The political form of the Spanish State is that of a parliamentary monarchy. The King, as Head of State, plays an arbitrating and moderating role in the regular operation of its institutions and assumes the highest representation of the Spanish State in international relations.

Spain has a civil law legal system with regional variations. Countries with civil law systems have extensive, frequently updated codes that make up their primary law. Important sources of Spanish law include the Constitution, laws, legislative degrees, and regulations. Court decisions do not form binding precedent. 

Most laws and cases from Spain will be in Spanish. English translations of documents are sometimes available, but translations are provided solely for convenience. The official Spanish versions have legal effect rather than any translated versions in other languages. 

The Spanish Constitution is the basic and supreme rule of the Spanish legal system. Since its approval in 1978, the Spanish Constitution has been amended three times: in 1992, 2011, and 2024.

The executive power is entrusted to the Government of the Nation, comprised of the President (Prime Minister), vice-presidents, ministers, and such other members as provided by law.

Spain's legislative branch is the Cortes Generales, a bicameral parliament made up of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate.

All legislation appears in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado / BOE). In Spain, the publication of laws is a basic requirement for their validity (Articles 91 and 96 of the Spanish Constitution). All regulations are published in the BOE, or, in the case of regulations issued by the legislative bodies of the autonomous communities, in their Official Gazettes. Otherwise, the rule would never enter into force (as stated in Article 2 of the Civil Code).

The judiciary consists of the following courts: 

• Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court): 
  • The Supreme Court is based in Madrid. It is the only judicial body in Spain with jurisdiction throughout the national territory, constituting the highest court in all areas (civil, criminal, administrative litigation, and social), except for the provisions on constitutional rights and guarantees, the jurisdiction of which falls to the Constitutional Court. 
• Audiencia Nacional (National Court): 
  • The National Court is based in Madrid and is a unique judicial body in Spain with jurisdiction throughout the national territory, constituting a centralized and specialized Court for the hearing of certain types of major crimes.
• El Tribunal Superior de Justicia (Higher Courts of Justice):
  • The Higher Courts of Justice are the highest judicial body in the autonomous regions, without prejudice to the jurisdiction that corresponds to the Supreme Court and those matters that require constitutional guarantees, jurisdiction that corresponds to the Constitutional Court.
• Tribunal Constitucional de España (Constitutional Court of Spain):
  • Separate from the other courts, the Constitutional Court has the supreme power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spain.

For more about the Spanish Judiciary (in Spanish) see its official website: Poder Judicial España.

Cases (in Spanish) can be found at CendoJ (Judicial Documentation Center).

Subject law collections provide access cases and legislation from Spain and other countries pertaining to a specific subject area. Using a subject law collection is particularly helpful when you are comparing the laws of more than one country. 

For more suggestions on subject-specific collections of laws, please see GlobaLex's Foreign Law - Subject Law Collections on the Web research guide.