ABSTRACT
The UK and Russia have had to deal with domestic terrorism stemming from Northern Ireland and Chechnya, respectively, so to have Spain had to deal with the specter of homegrown terrorism in dealing with terrorism by Basque and Cataluna separatists. The militant Basque separatist group, known as ETA, has been responsible for the deaths of over 800 individuals in Spain during roughly a forty year campaign for regional independence in Spain. Spain's law enforcement regime is characterized as "multiple uncoordinated" in its structure, which is somewhat ironic given that the various police forces all operate under the auspices of the national government. Article 55 of the constitution provides for a process whereby fundamental rights and civil liberties may be suspended during a state of emergency, and also in terrorism cases. Thus, in terms of Spain's anti-terrorism legislation, many of the provisions were passed well before 2001 to deal with the domestic terrorism presented by ETA operations in Spain.
