000 people. The English edition of El Pais has given a nice survey of tomorrow's events. In addition the Royal Court has issued a 90 pages long document with all the details about the abdication and the ceremony on Thursday (for the Spanish version, which has 3 more pages, go here).
*Postscript 23 June 2014: It should be added that I based the translation of the abdication act on the draft bill published by the Government on 3 June 2014,
where the text of the final provision said «This Law shall come into
force as from the date of its publication in the Official State
Gazette".» In the translation at the Royal Court’s website
the final provision reads «This organic law shall take effect when it
is published in the "Official State Gazette".» The latter translation
was made available after the act was published in BOE.
There
is obviously a minor, but still significant, difference between the two
translations. The former translation would mean that the then Prince of
Asturias became king (as Felipe VI) at midnight on 19 June regardless
of when the act was published that day, while the latter clearly says
that the succession started from the time of publication. Not much
difference in time, though, as the act was published two minutes after
midnight.
Even though my understanding of Spanish is
limited, it seems to me that the translation at the Royal Court’s
website is more accurate. The draft bill’s final provision in Spanish said that «La presente Ley entrará en vigor en el momento de su publicación en el Boletín Oficial del Estado".», while the published act
read «La presente ley orgánica entrará en vigor en el momento de su
publicación en el «Boletín Oficial del Estado». » The only difference is
that the word «orgánica» was added during the process.
Updated on Monday 23 June 2014 at 22:20 (postscript added, last time on Thursday 19 February 2015 (typo corrected).
Showing posts with label Felipe Prince of Asturias. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Felipe Prince of Asturias. Show all posts
18 June 2014
11 June 2014
Spanish Congress of Deputies passes abdication bill
The Spanish lower house, the Congress of Deputies, processed the abdication draft bill today. Some representatives used the event to mark their opposition to the monarchical form of government, but as the major parties voted in favour of the bill, everything went as expected.
For the record, 299 representatives were in favour, while 19 voted against. In addition there were 23 abstentions.
The relevant documents:
According to El Pais (3 June 2014), "The exact date when the law goes into effect is set to coincide with the proclamation of the new monarch, as there can be no transitional period. In the meantime, “the king continues to be the king to all effects and purposes,” said an expert in royal affairs."
I find this claim a bit odd. If Juan Carlos had died in his sleep still being the king, there would most certainly have been a transitional period, so why should there be a difference when the king abdicates and becomes "constitutionally dead"?
We will surely obtain more information as we get closer to the main events next week.
*Postscript 23 June 2014: It should be added that I based the translation of the abdication act on the draft bill published by the Government on 3 June 2014, where the text of the final provision said «This Law shall come into force as from the date of its publication in the Official State Gazette".» In the translation at the Royal Court’s website the final provision reads «This organic law shall take effect when it is published in the "Official State Gazette".» The latter translation was made available after the act was published in BOE.
There is obviously a minor, but still significant, difference between the two translations. The former translation would mean that the then Prince of Asturias became king (as Felipe VI) at midnight on 19 June regardless of when the act was published that day, while the latter clearly says that the succession started from the time of publication. Not much difference in time, though, as the act was published two minutes after midnight.
Even though my understanding of Spanish is limited, it seems to me that the translation at the Royal Court’s website is more accurate. The draft bill’s final provision in Spanish said that «La presente Ley entrará en vigor en el momento de su publicación en el Boletín Oficial del Estado".», while the published act read «La presente ley orgánica entrará en vigor en el momento de su publicación en el «Boletín Oficial del Estado». » The only difference is that the word «orgánica» was added during the process.
Updated on Wednesday 11 June 2014 at 22.35 (press release from La Moncloa added), last time on Monday 23 June 2014 at 22.20 (postscript added).
For the record, 299 representatives were in favour, while 19 voted against. In addition there were 23 abstentions.
