See here the ruling of the Supreme on the grandchildren's law: the suspension of the vote for 29N and its exceptions

According to our database, which collects official records, the Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory is fully in force and its latest change comes from Royal Decree‑Law 6/2026, of March 3, published in the BOE on March 4, 2026 (text of RDL 6/2026). That royal decree amended the law to expand and update compensation for victims of repression.

The Plenary of the Congress ratified Royal Decree‑Law 6/2026 on March 26, 2026, by 173 votes in favor, 170 against, and 7 abstentions, and at the same time agreed to its processing as a bill by urgent procedure. From that ratification arises the current:

Bill 121/000090 – "Bill modifying Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory, regarding recognition in favor of deceased persons or those with disabling injuries due to their activity in defense and claim of Democracy (originating from Royal Decree‑Law 6/2026, of March 3)", under processing in the Congress of Deputies (15th Legislature).

1. Specific parliamentary status

For this amendment bill, the Congress has already followed these phases:

• Registration and qualification of Royal Decree‑Law 6/2026 and its conversion into a bill.
• Debate and vote on ratification of the royal decree in Plenary, with the decision to process it as a bill by urgency.
• Publication of the bill text in the Official Bulletin of the General Courts (BOCG-15-A-90-1).
• Opening of the amendment period in the Congress and successive extensions of the deadline for amendments to the articles until October 7, 2026, with publication of the total amendments (BOCG-15-A-90-2).

As of October 12, 2026, the processing is in the Congress and still in the phase of amendments to the articles in the competent Commission, with the deadline extended. That is, the bill that develops and may eventually adjust the reform introduced by the royal decree is under processing and has not yet reached the final approval phase.

Besides this legislative channel, there are already concluded initiatives related to Law 20/2022, such as:

• Constitutional challenges against the law, already submitted to the Constitutional Court.
• Political initiatives in the Senate requesting to maintain its application, such as the agreement of the Sabadell City Council whose processing is concluded.

These initiatives do not modify the law by themselves but are part of the political and contentious context surrounding the norm.

2. Procedures remaining for this modification

According to Title V of the Congress Rules (arts. 108‑150), and since it is processed as a bill with urgency, the pending steps are essentially:

• Closing the deadline for amendments to the articles and ordering the amendments by the competent Commission.
• Work of the committee, which drafts a report integrating, rejecting, or negotiating the amendments.
• Opinion of the Commission on the bill; if the Commission has full legislative competence, it can approve the text without the need for a new Plenary, except for referral.
• If applicable, referral to Plenary: the Plenary may reserve the final vote on the bill, even if full legislative competence is attributed to the Commission.
• Referral to the Senate: the approved text is sent to the Upper House, which may:
  • approve it without changes,
  • introduce amendments, or
  • issue a veto within the shortened deadlines typical of urgency.
• Definitive decision of the Congress:
  • if the Senate approves the text without changes, the law is definitively approved;
  • if it introduces amendments, the Congress decides whether to accept or reject them;
  • if there is a Senate veto, the Congress can override it with the constitutionally provided majorities.
• Sanction, promulgation, and publication in the BOE of the resulting law, which will set the entry into force of the modification (or, failing that, the general term of the Civil Code applies).

In summary, the Democratic Memory Law is in force, already modified by Royal Decree‑Law 6/2026, and there is a bill in progress (121/000090) that may adjust and consolidate that reform. That bill is in the amendment phase in the Congress; it still must complete the committee and opinion phase, pass through the Senate, and overcome sanction and publication before the modification takes the form of definitive law.

The Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court (the so-called “Third Chamber”) is the highest judicial body, in this order, within the Spanish judicial organization. Its functions and powers are mainly defined in the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ) and in the Law regulating the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction (LJCA), and can be grouped into several major blocks.

General role in the jurisdictional system

In the contentious-administrative order, the Third Chamber fulfills a dual function:

• Body of cassation and unification of doctrine, reviewing in law the judgments of lower courts (especially the National Court and High Courts of Justice) to guarantee a uniform interpretation of Administrative Law and Public Law in general.
• Body of trial in sole instance of certain acts and provisions of the highest-level public powers that, due to their relevance, are reserved directly to the Supreme Court.

Competences in sole or first instance

According to the LOPJ and the LJCA, the Contentious-Administrative Chamber directly hears, without passing through lower bodies, a set of especially relevant matters, among which stand out:

• Acts and provisions of the Government and constitutional bodies, in particular:
  • Certain acts and general provisions of the Council of Ministers and its delegated commissions.
  • Administrative actions of constitutionally relevant State bodies (for example, General Council of the Judiciary or Court of Auditors), when provided by legislation.
• Regulations and general provisions of state scope whose challenge, due to their rank or territorial scope, is directly attributed to the Supreme Court.
• Certain disputes in general electoral matters, such as contentious-electoral appeals against agreements on proclamation of elected candidates or candidacies in state-wide processes, under the terms provided in electoral legislation and the LJCA.
• Issues of forced expropriation and patrimonial liability of the State or other public entities when the legislation expressly refers them to the Supreme Court, usually due to the amount or nature of the matter.

In these cases, the Chamber acts as a body that judges for the first and last instance, so its judgments exhaust the ordinary contentious-administrative route.

