| Tribunal de Orden Público | |
|---|---|
_02.jpg) TheConvent of the Salesas Reales, headquarters of the Public Order Court | |
 Interactive map of Tribunal de Orden Público | |
| 40°25′28.3″N3°41′37.94″W / 40.424528°N 3.6938722°W /40.424528; -3.6938722 | |
| Established | December 1963 to January 1977 |
| Location | Madrid |
| Coordinates | 40°25′28.3″N3°41′37.94″W / 40.424528°N 3.6938722°W /40.424528; -3.6938722 |
TheCourt of Public Order (Spanish:Tribunal de Orden Público) was a court created inFrancoist Spain to deal with mostpolitical crimes.[1] It was instated as the supreme body in the newly createdPublic Order Jurisdiction, which also comprised an additional court, thePublic Order Examination Court. This jurisdiction was considered an additional branch of the ordinary judiciary (thereby it was not considered to be special or exceptional by legal standards), together with the criminal, civil, administrative and social jurisdictions. It was not part of the military courts system. Nonetheless, the Court and its jurisdiction were always considered to be aspecial court.
Similar to the GermanPeople's Court in its goals, the court allowed for a rather fair process, leading on many occasions to the acquittal of the convict. Despite being considered a politically-oriented, biased court, the members of the court were all senior judges, many of them not members of theofficial party, and their decisions were made according to the then existing laws. There were instances, however, where many arbitrary decisions were taken.[2]
It was established in December 1963, followingJulián Grimau's execution byfiring squad, replacing theTribunal Especial para la Represión de la Masonería y el Comunismo. It was based in theConvent of the Salesas Reales inMadrid.
Though its main goal was to repress political crimes in Spain, the Court could not issue death penalties, as these could only be issued by military courts. Therefore, the most serious political and terrorist crimes were dealt with by the military courts, whose death sentences had to be signed byFranco personally.
The Public Order Court's purpose was to guarantee the stability of thepublic order as defined by theFrancoist State, by punishing within Spanish territory "those crimes whose characteristic was to subvert the basic principles of the state or to wreak havoc in the national conscience".[2]
Some of the high-profile cases handled by theTribunal de Orden Público during Franco's rule include theCaso Montenegro in 1964, following a string of explosions in Madrid,[3] and theProceso 1001 in 1973, in which the leaders of theWorkers' Commissions (CCOO) trade union were imprisoned.[4]
The Public Order Tribunal ceased operations by Royal Decree in 1977, two years after Franco's death. TheAudiencia Nacional, one of the bodies established during theSpanish transition to democracy was created the same day in order to take charge of certain non-political crimes considered nationwide liketerrorism.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
