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Mar 9, 2018 18:20
6 yrs ago
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Spanish term

interdicción de la arbitrariedad

Spanish to English Law/Patents Law (general) Spanish Constitution
Artículo 9 (Spanish Constitution)

1. Los ciudadanos y los poderes públicos están sujetos a la Constitución y al resto del ordenamiento jurídico.

2. Corresponde a los poderes públicos promover las condiciones para que la libertad y la igualdad del individuo y de los grupos en que se integra sean reales y efectivas; remover los obstáculos que impidan o dificulten su plenitud y facilitar la participación de todos los ciudadanos en la vida política, económica, cultural y social.

3. La Constitución garantiza el principio de legalidad, la jerarquía normativa, la publicidad de las normas, la irretroactividad de las disposiciones sancionadoras no favorables o restrictivas de derechos individuales, la seguridad jurídica, la responsabilidad y la ***interdicción de la arbitrariedad*** de los poderes públicos.

Prohibición de que los poderes públicos actúen conforme a la mera voluntad de sus titulares, sin ajustarse a las normas. En el Estado de Derecho rige el imperio de la ley, a la que están sujetos todos los poderes. La arbitrariedad, la actuación sin fundamento jurídico, es propia de la tiranía. La Constitución Española (art. 9.3) garantiza la interdicción de la arbitrariedad de los poderes públicos, que están, al igual que los ciudadanos, sujetos a la Constitución y al resto del ordenamiento jurídico (art. 9.1) (V. principios constitucionales; Estado de Derecho; seguridad jurídica).
http://www.enciclopedia-juridica.biz14.com/d/interdiccion-de...

How would you characterise this in English? As I understand it, it basically means "protection against the abuse of discretion", but I'm not sure whether this term is too narrow in English, as, from what I can tell, "abuse of discretion" seems to refer only to the judiciary, not the other branches of government.

Perhaps I could get around it by using "abuse of discretion by the branches of government", but my source document actually only mentions the term "interdicción de la arbitrariedad".

In any case, I've a feeling I may be missing some broader term, so I'd be grateful for some pointers.

Incidentally, Alcaraz/Hughes/Campos define "arbitrariedad" as "arbitrariness" or "abuse of negligence", but I don't think those terms are in any way helpful, particularly "abuse of negligence", whatever that might mean (I imagine it's actually a mistake).

Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations (English)
4 protection from administrative arbitrariness
3 protection against arbitrary (and discriminatory) measures
References
see
To get the ball rolling
The official translation

Discussion

Chema Nieto Castañón Mar 12, 2018:
banning of arbitrary action Lo arbitratio alude a aquello que no se acomoda a la legalidad. En la descripción del TC aportada por Charles se explicita esto en realidad; infundado, ausente de legitimidad o no proporcionado desde una perspectiva normativa.

En cuanto al propio artículo 9.3, la referencia a la interdicción de la arbitrariedad de los poderes públicos debe leerse en relación a la propia Constitución en tanto que principio de ordenamiento jurídico y relacionado con el resto del articulado, en el que queda estipulado que los poderes públicos estarán, también ellos, sujetos a norma; la interdicción de arbitrariedad implica que los poderes públicos deben acomodarse y ajustar sus actuaciones a la propia legalidad, y esta sujección queda así garantizada en tanto que valor normativo superior.  http://www.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/sinopsis/s...

Now, as for translation, (the Constitution secures) banning of arbitrary action of public officials and administrations.

