The Supreme Court ruling on the grandchildren's law confronts the parties in the midst of the electoral pre-campaign.

According to official data, the ongoing reform of Law 20/2022, on Democratic Memory, is currently in the Congress of Deputies, in the Constitutional Commission, in the amendment phase of a bill processed by the urgent procedure. It has not yet been definitively approved nor sent to the Senate, and in the parliamentary information consulted, there is no record of a new specific file linked to a particular judicial resolution.

The relevant reform originates from Royal Decree-Law 6/2026, of March 3, by which the Government modified Law 20/2022 to recognize and compensate people deceased or with disabling injuries due to their activity in defense and claim of democracy between 1968 and December 29, 1978. This royal decree-law was ratified by the Plenary of the Congress on March 26, 2026, with 173 votes in favor, 170 against, and 7 abstentions, and the Plenary itself agreed in the same session to process it as a bill by urgent procedure.

After ratification, the legislative initiative has been processed as Bill 121/000090, entitled:

"Bill modifying Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory, regarding recognition in favor of people deceased or with disabling injuries due to their activity in defense and claim of Democracy".

In the official Congress record, this bill is assigned to the Constitutional Commission, with full legislative competence and urgent processing. This means that, unless decided otherwise later, the Commission can approve the final text without the need for a new approval debate in the Plenary, although the Plenary already intervened in the ratification phase of the decree-law.

Regarding processing milestones:

• The bill was registered after the ratification of the royal decree-law, in March 2026.
• It was admitted and sent to the Constitutional Commission, which assumed full legislative competence.
• A relatively brief amendment submission period was opened, consistent with urgent processing.
• On April 29, 2026, total amendments were published, confirming that at least part of the debate is being structured around alternative texts proposed by some groups.

Parliamentary press also details that during this phase some groups — for example, Junts and the PP — have submitted alternative texts taking advantage of the process, and have even proposed repealing the Democratic Memory Law itself through their proposals. At the same time, the Government's partners condition their support on incorporating changes such as extending the recognition period or relaxing requirements for accessing compensations during the partial amendment process.

Regarding the Senate, there is no active file associated with this specific bill yet. That is, the Senate has not yet started processing this reform of the Democratic Memory Law because the text has not been sent to it. The entire formal process remains concentrated in the Congress, in the amendment and commission work phase.

In parallel, there are other initiatives related to democratic memory that modify or rely on Law 20/2022, such as the Bill Proposal for the recognition and equalization of victims of crimes by State agents (file 122/000263), or non-legislative proposals and motions in Congress and Senate. However, these latter have a non-normative character (they do not directly change the law) or focus on very specific aspects, so the structural reform in process of Law 20/2022 itself remains, for parliamentary purposes, the one derived from Royal Decree-Law 6/2026.

Regarding the reference to “this judicial resolution,” the consulted records — from Congress, Senate, and Government — do not formally link Bill 121/000090 to a specific sentence nor record the opening of a new reform file of Law 20/2022 as a direct reaction to a specific judicial ruling. Judicial resolutions may influence political debate and the content of amendments, but this does not automatically translate into a new procedural status in parliamentary records if no additional initiative is registered.

In summary, as of today, the “possible reform” of the Democratic Memory Law that is actually underway is located:

• In the Congress, Constitutional Commission, with urgent processing.
• In the amendment phase (total amendments have been submitted and published, and the focus shifts to partial ones).
• Not yet arrived at the Senate nor definitively approved as law.

Any concrete impact of a recent judicial resolution would be channeled, if applicable, through new amendments or future initiatives, but does not by itself alter the currently registered parliamentary phase.

The competencies and functions of Elma Saiz as Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations derive from two normative levels: on one hand, the rules that define the material scope and structure of the ministry (mainly the royal decrees of structure); on the other, the general regime of ministerial powers in Law 50/1997, of November 27, on the Government.

In the XV Legislature, the basic framework of the department is set in three main norms:

• Royal Decree 829/2023, of November 20, which restructures ministerial departments, assigning the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations its broad material areas of action.
• Royal Decree 1009/2023, of December 5, which establishes the basic organic structure of ministerial departments, setting the common scheme of superior and directive bodies of all ministries.
• Royal Decree 501/2024, of May 21, which develops the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations and modifies Royal Decree 1009/2023, detailing the internal organization and detailed distribution of functions within the department itself.

On this basis, Spanish legislation attributes to the ministry led by Elma Saiz three major competency blocks:

1. Social Security, pensions, and civil service benefits

Royal Decree 501/2024, in connection with the general framework of Royal Decree 1009/2023, establishes that the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations is responsible for the proposal and execution of Government policy on Social Security and civil service benefits. Among others, the following material functions derive from this:

• Promote and direct the legal regulation of the Social Security system, including rules on contributions, benefits, and system management.
• Direct and oversee the managing entities and common services of Social Security attached to the department, as well as coordination with other ministries when appropriate.
• Design and execute government policy on contributory and non-contributory pensions and civil service benefits, within the framework of current legislation.
• Participate in the preparation and execution of planning and control instruments for Social Security expenditure, consistent with general budgetary policy.

2. Foreign affairs, immigration, emigration, and Spaniards abroad

The same regulation assigns the ministry the development and implementation of Government policy on foreign affairs, immigration, and emigration. Mainly through the State Secretariat for Migrations, functions include:

• Design and develop the State's migration policy, including integration and reception of migrants and refugees.
• Manage programs and measures for return and support to Spanish citizens abroad, as well as attention to returned Spaniards.
• Promote and coordinate actions of the General State Administration related to labor immigration, emigration, and foreign affairs, in coordination with other competent ministries (Interior, Foreign Affairs, Labor, etc.).
• Provide institutional support to the General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad and other consultative bodies linked to the Spanish diaspora.

