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Basque Laws Limited the King's Authority

The people of Navarre created the Fuero or laws that regulated their political system and protected their independence and identity. The Fuero appeared in Navarre in the 12th century, during the reign of Santxo V the Wise, king of Navarre, as a collection of laws with origins in the earlier simple charters guaranteeing certain rights and privileges to the inhabitants of a newly created settlement. The Fuero was organized as a collection of two types of laws: those covering private, domestic law i.e. rules concerning transmission of homestead, dowry, domestic economic relations and those concerned with public law, i.e. rules covering political and economic relations in the non-domestic sphere.

Navarre's foral regime was founded on three essential elements, the first book of the General Fuero, the Representative Assembly, and the Assembly of the Kingdom. The first book of the General Fuero or collections of laws established that the community prevails over the king they elect, underlined by the ceremonial "elevation" of each new king of Navarre. The candidate chosen to be king is lifted on a shield by the people who elected him and to whom he has confirmed and sworn fidelity to their Fuero.

The foral regime limited the king's authority and provided guarantees of liberty and protection from arbitrary rule. The Representative Assembly or Cortes - the parliament - supervised the actions of the king and his ministers to protect the Fuero from being violated, in which case it reclaimed reparation.

The Fuero also established that the king could not apply or execute any law or decree without previous approval of the Representative Assembly. The king could not declare war or peace or alienate the kingdom, or part of it, or to make any important decision without the previous approval of the representatives of the Nation. This doesn't mean that the kings, whose position in Navarre was severely circumscribed by local customs and a lack of a large stake in the land, did not play an increasingly important role as it was the case of King Garcia II of Navarre (1035-54).

In the 14th century, Navarre adopted the Modification of the Fuero or Amejoramiento, which is the modification, by initiative of the Representative Assembly, of those aspects contained in the Fuero that are considered to be inadecuate for the time.

During the time that Navarre was sovereign and the Basque state elected its king, that is, Navarre was not ruled by a foreign king, the monarchy more often than not recognized its constitutional role. This changed after Navarre was conquered by Castile. But even after the conquest and despite the constant attempts by Castile to abolish the Fuero, Navarre was able to create an administration, which in many aspects is ahead of actual times. Such an administration was guided by the principle that civil society has jurisdiction over public issues.

Of particular interest are two aspects of the form of government adopted by Navarre that should be noted. The first refers to the Assembly of the Kingdom - the executive power or government. During parliamentary recess, a Permanent Commission followed the detailed instructions of the Representative Assembly to make sure that government actions were always subject to the previous approval of the Assembly.

Also of note is the management of public funds. The institutions of Navarre established that because of the risk of fraud involved, every person in the administration expected to be in contact with public funds and property had to deposit bail. Any disbursements to be made by the administration had to be approved by the Representative Assembly. Money was kept in a coffer with three keys in the custody of three different authorities thus, any funds removed from the coffer had to have the approval of all three authorities. Moreover, in order to open the coffer, a permit from the assembly and the presence of a notary was required.

After the conquest, Castile transformed Navarre from a sovereign state into a viceroyalty. Navarre was governed by a viceroy under the authority of the Spanish king for centuries, but the institutions of the kingdom, their power curtailed however, survived, especially the parliament.

The political and institutional balance of the kingdom deteriorated in the second half of the 19th century as a result of the constant harassment by the Spanish absolutist monarchy, which sought the abolishment of the Fuero that limited the power of the king. Later, the centralist policies of the Bourbons increased tension, which exploded into war. In 1841, Navarre was transformed from a viceroyalty into another Spanish province. All legislative and executive powers were transferred from the assemblies to the Spanish parliament and government. A Provincial Assembly, an administrative body with no control over the public funds, was set up as the main institution of Navarre. All that survived was its title, Kingdom of Navarre.

The fueros of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa

After they left Navarre to join Castile, the three Basque provinces of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa were politically articulated into the Castilian monarchy and state administration mainly through two institutions - the corregidor and the pase foral. The first functioned to affirm and impose the king's authority and the second to limit it.

The first corregidor, Gonzalo Moro, was appointed in 1394 in response to petitions from Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia requesting assistance to help control the warring nobility. The functions of the corregidor, initially appointed for three year term, were extensive to ensure that no agreements contrary to the interests of the Crown were made. All modifications of the fueros required the sanction of the corregidor. He exercised far-reaching judicial and administrative functions, especially concerning fiscal matters, and played an important role in overseeing the equity of the foral institutions.

On the other hand the pase foral was conceded by the Crown of Castile in Araba in 1417, Bizkaia in 1452 and to Gipuzkoa in 1473 and guaranteed the autonomy of the foral institutions. The pase foral, at least on paper, established that the Castilian king could not aplly or execute any law or decree without previous approval of the provincial foral authorities. In Bizkaia, each new king of Castile, who was also señor of Bizkaia, confirmed and sworn fidelity to the fueros under the oak tree at Gernika.

Because of the contradictory effects of these two institutions, the degree of political autonomy Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa actually enjoyed is difficult to establish.

Bibliography: Mikel Sorauren, Historia de Navarra, el Estado vasco, Pamiela, 1999; Tomas Urzainki, La Navarra maritima, Pamiela, 1998; Roger Collins, The Basques, Basil Blackwell, 1986; Marianne Heiberg, The Making of the Basque Nation, Cambridge University Press, 1989; Luis Nuñez Astrain, La Razón Vasca, Txalaparta, 1995

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