BOE of today, Monday, September 21: Justice regulates the annual working hours of its workers and four collective agreements are published.

The regulation of the annual working hours of Justice Administration employees, as it affects personnel serving the State Administration and the basic statute of public employees, is normally approved through a state law. The procedure is the general law-making process provided for in the Constitution and developed by the Regulations of the Congress and the Senate, with some possible variations (urgent processing, prior use of royal decree-law, etc.).

1. General legal framework

The legislative procedure is basically regulated by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 (in particular, the articles on the legislative function of the Cortes Generales), by the Regulation of the Congress of Deputies (published by Resolution of February 24, 1982, and reformed on multiple occasions, the latest in 2025) and by the Regulation of the Senate (consolidated text of 1994, also reformed). These rules set the procedures that any bill or legislative proposal must follow, including one that regulates the annual working hours of Justice personnel.

2. Processing in the Congress of Deputies

If opting for a state ordinary law, the main steps in the Congress are:

• Presentation and qualification: the Government submits a bill, previously approved by the Council of Ministers, or a parliamentary group presents a legislative proposal. The Board of the Congress qualifies the text and admits it for processing.
• Amendment period: a period is opened for groups and deputies to submit amendments, both total (return of the text or alternative text) and partial (on specific articles).
• General debate in Plenary: if there are total amendments, the Plenary debates whether to reject the text or return it to the Government. If those amendments are rejected, the initiative continues its processing.
• Work in Committee: the competent Committee (in this case, likely Justice or Public Function) debates and votes on partial amendments and approves a report. There may be a prior Subcommittee to organize the work.
• Congress Plenary: the Committee's report is submitted to the Plenary, where the remaining "live" amendments are debated and voted on. The result is the text approved by the Congress.

3. Processing in the Senate

The text approved by the Congress passes to the Senate, which also acts according to the procedure provided in its Regulation:

• Reception and qualification: the Senate Board admits the bill for processing and sends it to the competent Committee.
• Amendments and Committee: senators and groups may submit amendments; the Committee debates the text and formulates a report.
• Senate Plenary: the Plenary may:
  • approve the text as is (the law would be ready for sanction),
  • approve it with amendments, or
  • agree on a veto (return of the text to the Congress).

If the Senate introduces amendments or issues a veto, the text must return to the Congress, which decides finally: it can lift the veto by qualified or simple majority (depending on elapsed time) and accept or reject the Senate's amendments.

4. Final approval, sanction, and publication

Once the Congress approves the final text — integrating or not the Senate's contributions — the law proceeds to the sanction and promulgation phase by the King, and is published in the Official State Gazette. The entry into force is usually set in a final provision (normally twenty days later, unless otherwise specified).

5. Variant: royal decree-law followed by bill

In matters considered of "extraordinary and urgent necessity," the Government may first opt for a royal decree-law that provisionally regulates the annual working hours in Justice. In that case:

• The royal decree-law is approved by the Government and comes into force after its publication in the BOE.
• It must be ratified by the Congress within thirty days, in a Plenary debate and vote.
• The Congress may agree to process it as a bill by the urgent procedure, which opens a complete legislative process (amendments, Committee, Plenary, Senate) on the same text, allowing adjustment or reinforcement.

In summary, the final approval of a regulation on the annual working hours of Justice Administration personnel requires a full journey through Congress and Senate, culminating in sanction and publication in the BOE, with the possibility that, due to urgency, a provisional regulation by royal decree-law is anticipated and later ratified and developed as law.

According to current regulations, the powers of the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes are mainly defined in Royal Decree 829/2023, of November 20, restructuring ministerial departments (BOE no. 278, 21.11.2023, text in BOE). Its internal structure is completed by Royal Decree 204/2024, of February 27 (cited in the error correction BOE-A-2024-4782), which distributes these powers among the department's various senior and management bodies.

