Law of Succession in the Headship of State

LAW OF SUCCESSION IN THE HEADSHIP OF STATE of 26th July, 1947, amended by the Organic Law of the State of 10th January, 1967

Whereas the Spanish Cortes, as the highest organ of participation by the people in the affairs of the State, have drawn up the Fundamental Law declaring the constitution of the Kingdom, have created the Council of the Realm and determined the norms governing the Succession in the Headship of State, whose text, having been submitted to the referendum of the nation, has been accepted by eighty-two per cent of the electorate, representing ninety-three per cent of voters.

And whereas the Organic Law of the State amends certain articles of said Fundamental Law, in respect of the composition of the Council of the Realm, determining that ten of its Members shall be elected as against the former number of four; and introduces other amendments to clarify certain points of the process of succession for the purpose of avoiding any risks.

Pursuant to the approval of the Cortes and with the true and direct expression of the will of the nation.

I resolve:

Article One
Spain, as a political unit, is a Catholic, social and representative State which, in keeping with her tradition, declares herself constituted into a Kingdom.

Article Two
The Head of State is the Caudillo of Spain and of the Crusade, Generalissimo of the Armed Forces, don Francisco Franco Bahamonde.

Article Three
If the Headship of State should fall vacant, its powers shall be assumed by a Regency Council, composed of the President of the Cortes, the highest-ranking Prelate serving as Counsellor of the Realm for the longest period, and the Captain-General, or in his absence, the Lieutenant-General, in active service and with the most seniority, of the Army, Navy or Air Force in this order, or their respective deputies in accordance with the provisions of the following article. The President of this Council shall be the President of the Cortes, and the validity of its resolutions shall require the presence of at least two of its three members, including, at all times, that of its President or, in his absence, that of the Vice-President of the Council of the Realm.

Article Four
I. A Council of the Realm, which shall have precedence over the consultative bodies of the nation, shall assist the Head of State on highly important matters and resolutions falling within his exclusive competence. The President of the Cortes shall serve as President to this Council, which shall consist of the following members:


 * —The Prelate of the highest rank and seniority among those who are Deputies of the Cortes.


 * —The Captain-General or, in his absence, the Lieutenant-General, in active service and of the most seniority of the Army, Navy or Air Force in that order.


 * —The Commanding-General of the Supreme Staff or, in his absence, the most senior of the three General Chiefs-of-Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force.


 * —The President of the Supreme Court of Justice.


 * —The President of the Council of State.


 * —The President of the Spanish Institute.


 * —Two Councillors elected by vote by each of the following groups of Deputies of the Cortes:


 * a) That of the Members of the National Council.


 * b) That of the Trade Union Organization.


 * c) That of Local Administration, and


 * d) That of family representation.


 * —One Councillor elected by vote by each of the following groups of Deputies of the Cortes:


 * a) That of University Rectors.


 * b) That of Professional Colleges.

II. The office of Councillor shall be bound to the conditions under which election or nomination was made.

III. The Head of State, shall appoint, at the proposal of the Council of the Realm, from among its members, a Vice-President and the deputies of each of the Members of the Regency Council.

IV. In cases where it is impossible for the President to attend, or if the Presidency of the Cortes should be vacant and, in this latter case, until such Presidency is filled, the Vice-President of the Council of the Realm shall deputize for the President.

V. The resolutions, rulings and draft resolutions of the Council of the Realm shall be adopted by a majority of votes among the Members present, whose number may not be less than half plus one of the total membership, except when the Fundamental Laws may demand a determined majority. In the event of a tie in the voting, the President shall decide the vote.

Article Five
The Head of State shall be assisted preceptively by the Council of the Realm in those cases where the present Law or another Fundamental Law establishes this requisite.

Article Six
At any moment, the Head of State may propose to the Cortes the person whom he thinks should succeed him, either as King or as Regent, under the conditions laid down by this Law, and similarly, he may submit for the approval of the Cortes the revocation of the person proposed by him, even though this person might have been accepted by the Cortes.

Article Seven
When, upon the Headship of State becoming vacant, the person appointed in accordance with the preceding article is called to the succession, the Regency Council shall assume powers in his name and shall convoke a joint session of the Cortes and the Council of the Realm to witness the swearing of the oath prescribed in the present Law and proclaim him King or Regent.

