Editing Monarchy of Spain (section)

===Inviolability and lèse-majesté===
The Spanish monarch is personally immune from prosecution for acts committed by government ministers in the king's name.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" /><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE" /> Although he is nominally chief executive, he is not  responsible for exercising his powers. His acts are only valid if countersigned by a minister, who then assumes political and legal responsibility for the act in question. This legal convention mirrors the concept of [[sovereign immunity]] which evolved in similar constitutional monarchies. The legal concept of sovereign immunity evolved into other aspects of immunity law in similar [[liberal democracies]], such as [[parliamentary immunity]], [[judicial immunity]], and [[qualified immunity]] in the United States. As the reigning monarch the king of Spain has absolute sovereign immunity, he cannot be charged in any court of law in the Spanish state. This immunity applies to both civil and criminal cases. Sovereign immunity is reserved exclusively for the current holder of the Office of King. It does not apply to any other member of the royal family. When Juan Carlos I abdicated the throne to his successor Felipe VI he automatically forfeited his constitutional sovereign immunity and can be charged in a court of law. However, special legislation was passed by parliament prior to his abdication that states he may only be tried by Spain's Supreme Court and no other.

{{quote|The Person of the King of Spain is inviolable and shall not be held accountable. His acts shall always be countersigned in the manner established in section 64. Without such countersignature they shall not be valid, except as provided under section 65(2).|Title II ''The Crown'', Article 56, the Spanish Constitution of 1978.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" /><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE" />{{NoteTag|{{langx|es|La persona del Rey de España es inviolable y no está sujeta a responsabilidad. Sus actos estarán siempre refrendados en la forma establecida en el artículo 64, careciendo de validez sin dicho refrendo, salvo lo dispuesto en el artículo 65,2.}}}}}}

The concept of [[lèse-majesté]] (''lesa-majestad'') exists in Spanish [[jurisprudence]], which is the crime or offense violating the dignity of the [[head-of-state]] or the State itself. According to Article 56 of the 1978 Constitution the monarch and the dignity of the Spanish State are one and the same: "The King is Head of State, the symbol of its unity and permanence".<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" /><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE" /> Breaching Spain's ''lèse-majesté'' laws may carry fines and up to two years in prison.<ref name="Spanish King Juan Carlos defends monarchy">{{cite news |title = Spanish King Juan Carlos defends monarchy |newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]] |date = 2007-10-04 |url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1565021/Spanish-King-Juan-Carlos-defends-monarchy.html |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1565021/Spanish-King-Juan-Carlos-defends-monarchy.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date = 2009-05-27 |location=London |first=Fiona |last=Govan }}{{cbignore}}</ref> The concept is within the same legal sphere as legislation prohibiting [[flag desecration]] in other democratic countries. Additionally, ''lèse-majesté'' extends to any foreign heads-of-state visiting Spain, and other members of the royal family, and to the Spanish [[Prime Minister of Spain|President of the Government]] as the king's appointed officer.

The Spanish satirical magazine ''[[El Jueves]]'' was fined for violation of Spain's ''lèse-majesté'' laws after publishing an issue with a caricature of the [[Felipe, Prince of Asturias|Prince]] and [[Letizia, Princess of Asturias|Princess of Asturias]] engaging in [[sexual intercourse]] on their cover in 2007.<ref name="Spain royal sex cartoonists fined">{{cite news |title = Spain royal sex cartoonists fined |work = [[BBC News]] |date = 2007-11-13 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7092866.stm |access-date = 2007-11-13 |archive-date = 24 March 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120324124855/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7092866.stm |url-status = live }}</ref> In 2008, 400 Catalonia separatists burned images of the king and queen in Madrid,<ref name="King under fire 1"/> and in 2009 two Galician separatists were fined for burning effigies of the king.<ref name="Galician separatists" />