The Spanish Ombudsman and the Constitutional Justice

The Spanish Ombudsman has been conceived as an institutional guarantee of the fundamental rights recognized in the Spanish Constitution. To protect the fundamental rights of citizens, this institution has been granted the traditional instruments used by other Ombudsmen. Therefore, the Spanish Constitution expressly provides that the Ombudsman is able to control the Administration and will report about its activities to the Parliament. However, the Spanish Ombudsman was gifted with two powers that are not always granted to Ombudsmen, as he/she can initiate a proceeding before the Constitutional Court if he/she considers that a law is unconstitutional or if he/she considers that an individual act violates those fundamental rights recognized in articles 14 to 29 and 30.2 of the Spanish Constitution. This paper will focus on those powers, analysing the reasons that leaded the Spanish constituency to grant the Ombudsman powers to initiate some proceedings before the Constitutional Court; the constitutional and legal configuration of those powers; and the use that the Spanish Ombudsman has made of them.