Article Eight
I. Should the Head of State die or be declared incapacitated without having appointed a successor, the Regency Council shall assume all powers, except that of revoking the nomination of any one of the members of the Council itself, who shall retain their office in any event, and shall convoke within three days, the members of the Government and of the Council of the Realm so that they may, in an uninterrupted and secret session, decide, by a two-thirds majority of those present, which shall be considered to be an absolute majority, which person of royal blood, in possession of the qualities required by the present Law, and taking into account the supreme interest of the country, they should propose to the Cortes as King. Should the proposal not be accepted, the Government and the Council of the Realm may formulate, subject to the same procedure, a second proposal in favour of another person of royal blood who also is qualified under the law.

II. When, in the opinion of the joint session, there is no one of royal blood with the required qualities, or if their proposals have not been accepted by the Cortes, they shall propose, with the same conditions, as Regent, who by his prestige, capacity and possible service to the nation, should hold this position. On presenting this proposal, they may indicate the term and conditions for the duration of the Regency, and the Cortes must decide on each of these points. If the person proposed as Regent is not accepted by the Cortes, the Government and the Council of the Realm must make, subject to the same procedure, new proposals until the approval of the Cortes is obtained.

III. In the eventualities discussed in the preceding paragraph, if the two-thirds majority is not obtained in the first voting, a second vote shall be taken and, if necessary, a third vote. In the third vote, a three-fifths majority shall suffice to validate the decision, and this must be equivalent to at least the absolute majority.

IV. The Cortes should meet in plenary session within a maximum of eight days after each proposal, and the successor, having obtained the favourable vote of the Cortes, in accordance with the provisions of Article Fifteen, shall take the oath required by this Law, in virtue of which, and immediately thereafter, the Regency Council shall transfer its powers to the successor.

V. If the provisions in Article Eleven of this Law are not fulfilled, upon the Headship of the State becoming vacant, a successor shall be appointed in accordance with the stipulations of the present Article.

Article Nine
In order to exercise the Headship of State as King or Regent, the candidate must be male and a Spaniard, must have attained the age of thirty, profess the Catholic religion, possess the qualities necessary for the execution of his high mission and swear to uphold the Fundamental Laws, as well as swear allegiance to the Principles governing the National Movement. The same oath must be taken by the successor after reaching the age of thirty years.

Article Ten
The Fundamental Laws of the nation are: the Fuero de los Españoles (Statute Law of the Spanish People), the Labour Law, the Constitutive Law of the Cortes, the present Law of Succession, the Law of the National Referendum and any other which may be promulgated in teh future in this category.

Their derogation or amendment shall require, not only the approval of the Cortes, but the referendum of the nation.

Article Eleven
I. Once the Crown has been restored to the King, the regular order of succession shall be that of primogeniture and right of succession, with preference for the anterior line over the posterior; in the same line, the closest degree of kinship over the furthest; in the same degree of kinship, the male over the female, who may not reign, but who may transmit the right to her heirs, and, in the same sex, the older over the younger; all this without prejudice to the exceptions and requirements prescribed in the preceding Articles.

II. In the event that the heir to the Crown, according to the order established in the preceding paragraph, has not reached the age of thirty when the throne becomes vacant, his public functions shall be exercised by a Regent appointed in accordance with Article Eight of this Law, until the heir reaches the legal age.

III. The same norm shall apply if because of the incapacity of the King, recognized in the manner prescribed in Article Fourteen of the Law, the Cortes should declare the installation of the Regency, the heir not having yet reached the age of thirty years.

IV. In the eventualities discussed in the two preceding paragraph, the Regency shall come to an end as soon as the reason motivating its presence ceases to exist.

Article Twelve
All cession of rights before acceding to the throne, abdications when the successor has been appointed, renouncements of any nature and royal marriages, as well as the marriage of the immediate successors, shall be announced by the Council of the Realm and approved by the Cortes of the nation.

Article Thirteen
The Head of State, upon the advice of the Council of the Realm, may propose to the Cortes that there be excluded from the succession those royal persons lacking the necessary capacity to rule or who, because of their notorious departure from the fundamental principles of the State or because of their acts, deserve to lose the rights of succession established in this Law.

Article Fourteen
The incapacity of the Head of State, recognized by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Government, shall be communicated in a detailed report to the Council of the Realm. If this Council, by the same majority, should agree on this point, the President of the Council of the Realm shall submit the matter to the Cortes, which, at a session called within the following eight days, shall adopt the ensuing resolution.

Article Fifteen
I. The validity of the resolutions taken by the Cortes in respect of this Law shall depend on the favourable vote of two-thirds of the Deputies present, which must be equivalent, at least to the absolute majority of all the Deputies.

II. However, in the eventualities discussed in Articles six and eight of the present Law, if the two-thirds majority is not obtained in the first voting, a second and, if necessary, a third vote shall be taken. In the third voting, the resolution shall be validated by a three-fifths majority, which must be equivalent at least, to the absolute majority.