Un nuevo marco de relación entre el Tribunal Constitucional y el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos

Abstract

Organic Law 6/2007 (24 May 2007), amending Organic Law 2/1979 (3 October 1979), was introduced by the Constitutional Court. This new Organic Law provides a new model for the protection of fundamental rights by the Constitutional Court (the so-called recurso de amparo) on the grounds of a breach of the rights and freedoms referred to in art. 53.2 of the Spanish Constitution. The most innovative element of this regulation regarding applications for amparo is the substantive requirement of «special constitutional relevance» imposed by art. 50.1.b) for its admission. Thus, following the reform, the mere infringement of a fundamental right or public freedom will no longer be considered sufficient for admission. This reform has consequences for the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Spanish courts, as evidenced by the rise in the number of individual complaints brought before the ECHR by residents in Spain, and the number of judgments adopted by the ECHR against Spain. Individual complaints are often lodged before the ECHR after the Constitutional Court has rejected an application because of its failure to demonstrate «special constitutional relevance», even if a fundamental right has been breached. This article examines the important role played by the Spanish Constitutional Court as a link between the Spanish and the European systems of the protection of human rights, and it suggest ways in which it might be redefined.