An organic law is necessary to constitutionally regulate a certain aspect of social life.
An organic law is necessary, from a constitutional point of view, to regulate some aspect of social life. These regulations have a different jurisdiction than ordinary laws and present some extraordinary requirements, such as an absolute majority at the time of their approval.
It should be noted that a law is a precept that commands or prohibits something in accordance with justice . These are rules dictated by the authorities and that obey certain principles, such as generality (they affect all individuals) and obligatory nature (they are imperative), among others.
Origin of organic law
The origin of the organic law dates back to the French Constitution of 1958 . Although it depends on each national legislation, organic laws are usually seen as a link or intermediate stage between ordinary laws and the Constitution .
The particular characteristics of organic laws require a large parliamentary majority (because they are very sensitive issues for society ) and the greatest rigidity in regulation (organic laws cannot be modified easily or at the will of a ruler).
Your application
These laws, therefore, address the development of public freedoms and fundamental rights . Those countries that admit the existence of organic laws, which intervene between ordinary laws and the Constitution, generally limit their application to a number of well-determined matters. This limit has two reasons:
- Guarantee that the most delicate issues are always regulated through the majority of parliamentary votes.
- Ensure that, on the other hand, laws that are more prone to future modifications, given their less static nature, do not require such a strict path to be approved.
Organic laws have different characteristics depending on the country.
Organic laws in Spain
Organic laws in Spain are related to ordinary laws in a non-hierarchical way, opposite to the situation that occurs between laws and regulations; It is an organization based on the characteristics of each matter to be regulated , so that the scope of each type of law is limited. This guarantees the analysis of each specific case and the application of the laws that correspond to its nature, and not those that are more important.
Listed below are the matters that in Spain must be measured through organic laws:
- The conception of fundamental rights and freedom of the community.
- The action of approving or modifying the Statutes of Autonomy.
- Any procedure related to the general election regime.
The situation in other countries
For Chile, the organic laws belong to a special section of its legal system laws , which has been established in the revision of its Constitution in the year 80. This category includes a series of topics explicitly detailed in the text itself, which require a majority equivalent to four out of every seven votes by senators and deputies, whether for its approval, modification or repeal.
In the Dominican Republic , on the other hand, an organic law is conceived to regulate a fundamental right, such as:
- The form and administration of public powers.
- The exercise of public functions .
- The election regime.
- Issues related to the economy and finances at the national level:
- Decisions that require the preparation of a budget, planning or public investment:
- The organization of the territory.
- Constitutional actions.
- Defense and national security.
In Colombia , meanwhile, certain issues are also specified that must be regulated through organic laws, and they revolve around:
- Legislative activities.
- To those regulations designed to prepare, approve and execute the income budget.
- Any action that affects the approval laws, the national development plan and those that are designed to assign regulatory powers to national organizations.