1977 Spanish Amnesty Law

Impunity for crimes during and since the Spanish Civil War 1977 Amnesty Law Law 46/1977, of 15 October, of amnesty Cortes Generales BOE-A-1977-24937 Congress of Deputies Juan Carlos I 15 October 1977 17 October 1977 14 October 1977 296 2 18 1 File:Coat of Arms of Spain (1977-1981).svg in force The 1977 Spanish Amnesty Law Amnesty Act 46/1977 https://boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1977-24937 es 15 October 1977 25 October 2023 is a law passed by the Parliament of Spain and given royal assent on October 15, 1977, two years after Francisco Franco'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 and permitted those exiled to return to Spain, but also guaranteed impunity for those who participated in crimes,Miriam M. Basilio, Visual Propaganda, Exhibitions, and the Spanish Civil War (Ashgate, 2013), p. 220. during the Civil War, and in Francoist Spain. The law is still in force, and has been used as a reason for not investigating and prosecuting Francoist human rights violations.Paloma Aguilar, "The Timing and the Scope of Reparation, Truth and Justice Measures: A Comparison of the Spanish, Argentinian and Chilean Cases" in 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"Casanova Julián Twentieth-century Spain. A History. Gil Andrés Carlos Cambridge University Press 2014 978-1-107-60267-0 en Julián Casanova Douch Martin 870438787 310—a decision among Spanish parties and political actors, during and after the Spanish transition to democracy, not to address atrocities committed by the Spanish State.Omar G. Encarnación, Spanish Politics: Democracy After Dictatorship (Polity, 2008), p. 133.Ofelia Ferrán & Lisa Hilbink, "Introduction: Legalities of Violence in Contemporary Spain" in Legacies of Violence in Contemporary Spain: Exhuming the Past, Understanding the Present (Routledge, 2016), p. 2. 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 demanded the 1977 Amnesty Law to be repealed, on the basis that it violates international human rights law. The Commissioner referred to Spain's obligation to comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under international human rights law, there is no statute of limitations for crimes against humanity.http://news.trust.org//item/?map=spain-must-lift-amnesty-for-franco-era-crimes-un Spain must lift amnesty for Franco era crimes – U.N.] https://web.archive.org/web/20171031005804/http://news.trust.org//item/?map=spain-must-lift-amnesty-for-franco-era-crimes-un 31 October 2017 Reuters February 10, 2012 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 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.Editorial, Truth on Trial in Spain, New York Times (February 5, 2012). 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 in 2012, on an unrelated charge.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/09/baltasar-garzon-guilty-wiretapping-spain Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón found guilty in wiretapping case Agencies 2012-02-09 The Guardian 2018-01-08 en-GB 0261-3077Sarah Leggott, Memory, War, and Dictatorship in Recent Spanish Fiction by Women (Bucknell University Press, 2015), p. 20. Since 2010, Argentinian judge María Servini de Cubría 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 See also 2022 Democratic Memory Law regarding Francoism's legacy 2007 Historical Memory Law regarding Francoism's legacy References Category:1977 in Spain Category:1977 in law Category:Amnesty laws Category:Politics of Francoist Spain Category:Law of Spain Category:Spanish transition to democracy Category:October 1984 in Spain