3. Social inclusion policies

Royal Decree 501/2024 also assigns the ministry responsibility for inclusion and social protection policies. Under the General Secretariat for Inclusion, functions include:

• Design, promote, and evaluate social inclusion policies aimed at vulnerable groups or those at risk of poverty and exclusion.
• Coordinate, at the state level, measures aimed at equal opportunities and reducing social and economic gaps.
• Supervise programs such as the Minimum Vital Income and other benefits or income guarantee instruments within its competencies.

4. General functions of the department head

Beyond material distribution, Law 50/1997, on the Government, sets the general powers of any minister, which apply to Elma Saiz as head of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations. Among them are:

• Direct the Ministry's actions and develop Government action in the areas of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations.
• Exercise regulatory power in the department's own matters, through orders and general provisions within the legal framework.
• Set the Ministry's objectives, approve its action plans, and allocate necessary budgetary and human resources.
• Direct and supervise the superior and directive bodies of the department (state secretariats, general secretariats, undersecretariat, general directorates, etc.).
• Exercise superior inspection of the department's services and ensure compliance with laws within its scope.
• Propose to the Council of Ministers bills, royal decree-laws, and royal decrees affecting its material area, as well as relevant agreements.
• Enter into contracts and agreements within its competence and resolve administrative appeals attributed by the legal system.
• Represent the Government in relations with autonomous communities and other public administrations in matters of inclusion, Social Security, and migrations.

In summary, Spanish legislation configures Elma Saiz as responsible for the political direction and highest administrative management of the set of state policies on Social Security, pensions, migrations, and social inclusion, within the framework set by the royal decrees of structure and the Government Law.

For a Spanish citizen residing abroad to be included in the electoral census, the basic regulation is the LOREG (Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime) and its development rules, especially those related to the Electoral Census of Absent Resident Spaniards (CERA) and the census of Spaniards temporarily abroad (ERTA). The key is to distinguish whether the residence abroad is permanent or temporary, because the requirements and type of census differ.

1. General common requirements

Generally, every Spaniard who wants to appear in the electoral census (in Spain or abroad) must meet:

• Be Spanish and not have lost nationality.
• Be of legal age (18 years old on the day of voting).
• Not be deprived of the right to vote by a final judicial sentence or legally established incapacity.
• Be correctly registered in the relevant administrative records (municipal register or consular register, as applicable).

From there, the difference is whether the citizen is a permanent resident abroad (CERA) or is temporarily outside Spain (ERTA).

2. Spaniards permanently residing abroad (CERA)

Spaniards who habitually live outside Spain are registered in the Electoral Census of Absent Resident Spaniards (CERA). To appear in it, they must practically meet these requirements:

• Registration in the Consular Register as a resident at the consular office corresponding to their address abroad. This certifies that their residence outside Spain is permanent or long-term.
• Once registered as residents, they become part of the Register of Spaniards Residing Abroad (PERE), which is the basis on which the Electoral Census Office prepares the CERA.
• The registration and data (name, nationality, date of birth, province of assignment, address in the country of residence, etc.) must be updated at the consulate, as the census is fed from there.
• Be registered in the PERE/CERA before the census closing date taken as reference for each election (a fixed date prior to the call). Those who register later usually do not enter that election but the following ones.
• Not have any cause of exclusion from the right to vote communicated by courts or the Administration to the Electoral Census Office.

Inclusion in the CERA is not a specific request by each voter for each election, but the result of being correctly registered as a resident at the consulate and, through that, in the PERE. However, when the census is displayed at consulates for each call, the voter can file claims (for undue exclusion, data errors, etc.) within the legal period; the Electoral Census Office resolves and corrects if appropriate.

In recent years, a relevant element has been added: people who have acquired nationality through the so-called “grandchildren law” (eighth additional provision of Law 20/2022, on Democratic Memory) can only appear in the CERA if their nationality and consular registration meet legal conditions and are not affected by precautionary measures or ongoing judicial reviews. In some cases, the Supreme Court has ordered the temporary suspension of certain registrations in the CERA linked to this nationality access route, which implies that, while the measure lasts, those people are not integrated into the external electoral census even if they remain Spanish.

3. Spaniards temporarily abroad (ERTA)

Spaniards who maintain their habitual residence in Spain but are temporarily abroad (for studies, work, prolonged tourism, etc.) fall under the ERTA regime. Their requirements differ:

• Remain registered in a Spanish municipality; it is that register that determines their inclusion in the general census of residents in Spain.
• Be physically outside Spain at the time of the call and during the electoral process, but without having become a permanent resident in the consulate.
• Within the deadline set by the electoral calendar, request at the consular office their status as temporarily absent voter, accrediting their registration in the census in Spain and their stay abroad.

In this case, inclusion in the census is not a new registration in the CERA, but a specific annotation that allows voting from abroad (usually by mail or at consular premises) while maintaining census status in their Spanish municipality.

4. Review and guarantees

In both cases (CERA and ERTA), the LOREG provides:

• The public display of the census and the possibility of claiming at consulates or town halls for a few days.
• The obligation of the Electoral Census Office to resolve promptly and make appropriate corrections.
• The control and supervision of the Central Electoral Board, which sets criteria and resolves interpretative doubts.

In summary, a Spanish citizen residing abroad will only be included in the electoral census if: they maintain nationality, are 18 years old, are not deprived of suffrage, and are correctly registered, either as a permanent resident in the consulate (CERA/PERE) or as a resident in Spain declaring temporary absence (ERTA), all within the deadlines and formal requirements set by LOREG and its development rules.