The relevant documents:
- Proyecto de Ley Orgánica por la que se hace efectiva la abdicación de Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos I de Borbón. (121/000098)
- BOCG. Congreso de los Diputados Núm. A-98-1 de 04/06/2014
- BOCG. Congreso de los Diputados Núm. A-98-2 de 11/06/2014
- El Congreso aprueba el proyecto de Ley Orgánica de abdicación de S.M. el Rey don Juan Carlos date 11/06/2014 (press release)
- Government approves Draft Constitutional Law on the abdication of King Juan Carlos I
- Draft Constitutional Law on the abdication of HM King Juan Carlos I de Borbón
- Mariano Rajoy states abdication of King is progressing with "constitutional normality" (11 June 2014)
Sole Article. Abdication of HM King Juan Carlos I de Borbón.The bill will now move on to the Senate, where it will be processed on Tuesday 17 June 2014 at 4 p.m. The following day it is expected that King Juan Carlos will sanction and promulgate the abdication law in accordance with the Constitution Article 62. But as the text of the bill suggests, the law will not come into force until the date of its publication in the Official State Gazette.* Nothing is official yet, but it seems that Felipe will take the oath on Thursday 19 June 2014.
Sole final provision. Entry into force.
- HM King Juan Carlos I de Borbón abdicates the Spanish Crown.
- The abdication will become effective as from the entry into force of this Constitutional Law.
This Law shall come into force as from the date of its publication in the Official State Gazette.*
According to El Pais (3 June 2014), "The exact date when the law goes into effect is set to coincide with the proclamation of the new monarch, as there can be no transitional period. In the meantime, “the king continues to be the king to all effects and purposes,” said an expert in royal affairs."
I find this claim a bit odd. If Juan Carlos had died in his sleep still being the king, there would most certainly have been a transitional period, so why should there be a difference when the king abdicates and becomes "constitutionally dead"?
We will surely obtain more information as we get closer to the main events next week.
*Postscript 23 June 2014: It should be added that I based the translation of the abdication act on the draft bill published by the Government on 3 June 2014, where the text of the final provision said «This Law shall come into force as from the date of its publication in the Official State Gazette".» In the translation at the Royal Court’s website the final provision reads «This organic law shall take effect when it is published in the "Official State Gazette".» The latter translation was made available after the act was published in BOE.
There is obviously a minor, but still significant, difference between the two translations. The former translation would mean that the then Prince of Asturias became king (as Felipe VI) at midnight on 19 June regardless of when the act was published that day, while the latter clearly says that the succession started from the time of publication. Not much difference in time, though, as the act was published two minutes after midnight.
Even though my understanding of Spanish is limited, it seems to me that the translation at the Royal Court’s website is more accurate. The draft bill’s final provision in Spanish said that «La presente Ley entrará en vigor en el momento de su publicación en el Boletín Oficial del Estado".», while the published act read «La presente ley orgánica entrará en vigor en el momento de su publicación en el «Boletín Oficial del Estado». » The only difference is that the word «orgánica» was added during the process.
Updated on Wednesday 11 June 2014 at 22.35 (press release from La Moncloa added), last time on Monday 23 June 2014 at 22.20 (postscript added).
3 June 2014
Information about the abdication process by the Spanish Presidency of the Government
Following yesterday's announcement of King Juan Carlos' decision to abdicate the throne, the Presidency of the Government of Spain published the following information concerning the abdication process after today's extraordinary government meeting:
The vote on the bill (in both chambers) is expected to take place in mid June. The organic law (the abdication act) will then come into effect as soon as it has been published in the Legal Gazette (BOE). Still waiting for confirmation, but as of now it seems that the new king, Felipe VI, will be proclaimed and will take the oath (in accordance with the Constitution Article 61) on 18 June 2014.
Postscript 6 June 2014: According to El Pais 6 June 2014 the proclamation ceremony will take place on Thursday 19 June 2014.
Uupdated on Wednesday 4 June 2014 at 09.00 (typo corrected), last time updated on 6 June 2014 at 15.15 (postscript added).
