Chapter Seventeen. Spanish Constitutional Court Practice on Private International Law

Abstract

This chapter reports the decisions of the constitutional jurisdiction in Private International Law, some opening clarifications seem appropriate. The legal system of international jurisdiction of the Spanish courts is set forth in Articles 21–25 of the Judiciary Act of 1985. In the Spanish legal system the rules of Private International Law are identified with those of ‘conflicts of laws’, as can be seen in Article 149.1.8 of the Spanish Constitution. In Spain, which is a politically complex State possessing Autonomous Communities with legislative powers, Article 149.1.8 of the Constitution, relating to civil legislation, attributes to the State the sole competence to establish ‘rules to settle conflicts of laws’. Absent an applicable international treaty or Community rule, the conditions governing the recognition and enforcement of a foreign judicial or arbitrational decision are contained in Articles 952 to 954 of the Civil Procedure Act. Keywords: Autonomous Communities; civil legislation; Civil Procedure Act; Private International Law; Spanish courts; Spanish legal system