Banning is probably closer to interdicción, as ban; to prohibit by legal means (interdecir, vedar). As for arbitrariedad, arbitrary action seems to convey an equivalent idea.
AllegroTrans Mar 10, 2018:
What we have here is a classic code law v common law dichotomy (if that's the right word)
To an Englishman if something is "prohibited" (e.g. parking, speeding, trespassing or smoking) it means you are likely to be prosecuted if you offend
Charles Davis Mar 10, 2018:
@Neil Please let's keep the lid on that particular can of worms :-)
neilmac Mar 10, 2018:
Not wishing to muddy the waters, but some recent court decisions in Spain seem pretty arbitrary to me, for example keeping certain people in jail for an inordinately long length of time for no discernible legitimate reason, despite the much-vaunted (yet still fledgling) "Constitution"... :)
Robert Carter (asker) Mar 10, 2018:
@Charles Well, we could continue to debate what the implications of constitutional "guarantees" and the "guarantee of prohibition" are for a country's organisational system (which to my mind can only mean that they are rights afforded to citizens, since governments do not exist without citizens) but perhaps it would be more fruitful to take another approach.

I have some issues with the official translation (e.g., "principio de legalidad" and "principle of legality" are false friends), and I feel the wording here particularly is clumsy, so I'd propose something like
"The Constitution guarantees... that state authorities are to be accountable and must not act arbitrarily.

By the way, I've just read your most recent posting here, thank you in particular for the reference on how the TC has interpreted "arbitrariedad", that's very helpful indeed. I don't think it will be possible to avoid using "arbitrary" now, in some form or other.
Charles Davis Mar 10, 2018:
Arbitrariedad The Spanish TC has defined "arbitrariedad" on several occasions, but the following, from its Judgment of 5/7/2004, is probably the fullest and clearest explanation:

"El concepto de arbitrario apareja tres acepciones igualmente proscritas por el derecho: a) lo arbitrario entendido como decisión caprichosa, vaga e infundada desde la perspectiva jurídica; b) lo arbitrario entendido como aquella decisión despótica, tiránica y carente de toda fuente de legitimidad; y c) lo arbitrario entendido como contrario a los principios de razonabilidad y proporcionalidad jurídica".
https://books.google.es/books?id=eaqR92K28G4C&pg=PA165

Other points it has emphasised are arbitrariness as "lo carente de fundamentación objetiva [...] es decir, como aquello desprendido o ajeno a toda razón de explicarlo", as an unmotivated and unjustified departure from previous decisions made in the same circumstances (in judicial contexts), and as a violation of the principle of equality.

"Arbitrariedad" is distinguished from "discrecionalidad", which is not prohibited.
Meridy Lippoldt Mar 10, 2018:
Food for thought My Mexican law dictionary defines "arbitrariedad" as follows: "conducta antijurídica de un órgano de autoridad" so I would plump for something like "interdiction of unlawful behavior by a body of authority" seeDiccionario de Derecho by Rafael de Pina
Charles Davis Mar 10, 2018:
@Robert Why do you assume that "garantía" necessarily refers to a constitutional right? That seems to me unwarranted. I see no problem with the concept of a "guarantee of prohibition". It means what it says; the Constitution guarantees that arbitrary decisions will be prohibited. Removal of that prohibition is unconstitutional. It is not open to the State to allow arbitrary decisions by public authorities. The Constitution guarantees it will not do so, by guaranteeing that if it does, they will be overturned and, if deliberate, punished.

All Spanish legal writing on this subject explicitly says that "interdicción" is, and is intended to be, a synonym of "prohibición", not just in Spain but in other countries (e.g. Peru, Chile, Mexico, Costa Rica) in which "interdicción de la arbitrariedad de los poderes públicos" is a recognised legal principle.

This particular provision of the Constitution is about what the public authorities can and can't do; it is only indirectly about what citizens are entitled to. I say again, it is not legitimate to rewrite it. And nobody in Spain seems to think it is necessary; various constitutional amendments are on the table but this is not one of them.
Robert Carter (asker) Mar 10, 2018:
Prohibition vs Protection I have a problem with "prohibition" here too, in that it seems the issue here is a "guarantía", which I believe legal translators would accept means a "constitutional guarantee" or more commonly, a "constitutional right".

If we grant that the Spanish constitution is referring here to a constitutional right, then I don't believe it is accurate to translate "interdicción" as "prohibition", it doesn't make sense to me.

In any case, what exactly does a "guarantee of prohibition" mean to an English-speaker?

