Spain’s leftist government has approved a draft law that would automatically declassify confidential documents after 45 years, a move that could significantly open up historical records from General Francisco Franco’s dictatorship and the country’s transition to democracy.
The proposed legislation, which still requires parliamentary approval, aims to replace an outdated secrecy law from the Franco era that lacks any timeline for automatic declassification, putting Spain behind many other European nations.
Justice Minister Felix Bolanos stated the bill would bring Spain’s secrecy laws in line with “European standards” and increase transparency around “sensitive information,” calling it an overdue reform.
The new law would lift the veil on archives from before 1980, encompassing Franco’s decades-long rule and the tumultuous period after he died in 1975, when Spain transitioned to democracy.
Documents older than 45 years would become public unless their disclosure still threatens national security or defence.
Credit: El País English
The bill also mandates that information can only be classified in exceptional, clearly justified cases, and, crucially, documents related to serious human rights violations or crimes against humanity can never be classified.
This initiative follows multiple failed attempts in recent years to reform the old secrecy law. Amnesty International has welcomed the draft, urging political parties to prioritise its swift approval.
The human rights group stated on X that “This law could change history,” emphasising how the current law has obstructed investigations into grave human rights abuses from the dictatorship and denied victims their right to reparations.
Franco’s regime, which began after his victory in the 1936-39 civil war, saw hundreds of thousands of lives lost.
No senior officials from his regime were ever prosecuted, largely due to a sweeping amnesty enacted after he died in 1975.