- Government approves Draft Constitutional Law on the abdication of King Juan Carlos I
- Draft Constitutional Law on the abdication of HM King Juan Carlos I de Borbón
The vote on the bill (in both chambers) is expected to take place in mid June. The organic law (the abdication act) will then come into effect as soon as it has been published in the Legal Gazette (BOE). Still waiting for confirmation, but as of now it seems that the new king, Felipe VI, will be proclaimed and will take the oath (in accordance with the Constitution Article 61) on 18 June 2014.
Postscript 6 June 2014: According to El Pais 6 June 2014 the proclamation ceremony will take place on Thursday 19 June 2014.
Uupdated on Wednesday 4 June 2014 at 09.00 (typo corrected), last time updated on 6 June 2014 at 15.15 (postscript added).
NTB gjør ikke hjemmeleksen sin - litt om den spanske Grunnloven og kong Juan Carlos' abdikasjon
Andre lands grunnlover kan være en utfordring å forstå. Men man må likevel kunne forvente at norske journalister gjør hjemmeleksen sin. Dessverre har NTB slurvet i sin dekning av kong Juan Carlos' beslutning om å abdisere og lovprosessen som vil finne sted i kjølvannet av beslutningen.
I VG Direkte tidligere i dag (kl. 18.00) kunne man lese følgende om dagens regjeringsmøte:
Etter vedtaket i parlamentet trer loven i kraft så snart den er publisert i det spanske Lovtidend (Boletín Oficial del Estado, forkortet til BOE), som forklart av det spanske SMK i dag. Juan Carlos vil da være "konstitusjonelt død" og sønnen Felipe VI overtar tronen umiddelbart, men kan først utøve sin kongegjerning når han har avlagt eden. Mange ulike datoer har vært nevnt, men det ser ut til at stemmegivningen i Congreso de los Diputados (deputerkammeret) vil finne sted fredag 13. juni, før loven går videre til Senatet. Per i dag tyder mye at kong Felipe (jf. Grunnloven artikkel 61) vil bli proklamert og vil avlegge eden 18. juni, men den endelige datoen er ennå ikke offisielt fastsatt.
Alt dette kunne NTB enkelt ha funnet ut av selv hvis man hadde tatt seg tid til å oppsøke offisielle spanske kilder (som Statsministerens kontor og Deputerkammeret) og den engelske versjonen til El Pais mfl. Leserne fortjener bedre enn det NTB har servert i dag.
Etterskrift 4. juni 2014: Ifølge en pressemelding på Deputerkammerets nettside vil behandlingen i Deputerkammeret finne sted onsdag 11. juni.
Etterskrift 6. juni 2014: Ifølge El Pais 6. juni 2014 vil proklamasjonen og edsavleggelsen finne sted torsdag 19. juni 2014.
Oppdatert onsdag 4. juni 2014 kl. 11.00 (etterskrift tilføyd); sist oppdatert fredag 6. juni 2014 kl. 15.15 (etterskrift tilføyd).
I VG Direkte tidligere i dag (kl. 18.00) kunne man lese følgende om dagens regjeringsmøte:
Godkjenner spanskekongens abdikasjonNTB har åpenbart ikke sjekket fakta. For hva er det den spanske Grunnloven artikkel (seksjon) 57 pkt. 5 sier? Kan man ikke spansk, kan man finne mange oversettelser på nettet, for eksempel på hjemmesiden til det spanske parlamentet, Legislationonline.org eller ICL. Punkt 5 sier følgende:
Den spanske grunnloven hadde ingen paragraf som omhandler abdikasjon, og derfor må grunnloven endres før Kong Juan Carlos (76) kan overlate tronen til kronprins Felipe (46).
Den spanske regjeringen godkjente en grunnlovsendring i et ekstraordinært møte tirsdag, og den må nå vedtas i nasjonalforsamlingen, melder NTB.
