108
Moncloa to talk to the President and guarantee the support of their respective
parties. After all, it was only an innocuous question of science, devoid of party
connotations. I imagine that the President agreed because he needed to carry
the parliament with him in a show of unanimity.
The first step was taken on 21 September when the PSOE presented a proposal to ‘provide the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias with scientific, technical, and administrative personnel’ according to the requirements set out in
the Treaty concerning Cooperation in Matters of Astrophysics Treaty.
Once assured of the support of the main parties, the government approved
the bill at the Council of Ministers, and on 30 April 1982 the Royal DecreeLaw 7/1982 was proclaimed, which stated, ‘The Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias is hereby created and its juridical regime established’. The law was
published in the Official State Bulletin of 5 May 1982 and was presented to
Parliament by the government, the decree-law procedure being justified by
the urgency of the matter. It was debated by Congress in May and was
defended by Mrs. Pelayo Duque on behalf of the Party of Democratic Action,
Mr. Padrón Delgado for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, and Mr. Fernández
Rodríguez for the Centrist Parliamentary Group. It is well worth reading, in
Diario de Sesiones del Congreso, these Canarian politicians’ clear arguments
and enthusiasm for the IAC. The decree-law was finally validated by Congress
on 11 May 1982, with 262 votes in favour and two abstentions.
This law constituted a turning point, not only for Spanish astronomy but
also for subsequent legislation concerning Spanish science. It was the first
time that the concept of a public consortium had been applied to a scientific
body. The IAC had been granted a considerable degree of specific autonomy,
placing it on a par with ‘autonomous bodies of a commercial, industrial,
financial, or analogous character’, as identified in the law. Likewise, it could
now hire its own personnel and that of associated administrations, together
with that of ‘other private or public entities with which the Institute agrees
administrative or civil contracts, or agreements of cooperation’. These concepts would later be used in the new economic regime of the universities. All
astronomical activity in the Canaries was encompassed in this law: ‘The
Institute of Astrophysics of CSIC and the University Institute of Astrophysics
of the University of La Laguna are attached to the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias’.
The IAC was also firmly granted ‘juridical personality and the capacity to
act’, among other things, ‘so that Spain may properly meet its international
obligations’, a reference to the Treaty of Cooperation in Astrophysics. The law
specifies that the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias has juridical personality
and the capacity to act in order to fulfil the following ends:
F. Sánchez
Moncloa to talk to the President and guarantee the support of their respective
parties. After all, it was only an innocuous question of science, devoid of party
connotations. I imagine that the President agreed because he needed to carry
the parliament with him in a show of unanimity.
The first step was taken on 21 September when the PSOE presented a proposal to ‘provide the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias with scientific, technical, and administrative personnel’ according to the requirements set out in
the Treaty concerning Cooperation in Matters of Astrophysics Treaty.
Once assured of the support of the main parties, the government approved
the bill at the Council of Ministers, and on 30 April 1982 the Royal DecreeLaw 7/1982 was proclaimed, which stated, ‘The Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias is hereby created and its juridical regime established’. The law was
published in the Official State Bulletin of 5 May 1982 and was presented to
Parliament by the government, the decree-law procedure being justified by
the urgency of the matter. It was debated by Congress in May and was
defended by Mrs. Pelayo Duque on behalf of the Party of Democratic Action,
Mr. Padrón Delgado for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, and Mr. Fernández
Rodríguez for the Centrist Parliamentary Group. It is well worth reading, in
Diario de Sesiones del Congreso, these Canarian politicians’ clear arguments
and enthusiasm for the IAC. The decree-law was finally validated by Congress
on 11 May 1982, with 262 votes in favour and two abstentions.
This law constituted a turning point, not only for Spanish astronomy but
also for subsequent legislation concerning Spanish science. It was the first
time that the concept of a public consortium had been applied to a scientific
body. The IAC had been granted a considerable degree of specific autonomy,
placing it on a par with ‘autonomous bodies of a commercial, industrial,
financial, or analogous character’, as identified in the law. Likewise, it could
now hire its own personnel and that of associated administrations, together
with that of ‘other private or public entities with which the Institute agrees
administrative or civil contracts, or agreements of cooperation’. These concepts would later be used in the new economic regime of the universities. All
astronomical activity in the Canaries was encompassed in this law: ‘The
Institute of Astrophysics of CSIC and the University Institute of Astrophysics
of the University of La Laguna are attached to the Instituto de Astrofísica de
Canarias’.
The IAC was also firmly granted ‘juridical personality and the capacity to
act’, among other things, ‘so that Spain may properly meet its international
obligations’, a reference to the Treaty of Cooperation in Astrophysics. The law
specifies that the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias has juridical personality
and the capacity to act in order to fulfil the following ends:
F. Sánchez