1. General functions of the department

The article relating to this Ministry in Royal Decree 829/2023 establishes that it is generally responsible for:

• The proposal and execution of Government policy on matters of constitutional relevance, that is, everything related to the functioning of the form of State, the form of Government, and the balance between powers as defined by the Constitution.
• The preparation, development, and monitoring of the Government's legislative program, acting as the "entry and exit door" of the Executive's normative production.
• Immediate support to the Presidency of the Government and assistance to the Council of Ministers, the Government's Delegated Commissions, and the General Commission of Secretaries of State and Undersecretaries.
• Support to the Government in its relations with the Cortes Generales.
• The proposal and execution of Government policy for the development of the legal system, without prejudice to the sectoral powers of other ministries.
• The policy on religious freedom and its exercise according to specific legislation.
• The Government's relations with the Administration of Justice, the General Council of the Judiciary, and the Public Prosecutor's Office, as well as international legal cooperation.

The Ministry is structured, according to the same royal decree, into two major senior bodies: the Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Relations with the Cortes and Constitutional Affairs, over which the more detailed structure fixed by Royal Decree 204/2024 is then deployed.

2. Presidency of the Government and interministerial coordination

Based on the formulation of Royal Decree 829/2023 and the regulations on the structure of the Presidency of the Government (such as Royal Decree 676/2025, of July 28, on the structure of the Presidency of the Government, BOE-A-2025-15653), these functions can be summarized:

• Immediate and permanent support to the President of the Government, channeling the preparation of Council of Ministers meetings and ensuring the legal and technical coherence of its agreements.
• Secretariat and assistance to the Government's collegiate bodies (Council of Ministers, Delegated Commissions, General Commission of Secretaries of State and Undersecretaries), including the formal processing of agreements and their publication when appropriate.
• Functions of interministerial coordination in normative matters, through legislative programming and the bodies responsible for regulatory quality that are part of this department.

3. Powers in Justice matters

The same article of Royal Decree 829/2023 assigns the Ministry:

• The ordinary relationship of the Government with the Administration of Justice, both in its organizational aspect and in those matters in which the Executive intervenes (staffing, material resources, judicial organization, etc.), without prejudice to the powers of the General Council of the Judiciary.
• The institutional relations with the General Council of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office, through the Attorney General of the State, as a channel of dialogue between the executive power and the judicial power/public ministry.
• International legal cooperation (extradition, international judicial assistance, civil and criminal cooperation, etc.), in coordination with other State bodies and European and international institutions.
• The policy for the development of the legal system in the field of justice (procedural reforms, judicial organization, statute of judges, prosecutors, and other operators, within the limits set by the Constitution and organic laws).

4. Relations with the Cortes Generales and legislative activity

In parliamentary matters, the cited legislation entrusts it with:

• Serving as the main channel of the Government's relations with the Cortes Generales, both in the Congress of Deputies and in the Senate.
• The planning, coordination, and monitoring of the Government's legislative program, including the processing of bills, royal decree-laws, and other government-originated initiatives.
• Technical and political support for the Government's presence in parliamentary sessions (debates, appearances, control, questions, interpellations, etc.).

5. Relations with the Household of H.M. the King and other constitutional bodies

Although the references are more scattered (for example, Royal Decree 139/2026, of February 25, on the restructuring of the Household of H.M. the King, BOE-A-2026-4514), the legislation configures this Ministry and the Presidency of the Government as the administrative node of the Executive's relationship with the Head of State and other constitutional bodies (Constitutional Court, Court of Auditors, Ombudsman, etc.), regarding:

• Processing of appointment proposals that correspond to the Government.
• Protocol and formal coordination of official acts and communications.
• Normative and administrative support for the Government's institutional relations.

6. Internal management of the General State Administration within its scope

Finally, according to Royal Decree 204/2024 (basic organic structure) and the orders delegating powers, the Ministry assumes the ordinary functions of management of the General State Administration within its own scope:

• Management of human resources, material resources, contracting, assets, and budget of the department and its dependent bodies.
• Creation and regulation of its boards and contracting committees and adaptation of delegations of asset and expenditure powers (for example, Order PJC/439/2024, BOE-A-2024-9619; Order HAC/534/2024, BOE-A-2024-11464).
• Internal organization of units in charge of justice, relations with the Cortes, constitutional affairs, religious freedom, and international legal cooperation, according to the distribution of functions detailed in Royal Decree 204/2024.

