Law I / The State, Legality and Legitimacy
Practice question · Fill in the blanks

Complete the Spanish constitutional formula.

Article 1.1 declares Spain a social and ______ state of law. Article 9.1 subjects citizens and public powers alike to the Constitution and the rest of the legal ______. Article 9.3 guarantees, among other things, the ______ of unfavourable or rights-restricting provisions. Conformity with the norms in force is ______, which is a different property from acceptance of authority as rightful.

Word bank: democratic · order · non-retroactivity · legality · legitimacy · social

Hints
  1. The first blank is the third adjective in the formula.
  2. The last blank contrasts with legitimacy, which is the word deliberately left in the bank.
Show the answer

Article 1.1 declares Spain a social and democratic state of law. Article 9.1 subjects citizens and public powers alike to the Constitution and the rest of the legal order. Article 9.3 guarantees, among other things, the non-retroactivity of unfavourable or rights-restricting provisions. Conformity with the norms in force is legality, which is a different property from acceptance of authority as rightful.

Why

The last two entries in the bank are the pair the whole lesson turns on. Legality is checked by reading the norms; legitimacy is a fact about what people accept. Article 9.1 can guarantee the first for everyone and say nothing whatever about the second.

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