Education
Born in Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, he studied law at the Universities of Barcelona and Madrid, where he obtained his Doctoral Degree, cum laude.
Born in Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, he studied law at the Universities of Barcelona and Madrid, where he obtained his Doctoral Degree, cum laude.
In 1984, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences for his "important research and teaching work". Later, he continued his studies at the Universities of London and Jena. In 1947, he became a lawyer for the Spanish Council of State, later obtaining the chair of Administrative Law at the University of Valladolid (1957).
He joined the law faculty at the Complutense University of Madrid in 1962 where, from 1970, he was the head of the department.
From 1988 he was Professor Emeritus at the Free College of University Emeriti in Madrid. He was the first Spanish judge on the European Court of Human Rights in Strassbourg, where he served from April, 1978 to February, 1986.
He also presided over the Fédération International pour le Droit Européen (FIDE). Founded and presided over the Spanish Association for the Study of European Law, and took part in the Academic Council of the European Law Research Center at Harvard Law School.
He was also on the editorial staff of several other Spanish periodicals and journals, as well as the Yearbook of European Law and the European Review of Public Law.
His law office in Madrid has helped to develop the procedures for creating and registering Non-governmental organizations. He also participated in several commissions formed to draft Spanish laws. Including the Spanish Constitution of 1978.
Academic positions.
Lincean Academy; Real Academia Española. Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation]
In 2004, he became a member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.