The Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts is not letting up. Despite the fact that a good part of its legislative agenda is stuck in the Justice Commission due to a lack of majorities, Félix Bolaños intends to approve eight laws in 2026, as set out in the Annual Regulatory Plan recently approved by the Government. Which ones are they and what are their chances?
The four Organics
Among the list of initiatives, four have it more complicated: the organic law projects. To prosper in parliamentary processing, a simple majority is not enough, but rather they require an absolute one, and the numbers do not add up. Without Junts in the equation after announcing the break with Moncloa, the sum of PSOE (121), Sumar (26), ERC (7), EH Bildu (6), PNV (5) and those attached to the Mixed group, Águeda Micó (Compromís), BNG, Coalición Canaria and the four from Podemos, results in a total of 172.
A hypothetical abstention by Carles Puigdemont's party would facilitate the path for bills, but not for organic bills, since in that case their 'yes' is necessary.
The organic laws that the Bolaños department plans to approve are:
- Reform of the LOPIVI
As Demócrata exclusively reported, the Council of Ministers already approved in a first reading the Preliminary Draft of the Organic Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence, commonly known as LOPIVI.
The initiative is articulated through the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, but hand in hand with the Ministry of Youth and Childhood, with Sira Rego at the helm.
The proposal eliminates the 12-year limit for minors to be mandatorily heard in proceedings that affect them. Furthermore, the expansion reinforces the best interests of the minor, so that it must be expressly justified in all administrative and judicial acts and resolutions how that interest has been valued and why the decision adopted best protects the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of children. In this regard, among the criteria relating to the best interests of the minor is the removal of the child from the person who violates them, so that the best interests of the minor are never to be with an aggressor or alleged aggressor.
Also, it includes a modification of the visitation regime and the consent of a single parent will be enough for a minor victim of violence to access psychological, social, or legal assistance.
In the same way, Parental Alienation Syndrome is prohibited and mandatory and specialized training is regulated for all professionals who work with children (education, health, social services, justice or State Security Forces and Bodies).
- Law on the protection of the right to honor, personal and family privacy, and one's own image.
The bill aims to adapt current regulations to the digital reality and new communication media of a globalized society. It intends to strengthen the protection of fundamental rights against the immediate and permanent effects that the internet, social networks, and new technologies can produce, while guaranteeing freedom of information and expression.
It also regulates new situations arising from the digital environment, such as the dissemination of a person's digital identity or profile when it may affect their honor or privacy, as well as the use of images, voice, or other personal characteristics through technologies such as deepfakes or ultra-impersonations. Likewise, the reform establishes obligations for social networks regarding the moderation and removal of content that violates fundamental rights.
From the judicial point of view, it seeks to streamline procedures and precautionary measures to offer a faster and more effective response to this type of damage. Finally, it proposes to review compensation and the criteria for determining them, in order to guarantee adequate reparation for the harm caused.
- Law reforming the Penal Code for transposing the directive relating to the protection of the environment through criminal law.
Together with the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the aim is to incorporate into the Spanish legal system Directive EU 2024/1203 on environmental offenses. Its main objective is to strengthen environmental protection through criminal law, establishing common minimum rules on the definition of offenses and penalties to more effectively prevent and combat environmental crime and ensure compliance with European Union environmental legislation.
The reform foresees a toughening of criminal sanctions and a significant increase in fines imposed on companies responsible for environmental crimes, calculated based on a percentage of their annual worldwide turnover. In addition, it considerably expands the number of conducts considered a crime, going from nine to 20 criminal offenses compared to the previous regulation.
The law also establishes that these offenses may be committed both intentionally and through gross negligence; and it contemplates the elaboration of a National Strategy for the protection of the environment, in which different national and regional actors will participate in order to coordinate environmental prevention and protection measures.
- Law of complementary measures to reinforce protection against gender-based violence.
This bill would modify various regulations with the main purpose of introducing various adjustments to comply with pending measures of the State Pact against Gender Violence or recommendations of the Ombudsman.
With more possibilities
The other four laws that are not organic and that Bolaños' ministry intends to approve throughout the year are:
- Reform of strategic lawsuits against public participation.
The law amending the Law on Civil Procedure and the Law on International Legal Cooperation in Civil Matters aims to incorporate into the Spanish legal system Directive (EU) 2024/1069, intended to protect persons participating in matters of public interest against abusive or manifestly unfounded claims, known as “strategic lawsuits against public participation”.
The purpose of this regulation is to prevent judicial proceedings from being used as a mechanism of intimidation or pressure to dissuade the public participation of certain individuals and organizations. The protection is especially directed at journalists, media outlets, whistleblowers, human rights defenders, NGOs, trade unions, artists, researchers, academics, and other civil society entities that intervene in debates or actions of public interest.
