Organic Law (Spain)

An Organic Law (Spanish: Ley Orgánica) in Spanish law under the present Spanish Constitution of 1978 must be passed by an absolute majority of the Congress of Deputies (not merely a majority of those voting). The Spanish Constitution specifies that some areas of law should be regulated by this procedure, such as the Laws of Development of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms contained in the first section of Chapter Two of Title I of the Constitution, which was the basis for the Statutes of Autonomy of the various autonomous communities of Spain. Prior to the 1978 constitution this concept had no precedent in Spain. It was inspired by a similar concept in the current French Constitution of 1958, which established the French Fifth Republic.^[1]

In legal terms, organic laws are at the same level as ordinary laws. The difference between the two is in the more restrictive process for creating organic laws and in the matters that they regulate.