Spain has a parliamentary constitutional monarchy as its form of government. It is a democratic system where the monarch acts as the head of state with mainly symbolic and non-political roles, while executive power is held by the government led by the Prime Minister. The legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament called the Cortes Generales, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). The judiciary is independent and operates under the rule of law. Spain also has a decentralized territorial model with 17 Autonomous Communities, each with their own government and legislature, with differing degrees of autonomy.