The Supreme Court has just backed a Royal Decree issued by the socialist government in November 2010, which opened the way for these policeman to carry out military functions on overseas deployment.

The Asociacion Unificada de Guardia Civiles, which is the closest thing that this institution is permitted in the way of a union, had lodged an appeal to have this decree overturned, claiming that they are not part of the armed forces and therefore cannot participate in deployments of a military nature, be they at home or abroad.

The Supreme Court, however, rejected their appeal, meaning that they can now be deployed as soldiers.

Whilst on the subject of the paramilitary police force, the Guardia Civil, in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, they were lumped in with the Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad del Estado as opposed to the Fuerzas Armadas, in other words, state security forces and not the Armed Forces, (the Army, Navy and Air Force).

They come under the Ministry of the Interior as far as their policing duties go, but under the Ministry of Defence as far as promotion and discipline go.

This might sound confusing but they are Guardia ‘Civil‘ and not Guardia ‘Militar,’ Their duties are civil policing, unlike military police, for example. However, it is this dual dependency that causes the confusion.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. In a recent government survey, citizens were asked to evaluate the national institution in order of preference; i.e., who they approve of the most and from there on down. In number one slot came the Guardia Civil.

In a close second place came the Policia Nacional and then the Army. These are the only three institutions that got a pass mark; that is to say, scored over five out of ten. (5/10)

In fourth place came the Media, which is quite a spectacular advance as they normally come in last, they scored 4.79/10 approval, just under the minimum pass mark.

Here is the ranking in an easier format. Remember that this is an ‘out of ten’ mark:

The Guardia Civil = 5.71
The Police = 5.65
The Armed Forces = 5.21
The Media = 4.79
The Ombudsman = 3.94
The Monarchy = 3.68
The Catholic Church = 3.56
The General Judiciary Board = 3.52
The Constitutional Court = 3.51
The Regional Government = 3.09
The Regional Parliament = 2.96
The Business Associations = 2.87
The Central Parliament = 2.53
The Workers Unions = 2.45
The Central Government = 2.42
The Political Parties = 1.83

Given the situation of civil agitation and discontent, these figures are just a tad alarming…

(News: Spain)