The Royal Decree 463/2020 declaring the state of alarm has originated in Spain an extensive controversy both academic and political on whether its text respects the prohibition of suspending fundamental rights established by the Constitution. In this article, I study whether the different rights affected have been temporarily suspended or only limited. In order to do so, three groups of rights are distinguished: those generally considered to have been only limited; those that are not complicated to find to have been limited and the great difficult case of freedom of movement. The conclusion is that even then there has been no suspension. However, the article also argues that, given that a pandemic on the scale of the COVID-19 could not be imagined when the state of emergency was regulated in 1981, it would be appropriate to make some legislative changes to guarantee better the rights of citizens and the control of public authorities under the state of emergency.
Keywords: Fundamental rights. State of alarm. Government. Constitutional interpretation. Legislative power. Constitutional Court.
El Real Decreto 463/2020 de declaración el estado de alarma ha originado en España una amplia polémica, tanto académica como política, sobre si su texto respeta la prohibición de suspender derechos fundamentales que establece la Constitución. En este artículo se estudia si verdaderamente los distintos derechos afectados han sido suspendidos temporalmente o solo limitados. Para realizarlo, se distinguen tres grupos de derechos: los que generalmente se consideran que solo se han limitado; los que no es complicado considerar que se han limitado y el gran caso difícil de la libertad de circulación y su proyección en distintos derechos. La conclusión es que ni siquiera en ese caso se ha producido una suspensión. Ahora bien, también en el artículo se defiende que, dado que cuando se reguló en 1981 el estado de alarma no se puedo imaginar una pandemia de las dimensiones de la de la COVID-19, sería conveniente hacer algunos cambios legislativos para garantizar mejor los derechos de los ciudadanos y el control de los poderes públicos bajo el estado de alarma.
The Royal Decree 463/2020 declaring the state of alarm has originated in Spain an extensive controversy both academic and political on whether its text respects the prohibition of suspending fundamental rights established by the Constitution. In this article, I study whether the different rights affected have been temporarily suspended or only limited. In order to do so, three groups of rights are distinguished: those generally considered to have been only limited; those that are not complicated to find to have been limited and the great difficult case of freedom of movement. The conclusion is that even then there has been no suspension. However, the article also argues that, given that a pandemic on the scale of the COVID-19 could not be imagined when the state of emergency was regulated in 1981, it would be appropriate to make some legislative changes to guarantee better the rights of citizens and the control of public authorities under the state of emergency.
Palabras clave: Derechos fundamentales. Estado de alarma. Gobierno. Interpretación constitucional. Poder Legislativo. Tribunal Constitucional.