Overall, the legislation configures the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes as the nerve center of the Government's legal, constitutional, and parliamentary action, and as the main interface between the Executive, the Judiciary, the Parliament, and the Head of State.

The basic regulation of Festivals of National Tourist Interest is contained in Order ICT/851/2019, of July 25, which regulates the declaration of festivals of national and international tourist interest (BOE). Based on this, the legal requirements that a festival must meet to obtain the declaration of National Tourist Interest Festival can be summarized.

1. General preliminary requirements

According to article 3 of Order ICT/851/2019, the declaration of National Tourist Interest Festival is granted to festivals or events that:

• Have been previously declared a festival of tourist interest by the corresponding autonomous community, with at least five years of seniority in that regional declaration.
• Constitute manifestations of cultural values and long popular tradition, with special attention to their ethnological characteristics.
• Have special importance as a tourist attraction.
• The regional declaration cannot include the denomination "national".

2. Minimum content of the explanatory report

The application must be accompanied by an explanatory report in which the aspects detailed in article 3 letters a) to g) are accredited:

• Origin, history, and seniority of the celebration (art. 3.a). The genesis of the festival, its evolution, and the time it has been celebrated must be explained.
• Continuity over time (art. 3.b). No more than five years can elapse between one celebration and the next, and the celebration dates must be indicated to demonstrate that it has not been interrupted.
• Cultural value, significance, and scope as a tourist attraction, originality, and diversity of acts (art. 3.c). A detailed description of all the acts that make up the festival is mandatory.
• Rootedness and citizen participation (art. 3.d). The existence of associations, clubs, or other neighborhood groups supporting the festival is valued; statutes, authorizations, or other documents proving their constitution and operation must be provided.
• Tourist services and accessibility (art. 3.e). There must be, in the locality or within a maximum radius of 50 km, adequate accommodation and tourist service facilities to attend visitors. Access and signage are especially considered.
• Care of the urban, monumental, natural, and landscape environment (art. 3.f). Permits and reports proving conservation and protection actions, including minimizing the festival's impact, must be provided.
• Tourism promotion and dissemination plan (art. 3.g and sections 1 to 3 of the same article), with a relevant specific weight in the decision.

3. Dissemination plan and presence in media and networks

The dissemination plan is one of the central elements of Order ICT/851/2019:

• It must have at least 10% of the festival's total budget (art. 3.1).
• It must include, at minimum, 20 relevant impacts or mentions in press, radio, television, and online media of national dissemination, with specific treatment of the festival (not just simple mentions) and with a maximum age of five years (art. 3.2.a and b).
• It must incorporate internet presence actions (art. 3.2.c), among others:
  • Official festival website, preferably with its own domain or hosted on an institutional tourism website. It must include basic traffic statistics and meet accessibility criteria (level AA, UNE 139803:2012) and adaptability to different devices.
  • Updated web content about history, description of acts, accommodations, how to get there, linked associations, as well as multimedia content (photos and videos).
  • Availability of the website at least in Spanish and English, in addition to the co-official language, if applicable.
  • SEO positioning report of the website, with data on links, linking domains, and searches (art. 3.2.2.º).
  • Active social media profiles, with a report on the number of followers, updates in the last year, and impact indicators, valuing presence in several languages (art. 3.2.3.º).
• Positively valued (art. 3.3) aspects include:
  • Directing dissemination towards priority tourist source markets.
  • The festival's suitability to the tourist profiles defined in state and regional marketing plans.
  • That its duration and characteristics favor longer stays and greater tourist spending.
  • That it encourages healthy habits, a positive image of Spain, and sustainable tourism.

Besides these material requirements, Order ICT/851/2019 establishes that the application must be submitted electronically to the Secretary of State for Tourism, through the Ministry's electronic headquarters, following Law 39/2015. But, for the granting of the title, the decisive core is the seniority and prior regional recognition, continuity and social rootedness, cultural and tourist quality of the festival, existence of sufficient tourist services, and the solidity of the promotion plan and its external projection.