Abdications and renunciations and any doubt in fact or in law that may arise in connection with the succession to the Crown shall be settled by an organic act.Med andre ord, Grunnloven har så absolutt en paragraf som omhandler abdikasjon! Tirsdag 2. juni 2014 offentliggjorde kong Juan Carlos sin beslutning om å abdisere i form av et signert brev til den spanske statsministeren, Mariano Rajoy. I dagens regjeringsmøte ble det derfor besluttet å fremme et lovforslag (Proyecto de Ley Orgánica por la que se hace efectiva la abdicación de Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos I de Borbón. (121/000098)) om abdikasjonen i det spanske parlamentet (Cortes Generales). Med andre ord, det vedtas en såkalt "organisk lov" ("konstitusjonell lov") med hjemmel i Grunnloven, men dette er ikke en grunnlovsendring, som krever en helt annen prosedyre.
Etter vedtaket i parlamentet trer loven i kraft så snart den er publisert i det spanske Lovtidend (Boletín Oficial del Estado, forkortet til BOE), som forklart av det spanske SMK i dag. Juan Carlos vil da være "konstitusjonelt død" og sønnen Felipe VI overtar tronen umiddelbart, men kan først utøve sin kongegjerning når han har avlagt eden. Mange ulike datoer har vært nevnt, men det ser ut til at stemmegivningen i Congreso de los Diputados (deputerkammeret) vil finne sted fredag 13. juni, før loven går videre til Senatet. Per i dag tyder mye at kong Felipe (jf. Grunnloven artikkel 61) vil bli proklamert og vil avlegge eden 18. juni, men den endelige datoen er ennå ikke offisielt fastsatt.
Alt dette kunne NTB enkelt ha funnet ut av selv hvis man hadde tatt seg tid til å oppsøke offisielle spanske kilder (som Statsministerens kontor og Deputerkammeret) og den engelske versjonen til El Pais mfl. Leserne fortjener bedre enn det NTB har servert i dag.
Etterskrift 4. juni 2014: Ifølge en pressemelding på Deputerkammerets nettside vil behandlingen i Deputerkammeret finne sted onsdag 11. juni.
Etterskrift 6. juni 2014: Ifølge El Pais 6. juni 2014 vil proklamasjonen og edsavleggelsen finne sted torsdag 19. juni 2014.
Oppdatert onsdag 4. juni 2014 kl. 11.00 (etterskrift tilføyd); sist oppdatert fredag 6. juni 2014 kl. 15.15 (etterskrift tilføyd).
2 June 2014
King Juan Carlos of Spain to abdicate
In accordance with the Constitution of Spain Article 57,5, the Government will soon propose a bill to the Parliament (Cortes Generales). The so-called "organic law" (constitutional law) will have to be passed by both houses and will come into effect when it has been published in the legal gazette. According to the Spanish media today the process is expected to take place before the end of June. The newspaper El Mundo outlines the process here (in Spanish).
King Juan Carlos' only son, Felipe, Prince of Asturias, will succeed the throne as Felipe VI.
Although there has been some speculations over a possible abdication for some time, following the scandals that have surrounded the royal house the last few years, most people were taken by surprise by the news this morning. The decision is by many commentators interpreted as an effort to save the monarchy, given its declining popularity. The king's poor health has also been pointed out as a main reason.
It is kind of sad that King Juan Carlos' reign ends this way, leaving the throne during such an institutional crisis. He has on several occasions demonstrated his lack of judgment both in his public role and in his personal life. Fortunately his successor seems to be much more in touch with the lives of the Spaniards and will hopefully give the institution the "new energy" it needs.
But despite all the scandals, King Juan Carlos will have to be remembered for his role in Spain's transition to democracy following the Franco dictatorship and for the way he handled the coup in 1981.
See Prime Minister ("President of Government") Mariano Rajoy's comments here and the statement (in Spanish) of the President of the Congress of Deputies, Jesús Portada, here.
Updated on Tuesday 17 June 2014 at 09.45 (change of url for one link).
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