Spanish Constitution of 1978

Spanish Constitution
Copy of the Spanish Constitution displayed at the Palace of the Cortes
Created	31 October 1978
Ratified	6 December 1978
Location	Congress of Deputies
Author(s)	"Fathers of the Constitution"
Signatories	Juan Carlos I

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 (Spanish: Constitución española de 1978) is the current supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after the country's 1978 constitutional referendum and is a furtherance of the Spanish transition to democracy. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 was preceded by numerous other constitutions.

The Constitution was originally ratified after a referendum on 6 December 1978 and was signed by King Juan Carlos on 27 December 1978. The signing of the Constitution marked the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of the former Head of State, Francisco Franco, in 1975. This led to the country undergoing a series of political and historical changes that transformed the Francoist regime into a democratic state. The Constitution states that the King of Spain is the head of state. However, the king's function is merely symbolic and does not have any executive power.

The separation of powers is implicitly stated throughout the Constitution, which says that all people have the right to decide the representatives who will occupy the Cortes Generales, consisting of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate; both share the legislative power. The Government, whose president is anointed by the Congress of Deputies, directs the executive power, and the judicial power relies on judges, and the Constitutional Court assures that all laws follow the Constitution.

The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the Constitution of 1812. After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, a general election in 1977 convened the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving the constitution.