In plain English, this part of the paragraph must mean that there shall be protections (afforded to citizens) against the government making up rules as it sees fit. I really see no other interpretation of it.
Charles Davis Mar 9, 2018:
"After all, the Police don't go around prosecuting judges who get things wrong by misapplying the law." No, the police don't, but the courts do if the judges misapplied the law knowingly:

"La prevaricación, o prevaricato, es un delito que consiste en que una autoridad, juez u otro servidor público dicta una resolución arbitraria en un asunto administrativo o judicial a sabiendas de que dicha resolución es injusta y contraria a la ley.​"
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevaricación
Charles Davis Mar 9, 2018:
@Chris On the contrary, arbitrary decisions can indeed be prohibited, and this article of the constitution explicitly prohibits them. The fact that they nevertheless happen doesn't mean that they can't be prohibited; plenty of things that happen are prohibited. If they are made they can be reversed, and have been on various occasions, by the Constitutional Court. And if those who made them can be shown to have been aware that they were arbitrary, they are guilty of "prevaricación", which is a criminal offence.

Regardless of whether you think that those who drafted the Constitution would have been wiser to phrase this in terms of protection rather than prohibition, the fact is that they didn't, and I don't think it's legitimate to "correct" the text. This has nothing to do with English versus Spanish, in my view: prohibition is prohibition.
Jennifer Levey Mar 9, 2018:
@AT The Constitution is a statement of "principles" - ideals, objectives, drafted in the certain knowledge that some of those principles will be violated on a regular basis because citizens (and some governments, too, alas) are not always respectful of other's fundamental rights. Many constitutions, for example, "guarantee" the right to life - but people are murdered every day and no mere "magna carta" will ever eliminate murder. The forms of remedy (the "protection") in the event of a violation of these ideals are to be found elsewhere in the legislation.
AllegroTrans Mar 9, 2018:
@ Charles My problem with "prohibition" is that arbitrary decisions simply happen and cannot be "prohibited". I think in English we would say that the law provides for protection from such decisions by means of the appeal system. After all, the Police don't go around prosecuting judges who get things wrong by misapplying the law.
Charles Davis Mar 9, 2018:
@Robert I've only just noticed that you propose to translate "interdicción" as "protection". How do you justify that? I agree that prohibiting arbitrary action on the part of public authorities could be regarded as tantamount to protecting citizens from it, but I think it's taking an undue liberty. A translation of the constitutional text should surely be as faithful as possible. "Interdicción" means "acción y efecto de interdecir" (= vedar = prohibir), nothing else.
AllegroTrans Mar 9, 2018:
No, I don't think so It's about arbitrariness. That's quite different to abuse of authority.
Joshua Parker Mar 9, 2018:
Could "abuse of authority" work here, in some way?
That's what came to my mind (it was in a translation of a similar text that I reviewed just yesterday).
I think that's the general idea.

Proposed translations

3 hrs

protection against arbitrary (and discriminatory) measures

Protection against Arbitrary or Discriminatory Measures
www.univie.ac.at/intlaw/wordpress/pdf/93.pdf

the pretext of a decision based on law was the decisive criterion for the application of this standard. Lauder v. The Czech Republic16 concerned the same set of facts. The BIT between the Czech Republic and the United States provides protection against “arbitrary and discriminatory measures.” The tribunal pointed out that ...


Arbitrary and Capricious Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc.
https://definitions.uslegal.com/a/arbitrary-and-capricious/

In U.S this is one of the basic standards for review of appeals. Under the "arbitrary and capricious" standard, the finding of a lower court will not be disturbed unless it has no reasonable basis. When a judge makes a decision without reasonable grounds or adequate consideration of the circumstances, it is said to be arbitrary ...


ule Of Law Offers Protection For Citizens - Law Teacher
https://www.lawteacher.net/.../rule-of-law-offers-protection...