The Directive establishes various procedural guarantees to curb these types of abusive legal actions and facilitate the proper functioning of civil proceedings. In addition, it allows Member States to adopt broader and more favorable measures, such as extending this protection not only to cross-border litigation but also to domestic cases.
- Law by which European regulations on electronic evidence in criminal proceedings are incorporated into the internal legal system.
The regulation on electronic evidence in criminal proceedings aims to adapt Spanish legislation to European regulation on the obtaining and preservation of electronic evidence with a cross-border character, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 and Directive (EU) 2023/1544. Its purpose is to facilitate and expedite access to electronic data necessary in criminal investigations within the European Union, as well as to prevent such data from being deleted before being used as evidence.
The reform will allow national judicial authorities to send orders directly to service providers operating in the European Union for them to hand over or preserve electronic evidence related to criminal proceedings. At the same time, the regulation guarantees legal safeguards to protect the rights of individuals whose data is being searched for or investigated.
This system introduces a cross-border cooperation model distinct from the traditional one, as communication is not carried out between authorities of different Member States, but directly between the judicial authority and digital service providers. Therefore, companies will have to designate establishments or legal representatives in the European Union responsible for receiving and complying with these orders. The measure is part of the so-called “digitization package” aimed at modernizing civil and criminal judicial cooperation in the European sphere.
- Law of Statute of the Neutral Third Party in Dispute Resolution Mechanisms.
It aims to develop what is provided for in Organic Law 1/2025 on the efficiency of the Public Justice Service. Its main objective is to regulate the basic statute and the figure of the third neutral person who intervenes in the different appropriate means of conflict resolution, respecting both regional competencies and existing sectoral regulations.
The rule aims to define the functions, obligations, and limits of action of these neutral persons, establishing a system of incompatibilities to guarantee their impartiality. Likewise, it regulates a system of infractions and sanctions applicable in case of non-compliance with the obligations provided for in the law.
Furthermore, the regulation contemplates the obligation for neutral third parties to send certain information about their activity to the competent bodies. These data will have the sole purpose of preparing official statistics on dispute resolution methods by the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts.
- Public Legal Aid Service Law.
Its purpose is to replace and update Law 1/1996 on free legal assistance, which has regulated this service for the last thirty years. Its main objective is to bring together in a single legal text all the modifications introduced over this time and modernize the system to adapt it to current needs and fully guarantee the constitutional right to effective judicial protection.
The new law incorporates measures aimed at improving the organization and management of the public legal aid service, as well as the procedure for processing applications. It also adapts the regulations to the most recent provisions on the right to defense and the efficiency of the Public Justice Service, especially those contained in Organic Laws 5/2024 and 1/2025, which introduce relevant changes in this matter.
Furthermore, the standard expands and consolidates the protection of beneficiaries of the right to legal assistance, including not only those who prove insufficient economic resources, but also persons in situations of special vulnerability and other legally recognized cases. This aims to guarantee universal access to legal assistance and ensure the exercise of the right to defense on equal terms.
On the other hand, the law regulates in more detail the role of legal professionals and procurators who participate in the public service of free legal assistance, defining their functions, rights, and obligations within the system.
Moncloa projects legislative hyperactivity while Congress threatens to become a permanent bottleneck.
Royal Decrees that Bolaños' Ministry Plans to Approve in 2026:
- Royal Decree on Insolvency Statistics.
- Royal Decree amending the Mortgage and Land Registry Regulations and the Mortgage Law.
- Royal Decree to amend various articles of the Notarial and Mortgage Regulations.
- Royal Decree developing the Regulations on Insolvency Administration.
- Royal Decree regulating the public insolvency register.
- Royal Decree on the Regulations for access to the legal professions of advocacy and procuration.
- Royal Decree regulating the Office for the recovery and management of archives.
- Royal Decree on the modernization of judicial archives.
- Royal Decree reforming the standard positions assigned to the body of judicial secretaries for the purposes of the general position supplement, the initial allocation of the specific supplement, and remuneration for substitutions involving joint performance of another function.
- Royal Decree approving the Regulations on the organization and regime of the notary profession.
- Royal Decree amending the regulations on free legal assistance.
- Royal Decree regulating the electronic platform for the liquidation of insolvency assets and property, establishing the conditions governing its auction and direct sale procedures, and creating the administrative unit responsible for its management.
Convert nuts into noise
Beyond the volume of initiatives, Félix Bolaños's real challenge is not in drafting laws, but in finding a parliamentary majority capable of making them a reality. His ministry maintains one of the most ambitious regulatory agendas of the Government at a time when the investiture bloc is going through its most fragile stage, as there is no majority after Junts detached itself. The result is a political paradox: Moncloa projects legislative hyperactivity while Congress threatens to become a permanent bottleneck. And in that context, several of the star reforms in the judicial area run the risk of remaining mere headlines that will never land in the Official State Gazette.