When Francisco Franco died in 1975, Spain faced a choice: continue with the regime or open to democracy. King Juan Carlos chose the latter, but behind that transition, which was not inevitable, was a man who operated in the shadows: Torcuato Fernandez-Miranda. A refined jurist, trusted by the regime, and a law professor to the current king in his youth, Fernandez-Miranda knew Francoism's mechanisms perfectly. From that foundation, he therefore wanted to change everything without formally destroying anything.

His relationship with the king was decisive in this period of uncertainty. Having served as the king's tutor and advisor, Fernandez-Miranda played a key role in shaping Juan Carlos's political trajectory. Thus, when Juan Carlos ascended the throne, many expected continuity with the past. However, Fernandez-Miranda had a different plan. Not a revolutionary break; his idea was to use the regime's own laws to overthrow it. "De la ley a la ley" (from law to law), he said—aiming for a democratic transformation that maintained legal continuity.

In 1976, Fernandez-Miranda, then president of the Francoist Cortes, was the architect of the "Law for Political Reform." The regime's parliament was to vote on its own demise, that is, organise a constituent assembly, elected by universal suffrage, to rewrite a Constitution that would effectively replace the previous "Fundamental Laws." The law was passed with a large majority.

The Francoist system was legally dismantling itself, but nothing was a given. The army watched with suspicion, regime nostalgics feared change, while the opposition demanded more rapid reforms. In this fragile balance, Fernandez-Miranda operated as a silent mediator, building consensus without exposing himself too much. Shortly thereafter, he made way for Adolfo Suarez as head of government, but without Fernandez-Miranda's preliminary work, that transition would have been much more uncertain.

The first democratic elections were held in 1977, which established the Constituent Assembly that would draft Spain's new democratic Constitution, marking the end of 40 years of dictatorship. In an era when revolutions often ended in violent ruptures, Fernandez-Miranda demonstrated that a system could be transformed from within, with legal precision and political intelligence.