Abstract

ANZURES GURRIA, José Juan. Horizontal Effect of Constitutional Rights. Cuest. Const. [online]. 2010, n.22, pp.3-51. ISSN 1405-9193.

If constitutional rights are conceived as limits to the power, and nowadays the power (economic or social) belongs not only to the State, but also to private persons, is reasonable to expand the effects of these rights to private relations, according to the Drittwirkung theory. This theory has two trends, the indirect and the direct one. The first one maintains that, the way that constitutional rights displayed their effects in private relations is through a State body, and conceives these rights as objective values; the second one, understands that, these rights are subjective rights, and for that reason is not necessary a State body. But the main problem of this theory lies in finding the way to protect these rights, against their violation, in private relations. This problem has been solved by the Constitutional Court of Spain attributing the violation of constitutional rights in a specific private relation, to the Judicial branch, because it has a constitutional commandment to protect them.

Keywords : Drittwirkung; Indirect Horizontal Effect; Direct Horizontal Effect; Objective Values; Subjective Rights; Judicial Imputation.