The Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law is a law passed by the Parliament of Spain and given

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on October 15, 1977, two years after

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

's death.Ackar, Kadribasic (2010
Transitional Justice in Democratization Processes: The Case of Spain from an International Point of View
''International Journal of Rule of Law, Transitional Justice and Human Rights'', pp. 120-121. The Law freed

political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

and permitted those exiled to return to Spain, but also guaranteed impunity for those who participated in crimes, during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, and in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. The law is still in force, and has been used as a reason for not investigating and prosecuting Francoist

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

.Paloma Aguilar, "The Timing and the Scope of Reparation, Truth and Justice Measures: A Comparison of the Spanish, Argentinian and Chilean Cases" i
''Building a Future on Peace and Justice: Studies on Transitional Justice''
(eds. Kai Ambos, Judith Large, and Marieke Wierda: Springer, 2009), pp. 505, 521–522. The Act was the clearest and most explicit expression of Spain's " pact of forgetting"—a decision among Spanish parties and political actors, during and after the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

, not to address atrocities committed by the

Spanish State Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. The 1977 Amnesty Law has been criticized by scholars for equating "victims and victimizers" and for shielding human rights violators from prosecution and punishment. Spain has argued that perpetrators of crimes against humanity cannot be prosecuted for crimes committed before 1939; however, the UN takes the view that the Francoist era crimes should be investigated.''La ONU da la razón a Garzón y pide investigar el franquismo''
'' Público'' (Publico.es), 10/02/2012 In February 2012, the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

demanded the 1977 Amnesty Law to be repealed, on the basis that it violates

international human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

. The Commissioner referred to Spain's obligation to comply with the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom ...

. Under international human rights law, there is no

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

for

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

. In 2013, a UN working group of experts again called upon Spain to repeal the 1977 law.U.N. tells Spain to revoke Franco-era amnesty law
Reuters (September 30, 2013). In 2008, Judge

Baltasar Garzón Baltasar Garzón Real (; born 26 October 1955) is a Spanish former judge in Spain's central criminal court, the '' Audiencia Nacional'' responsible for investigation the most serious criminal cases, including terrorism, organised crime, crimes ...

briefly began an official inquiry, symbolically indicting Franco for the disappearance of more than 100,000 people. In 2009, Manos Limpias, a far-right union, brought criminal charges against the judge, for defying the amnesty law. Garzón was acquitted of the charges of "knowingly acting without jurisdiction", relating to his investigation of Francoist crimes, but was then disbarred for 11 years by the

Spanish Supreme Court The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. The court has original jurisdiction over cases against high-ranking officials of the Kingdom and over cases regarding the legalization of political parties. It also has u ...

in 2012, on an unrelated charge. Sarah Leggott, ''Memory, War, and Dictatorship in Recent Spanish Fiction by Women'' (Bucknell University Press, 2015), p. 20. Since 2010,

Argentinian Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

judge

María Servini de Cubría Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

has been investigating civil rights abuses under the Franco regime. In 2018, she agreed to extend her investigation to include crimes specifically against women.Guardian Oct 26, 2018, Judge investigates Franco era crimes
/ref>

References

{{Reflist 1977 in Spain 1977 in law Amnesty laws Politics of Francoist Spain Law of Spain Spanish transition to democracy

See also

References