The absent legislator of Article 18.3 of the Constitution

Abstract

Abstract:
This paper addresses the legal problems generated by the persistent lack of a Law on the secrecy of communications, as demanded by the Constitution. This article studies how there was a praetorian construction of this right, both in its procedural and in its substantial dimensions, due to the presence of the judge and the absence of the legislator. It also analyses to what extent, (following the constitutional jurisprudence) the last reform of the Criminal Procedure Law fulfilled the normative vacuum regarding the secret of communications.
Nevertheless, it rests pending to regulate, as legally requested, the substantial content of the right including the due legal guarantees.