The Future of Areements Concluded by Spain with the Holy See Legal Issues (According to the Programs of Political Parties on the General Elections in 2015)

Abstract

Prof. Remigiusz Beneyto Berenguer PhD, professor of law on religion at the University Cardinal Herrera of Valencia, since 2015 member of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation, in the paper composed of three articles, analyzed the election programs of political parties presented due to the general elections in December 2015 with regard to the issues of religious freedom, the principles of the Spanish law on religion, and particularly their relation to the agreements in force with the Holy See.

In the first article – concerning issues of legal personality of ecclesiastical organization units regulated in partial agreements in 1979 – after the introduction (I) he shows the legal value (II); indicates a concordat as a basic norm in Europe, including the contemporary one (III). Analyzing the position of the parties in relation to the legal issues regulated in the agreements (IV) he comes to the conclusion (V) that the programs of the People’s Party and the Citizens’ Party do not make any reference to these agreements, while other postulate their termination by the government, without taking into consideration the Art. 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, or Art. 96.2 of the Constitution (according to Art. 94 the procedure of the termination of international agreements should be the same as for their ratification) and Art. 94.1 demanded the Parliament’s consent, because the agreements concern the right of religious freedom. The Author emphasizes that those who postulate forget that the termination of agreements with the Catholic Church, would create the need to terminate their agreements with the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain, the Federation of Jewish Communities and the Islamic Commission of Spain from 1992. Furthermore, the proposed action would not be understood in the international forum, if the majority of the European Union countries regulate their relations with the Catholic Church by the international agreements, taking into account the legal personality of the Holy See. For the Catholic Church the postulates will pose the threat to the freedom of action, perform the duties of teaching and jurisdiction related to its mission. Especially if the government will decide what is “religious” and what is not.