Competences in cassation

The largest block of the Third Chamber’s activity is given by its competence in cassation appeal, regulated in the LJCA. In this aspect:

• It generally hears cassation appeals against judgments and orders issued by the National Court and the High Courts of Justice in contentious-administrative matters, when the legal access requirements are met.
• Its function is not to reexamine the facts, but to control the correct application and interpretation of the Law, correcting possible legal errors and setting interpretative criteria for the entire jurisdiction.
• Through the cassation system (including the most recent modalities provided in the LJCA), the Chamber selects cases that present objective cassation interest to form jurisprudence and unify the interpretation of the legal system.

Review of final judgments and other extraordinary appeals

The Contentious-Administrative Chamber also exercises powers in matters of review appeal and other extraordinary challenges:

• It resolves review appeals against final judgments issued by bodies of the contentious-administrative order, in cases established by law (for example, appearance of decisive documents unknown at the time of trial, or verification that the resolution was obtained by fraud or falsity).
• It hears certain special conflicts or incidents connected with contentious-administrative procedures, when the legislation expressly attributes that competence.

Formation of jurisprudence and guarantee of legality

Although not described as a “competence” in the strict sense of a list of articles, from the LOPJ and the LJCA a transversal mission emerges:

• Form jurisprudence in Administrative Law, setting interpretative criteria that bind lower bodies and guide the Administration’s actions.
• Guarantee the subjection of the Public Administration to the law and the Law, controlling the legality of its actions and offering a final channel of protection for the rights and legitimate interests of citizens and public and private operators.

Overall, the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court acts as the apex of judicial control of the State’s administrative activity and as guarantor of the unity of interpretation of Public Law throughout the national territory.

For a Spanish citizen residing abroad to be able to vote in general elections (Congress and Senate), they must meet a series of legal requirements mainly related to their census registration and the way they cast their vote. Below, the essential conditions, the role of electoral authorities, and the voting modalities after the reform that eliminated the “requested vote” are systematically explained.

1. Basic personal requirements

• Spanish nationality: only those who have Spanish nationality at the time of the electoral call can vote.
• Legal age: having turned 18 on the day of voting.
• Not deprived of the right to vote: not disqualified by a final court ruling nor subject to any other case of loss of voting rights provided in electoral legislation.
• Residence abroad: habitually living outside Spain and registered at a consulate or consular section of the embassy.

2. Registration in the Consular Registration and in the CERA

The central element is to be listed in the Electoral Census of Spaniards Residing Abroad (CERA). This census is fed by information provided by consulates and managed by the Electoral Census Office (OCE) under the supervision of the Central Electoral Board (JEC).

• Consular registration: the resident abroad must register as a resident in the Consular Registration of the consulate that corresponds to them.
• Inclusion in the CERA: from that registration, the OCE incorporates the voter into the CERA of the Spanish province of reference (usually, the province of origin or the last residence in Spain).
• Census closure: for each electoral process, a “closed” census is taken as a reference on a certain date; only those listed in it can vote.

3. Census verification and claims

Before each election, a period of several days is opened for voters abroad to check their census data at consular offices and submit claims if:

• They are not listed in the CERA despite residing in the country and being registered at the consulate.
• They appear with incorrect data (address, constituency, etc.).

Claims are submitted to the consulate itself, which forwards them to the OCE. The OCE resolves within a short period and corrections are publicly displayed at the consulate. Having checked and, if applicable, corrected the registration within that period is a key practical condition to be able to vote.

4. Elimination of the requested vote and automatic sending of documentation

The reform of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) approved in 2022 eliminated the requested vote for absent residents. This represents a fundamental change in voting conditions:

• It is no longer necessary to request the vote: the voter does not have to “request” the vote nor submit any prior application to the OCE or the consulate.
• Automatic sending of ballots and envelopes: if the citizen is listed in the CERA at the census closure date, the OCE automatically sends the electoral documentation (ballots, voting and sending envelopes, and instructions) to their address abroad.
• Additionally, for a few days it is possible to obtain or download the ballots online or at the consulate itself if postal delivery is delayed or lost.

5. Voting modalities and required documentation

Once the documentation is received, the voter abroad can choose between two main modalities, both legally valid:

• Postal vote addressed to the consulate:
  • The voter inserts the chosen ballot into the corresponding envelope and sends it, along with the required identification documentation, to the consular office where they are registered.
  • The envelope must arrive at the consular office within the maximum deadline set for each electoral process.
• In-person vote in a ballot box at the consulate or enabled centers:
  • During several days before the election day in Spain, ballot boxes are enabled at the consulate or other premises designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • The voter appears there with their identity documentation (usually Spanish DNI or passport) and deposits their vote in the ballot box.

In both cases, the documentation provided must unequivocally prove the voter’s identity and their registration in the CERA.

6. Role of electoral bodies

• Central Electoral Board (JEC): issues instructions on the procedure and supervises the entire external voting process.
• Electoral Census Office (OCE): manages the CERA, carries out the sending of documentation, and resolves census claims.
• Provincial Electoral Boards (JEP): receive, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the envelopes with votes cast abroad and integrate them into the general count of each constituency.

In summary, for a Spaniard residing abroad to vote in general elections it is essential to be correctly registered at the consulate and in the CERA at the census closure date, verify the data during the exposure period, and cast the vote —by mail to the consulate or in person at the consulate— within the deadlines and with the identity documentation required by the LOREG and the JEC instructions.