Rule of law is a general legal maxim [4] according to which decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws, without the intervention of discretion in their application. [5] This maxim is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance. The word "arbitrary" signifies a judgment made at the discretion of ...
[PDF]The exceptions to Articles 8-11 of the European Convention on ...
www.echr.coe.int/LibraryDocs/DG2/HRFILES/DG2-EN-HRFILES-15(...

others, and the protection of health, morals or public order/ordre public (or the prevention of disorder) can justify .... stances of the legal rules applicable to a given case”.18 For example, in. Silver the Court held that the Standing Orders .... ual adequate protection against arbitrary interference.33. The Strasbourg organs have ...



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Note added at 5 hrs (2018-03-09 23:25:28 GMT)
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My problem with "prohibition" is that arbitrary decisions simply happen and cannot be "prohibited". I think in English we would say that the law provides for protection from such decisions by means of the appeal system.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Jennifer Levey : The constitution states that arbitrariness is "prohibited" (La constitición garantiza ... la interdicción ...") The means to secure "protection" are to be found elsewhere in the legal system.
1 hr
I capitulate. The cosnstitution says what the constitution says. You are correct,
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5 hrs

protection from administrative arbitrariness

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,47&as_vis=...

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Note added at 9 hrs (2018-03-10 03:29:48 GMT)
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'administration' has a US meaning. It means the executive branch of government, i.e., what non Americans call the government
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Reference comments

43 mins
Reference:

see

https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1351732056
Kylie Stephen, ‎Fiona Beveridge, ‎Susan Nott - 2018 - ‎Social Science
Several articles of the Spanish Constitution (SC) deal with gender equality, establishing it as a superior value to be pursued and protected. Article 9. 2 SC sets out ... authorities and is directly related to the ****prohibition on arbitrary action**** by public authorities set out elsewhere in the Constitution.23 The second part of Article 14.

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Note added at 50 mins (2018-03-09 19:11:31 GMT)
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https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0191088676
Jarrod Hepburn - 2017 - ‎Law
... protects investors against arbitrary host state conduct.133 As well as the ubiquitous FET clause, some BITs also contain a ***prohibition on 'arbitrary or discriminatory measures'*** or 'unreasonable or discriminatory measures'.134 There is debate over the effectiveness of this prohibition when placed alongside an FET clause.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Liz.
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24 mins
Reference:

To get the ball rolling

3. The Constitution guarantees the principle of legality, the hierarchy of legal provisions, the publicity of legal enactments, the nonretroactivity of punitive measures that are unfavourable to or restrict individual rights, the certainty that the rule of law will prevail, the accountability of the public authorities, and the prohibition against arbitrary action on the part of the latter.

https://www.boe.es/legislacion/documentos/ConstitucionINGLES...

arbitrario, ria
Del lat. arbitrarius.

1. adj. Sujeto a la libre voluntad o al capricho antes que a la ley o a la razón.

http://dle.rae.es/?id=3QAUXFg

arbitrariedad
1. f. Cualidad o condición de arbitrario.

http://dle.rae.es/?id=3Q88KBd

interdecir.
Del lat. interdicĕre.

Conjug. c. decir, salvo la 2.ª pers. sing. del imper.: interdice; part. irreg. interdicho.

1. tr. p. us. vedar (‖ prohibir).

http://dle.rae.es/srv/search?m=30&w=interdecir

interdicción.
Del lat. interdictio, -ōnis.

1. f. Acción y efecto de interdecir.

interdicción civil

1. f. Privación de derechos civiles definida por la ley.

http://dle.rae.es/srv/fetch?id=LtRdf32

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Note added at 40 mins (2018-03-09 19:01:16 GMT)
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21. For example, when addressing the issue of “the rule of law as part of the core mission of the Council of Europe”, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe quoted a number of documents referring to such concept, but it also noted that “the foregoing overviews are not sufficient to allow the drawing up of a list of key rule of law requirements accepted by the Council of Europe, let alone a definition”.11 This leads the document to state that “the Organisation works pragmatically on a daily basis to promote and strengthen the rule of law in and among its member states”. However, this pragmatic and ad hoc approach appears to be giving way to a consensus on including, in the rule of law, specific reference to requirements such as the prohibition of arbitrariness, the right to seek redress from independent judges in open courts, legal certainty and equality of all before the law.

http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pd...

