Hay Derecho Foundation

Fundación Hay Derecho (officially registered as Fundación ¿Hay Derecho?) is a Spanish non-profit foundation focused on the analysis of the rule of law, the functioning of institutions, transparency, the fight against corruption and democratic quality. It grew out of the legal and political blog ¿Hay Derecho?, created in 2010 by jurists and professionals from the legal and economic fields, and was formally constituted as a foundation on 21 November 2014, being entered in the Register of Foundations in March 2015. Its registered foundational purposes include the defence of the rule of law in Spain and the improvement of the legal system and institutions. The foundation carries out public activity through reports, parliamentary appearances, institutional collaboration projects and contentious-administrative appeals related to public appointments. Its main publications include the Informe sobre el Estado de derecho (Rule of Law Report), the Dedómetro on the selection of senior officials and public-entity directors, and the Informe Parlamento on the functioning of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. It has also developed a Corruption Indicators System in collaboration with Jaime Gómez-Obregón. Hay Derecho operates as a civil-society organisation rather than a commercial enterprise: it is funded through donations and collaboration, and its website invites the public to support its work, sign campaigns such as the petition to eliminate aforamientos (special legal privileges for elected officials), and follow its blog, news and events. It is based in Madrid and engages with Spanish and European institutions, including appearances before parliamentary bodies and consultations by the European Commission. In 2023 a representation of the foundation was received in audience by King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace, and in 2024 the European Commission cited contributions from the foundation in the Spain chapter of its Rule of Law Report. As a brand, Hay Derecho stands for independent, expert-driven scrutiny of Spanish public institutions. Its editorial voice, reports and campaigns position it as a civic watchdog rather than a political party or commercial media outlet. The foundation's leadership has included Safira Cantos as director general from 2022. Its work is cited in parliamentary and academic contexts, and its reports are followed by institutions such as the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF), which in 2020 published a follow-up of recommendations formulated by the OECD, the Court of Auditors and Hay Derecho.

Hay Derecho originated in 2010 as a legal and institutional analysis blog promoted by jurists and professionals from the legal and economic fields. From that space, a public activity took shape around issues such as the rule of law, corruption, regulatory quality and the functioning of institutions. The blog became the first public platform of the project and functioned as a venue for legal, institutional and political analysis before the foundation was created. That editorial activity also produced collective publications signed under the pseudonym Sansón Carrasco, including ¿Hay Derecho? and Contra el capitalismo clientelar, published by Ediciones Península. An academic review published in Eunomía. Revista en Cultura de la Legalidad linked those works to the analysis of the weaknesses of the rule of law carried out by the Sansón Carrasco collective and to the later creation of the foundation. The Fundación Hay Derecho was formally constituted on 21 November 2014 and entered in the Register of Foundations in March 2015. The registration recorded as foundational purposes the defence of the rule of law in Spain and the improvement of the legal system and institutions. During its first years, the entity's activity developed mainly through the blog, the publication of legal and institutional analyses, and the organisation of activities related to transparency, corruption and institutional quality. In 2017 the Hay Derecho blog was recognised in the Transparency category of the Confilegal Awards. In 2022 the foundation incorporated Safira Cantos as director general. In the following years, the foundation became associated with reports on the rule of law, European projects, institutional participation and litigation over public appointments. Its flagship work, the Informe sobre el Estado de derecho, first analysed the 2018–2021 period and was produced with the collaboration of the Chair of Good Governance and Public Integrity of the University of Murcia. The 2024 edition, presented as the second edition, addressed the use of decree-laws, parliamentary activity, institutional independence, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Constitutional Court; that same year the report was presented at the European Parliament Office in Madrid. In 2025 a special edition focused on the Community of Madrid was published, dedicated to analysing the system of institutional checks and balances at the regional level. Another study, the Dedómetro, focuses on the selection of senior officials and directors of public entities; its 2024 state edition analysed state public entities and senior public-sector directors, examining indicators related to transparency, merit and capacity in access to public-sector management positions. The foundation has also produced the Informe Parlamento, dedicated to analysing the functioning of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, examining parliamentary functions such as legislative activity, control of the government, budgetary function and institutional appointments. In 2025 the report was cited in a parliamentary appearance on the First Open Parliament Plan of the Congress of Deputies, and the Congress included the Informe Parlamento in a library news bulletin in July 2025. Beyond these, the foundation has published other works related to institutional governance, corruption, transparency and the functioning of the public sector, including the Corruption Indicators System associated with collaboration with Jaime Gómez-Obregón. Some of its proposals have received institutional follow-up: in 2020 the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) published a follow-up of recommendations formulated by the OECD, the Court of Auditors and Hay Derecho within its accountability activity. The foundation's institutional activity has included parliamentary appearances, participation in public consultations and collaboration in projects linked to transparency, open government, digital rights and whistleblower protection. In 2023 a representation of the Fundación Hay Derecho was received in audience by Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace. In 2024 the European Commission cited contributions from the Fundación Hay Derecho in the Spain chapter of its Rule of Law Report, and the foundation figured among the organisations consulted in that framework.

• 2025

  A special edition of the Informe sobre el Estado de derecho focused on the Community of Madrid is published; the Informe Parlamento is cited in a parliamentary appearance and included in a Congress library bulletin.

• 2024

  The European Commission cites contributions from the foundation in the Spain chapter of its Rule of Law Report; the second edition of the Informe sobre el Estado de derecho is presented at the European Parliament Office in Madrid.

• 2023

  A representation of the foundation is received in audience by Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace.

• 2022

  Safira Cantos joins the foundation as director general.

• 2020

  AIReF publishes a follow-up of recommendations formulated by the OECD, the Court of Auditors and Hay Derecho.

• 2017

  The Hay Derecho blog is recognised in the Transparency category of the Confilegal Awards.

• 2015

  The foundation is entered in the Register of Foundations in March.

• 2014

  Fundación Hay Derecho is formally constituted on 21 November.

• 2010

  The legal and political blog ¿Hay Derecho? is created by jurists and professionals from the legal and economic fields.

Independent Spanish civil-society foundation and civic watchdog focused on the rule of law, transparency, anti-corruption and institutional quality.

• Informe sobre el Estado de derecho

  Flagship report analysing the quality of institutions and democracy in Spain; first edition covered 2018–2021 with the collaboration of the University of Murcia's Chair of Good Governance and Public Integrity; 2024 second edition; 2025 special edition on the Community of Madrid.

• Dedómetro

  Study on the selection of senior officials and directors of public entities; 2024 state edition analysed state public entities and senior public-sector directors.

• Informe Parlamento

  Report on the functioning of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, covering legislative activity, control of government, budgetary function and institutional appointments.

• Sistema de Indicadores de Corrupción

  Corruption indicators system associated with collaboration with Jaime Gómez-Obregón.

1. 1Fundación Hay Derechohayderecho.com
2. 2Contacta con nosotros | Hay Derechohayderecho.com
3. 3Trabaja con nosotros - HayDerechohayderecho.com
4. 4Editorial: Las presiones ejercidas sobre la jueza Beatriz Biedma y sus implicaciones - HayDerechohayderecho.com
5. 5Hay Derecho Foundationwikidata.org
6. 6Fundación Hay Derechoes.wikipedia.org