Halfway down the road to supervision of the Spanish intelligence services

Abstract

The CESID was created during the transition to democracy with obvious shortcomings in its administrative, judicial, governmental and parliamentary controls. These shortcomings contributed to the scandals of 1995 and 1998 that made deputies aware of the need for improvements in its supervision, although the timid initiatives that were finally adopted did nothing to improve the situation. The reform of 2002 that transformed CESID into CNI was presented as an opportunity to perfect supervision of the intelligence services. However, its achievements have not been as ambitious as might have been hoped. Supervision ever since the transition to democracy is still unfinished business, as was clearly demonstrated by the difficulties experienced in the work of the commission of inquiry into the terrorist attack of 11 March 2004.