Origins of constitutional justice in Spain (Court of Constitutional Guarantees in Republican Spain)

Introduction. The article deals with the history of the establishment of the body of constitutional justice in Spain during the Second Republic, identifying its legal origins, its legal status under the 1931 Constitution, and revealing its novelties under the Organic Law of 1933. Methods. The research is based on the application of comparative-legal, system-structural and historical methods of research. Particular attention is drawn to the formal-dogmatic analysis of legal acts and records management materials. Results. The article is based on the study of legislation, records of the Court of Constitutional Guarantees, its acts and scientific literature. The author focuses on the problem of adopting foreign models, which has been the subject of debate in the Constituent Cortes. The author suggests that the Austrian model and its modifications, made with regard to the specifics of Spanish political realities, determined the status of the Court of Constitutional Guarantees and the characteristic features of its activity. The attention is drawn to the analysis of the order of formation of the Court and its competence on the main drafts proposed to the founders for discussion, their final legislative formulation, as well as the implementation of the norms in practice. Conclusion. The importance of the creation and its functioning, despite the critical assessments of scholars, is determined by the results of its work and its place in the history of constitutional justice - it was the third constitutional court in Europe, and the norms of the constitutional legislation of 1931-1933 regulating its legal status became an important source of the provisions of the current Spanish legislation on the Constitutional Court.