The necessary six elements, according to the Venice Commission, are the following:

i. Legality, including a transparent, accountable and democratic process for enacting law,

ii. Legal certainty,

iii. Prohibition of arbitrariness,

iv. Access to justice before independent and impartial courts, including judicial review of administrative acts,

v. Respect for human rights,

vi. Non-discrimination and equality before the law.

https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/council-of-europe-an...

Those principles include legality, which implies a transparent, accountable, democratic and pluralistic process for enacting laws; legal certainty; prohibition of arbitrariness of the executive powers; independent and impartial courts; effective judicial review including respect for fundamental rights; and equality before the law.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:520...

I think 'prohibition of the arbitrariness of the executive powers' might work.

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Note added at 50 mins (2018-03-09 19:11:40 GMT)
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Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle".

-----

Law
Arbitrary comes from the Latin arbitrarius, the source of arbiter; someone who is tasked to judge some matter. An arbitrary legal judgment is a decision made at the discretion of the judge, not one that is fixed by law. In some countries, a prohibition of arbitrariness is enshrined into the constitution. Article 9 of the Swiss Federal Constitution theoretically overrides even democratic decisions in prohibiting arbitrary government action. The US Supreme Court has overturned laws for having "no rational basis." A recent study of the U.S. asylum system suggests that arbitrariness in decision-making might be the cause of large disparities in outcomes between different adjudicators, a phenomenon described as refugee roulette.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbitrariness

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https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/english-legal-sys...

Personally, I wouldn't change the original but another way of expressing the idea is 'prevalence of the rule of law'.
Note from asker:
Thanks, Helena. What I'm wondering is whether perhaps an equivalent term already exists for this in English, like the one I mentioned "abuse of discretion", which seems to be the same idea, only with regard to the courts. I was thinking of something like "abuse of power", but that's probably too broad.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree AllegroTrans
2 hrs
Thank you, AllegroTrans :-) I'm sorry I haven't agreed to your answer but I would keep 'prohibition'.
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1 hr
Reference:

The official translation

"Section 9
1. Citizens and public authorities are bound by the Constitution and all other legal provisions.
2. It is the responsibility of the public authorities to promote conditions ensuring that freedom and equality of individuals and of the groups to which they belong are real and effective, to remove the obstacles preventing or hindering their full enjoyment, and to facilitate the participation of all citizens in political, economic, cultural and social life.
3. The Constitution guarantees the principle of legality, the hierarchy of legal provisions, the publicity of legal statutes, the non-retroactivity of punitive provisions that are not favourable to or restrictive of individual rights, the certainty that the rule of law shall prevail, the accountability of public authorities, and the prohibition of arbitrary action of public authorities."
http://www.congreso.es/portal/page/portal/Congreso/Congreso/...

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-03-09 20:09:13 GMT)
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I have to see this seems OK to me.

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Note added at 1 hr (2018-03-09 20:09:38 GMT)
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(I have to say, I mean.)
Note from asker:
Thanks, Charles. I'm certainly coming round to "arbitrary action", although my main question was really about whether we have a ready-made phrase for this in English, which I have a vague sense of having seen somewhere, who knows how long ago.
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree AllegroTrans : well yes, but surely protection "from" and "the" arbitrary action // good point but I don't see how arbitrary decisions can be "prohibited" (they happen anyway and hopefully the law provides protection through the appeal system)
1 hr
I don't think "interdicción" can mean "protection". With "of" following, "arbitrary action" would perhaps be better with an article, but I don't think it's essential.
agree Jennifer Levey : Yes, I'd say so too. "The Constitution guarantees ... the prohibition of arbitrary action of public authorities" is a perfectly valid translation.
3 hrs
Thanks, Robin
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