Foreigners: are they equal before the law?

Abstract

«Spaniards are equal before the law» (section 14 of the Spanish Constitution). The latest Constitutional Court ruling states that «aliens in Spain have the fundamental right set by section 18.4 of the Spanish Constitution under the same conditions that Spanish citizens». But the dissenting vote of the senior judge Pérez Tremps, joined by other three judges, appoints that the guidelines backed up by the Constitutional Court in this ruling «show a great restriction of the essential subject of the fundamental right about the protection of personal data (section 18.4). Because only alien citizens are affected by this ruling, it is concluded that alien citizens in Spain enjoy no more the fundamental right set by section 18.4 under the same conditions that Spanish citizens». This ruling invites to specify the extent with which Constitutional Court case law acknowledges equality for aliens, too.