The president of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, advocated this Friday for “the formation of a common European constitutional law” in his speech at the summit of the guarantee courts of France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, which is being held in Madrid. In his speech, Conde-Pumpido defended the work and role of the Spanish guarantee body as a promoter and guarantor of European judicial cooperation and as an “active interlocutor in legal dialogue within the framework of the European Union.”
In the presence of the presidents of the Constitutional Courts of Italy and Portugal, Augusto Antonio Barbera and José João Abrantes, and the president of the Constitutional Council of France, Laurent Fabius, Conde-Pumpido highlighted the value of judicial dialogue, both with the European courts of Luxembourg and Strasbourg, as with the bodies participating in the meeting. In fact, the summit—which takes place every year in one of the four countries—on this occasion focused on “constitutional courts, actors of European constitutionalism.” In this order of things, the president of the Constitutional Court stressed the importance of comparative law and the so-called horizontal precedents—cross-references to rulings from foreign courts—as they “facilitate[n] understanding of our legal systems and encourages[n] also greater harmonization in matters as important as human rights.”
During the summit, the representations of Spain, France, Italy and Portugal have highlighted that constitutional jurisdictions have favored the expansion of fundamental rights, constitutional democracies, the rule of law and, ultimately, “a legal culture.” common”. Conde-Pumpido stated in this sense that knowing the resolutions of other foreign jurisdictions, “especially those of our neighboring countries, can be useful in our own jurisdictions,” since “it can help us resolve complex issues, especially when it comes to interpreting the Constitution with a view to the future, adapting the response to the reality of our time.”
Conde-Pumpido also highlighted the importance that accession to the European Union had for Spain, especially at the legal level, since it involved a process of transformation and adaptation of the national system to EU Law. In this sense, he highlighted the two reforms of the Constitution. The first, in 1992, allowed citizens of the European Union to vote and be eligible in municipal elections, and the second, in 2011, modified article 135 to guarantee the principle of budget stability.
The vice president, Inmaculada Montalbán Huertas, analyzed in her presentation how the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of Spain throughout its 44 years has cited pronouncements from foreign guarantee bodies. And he explained that these references help to outline “the cultural context” in which a decision is adopted and contribute to “the formation of a common European constitutional law.”
On behalf of the Constitutional Court of Spain, host of the meeting, judges Ricardo Enríquez, Ramón Sáez, Enrique Arnaldo, Concepción Espejel, María Luisa Segoviano, César Tolosa, Juan Carlos Campo, Laura Díez, José Mario Macías, and the general secretary attended. , Andrés Gutiérrez Gil. This annual meeting has its origins in 1997, when the first meeting between the Italian and Spanish constitutional courts took place. In 1999, Portugal joined and since 2017, the Constitutional Council of France has participated.
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