Responsables

Responsables is the plural form of the Spanish word responsable, used both as a noun and an adjective. As a noun, it refers to the people who have responsibility or who are in charge of a task, project, or organization. For example, los responsables de un proyecto are the individuals accountable for its outcomes. As an adjective, it describes someone who acts with accountability or reliability, as in una persona responsable or un empleado responsable.

In terms of grammar, responsable has masculine and feminine forms that share the same spelling in the plural: el responsable / la responsable and los responsables / las responsables. The gender is indicated by the article or accompanying adjectives or pronouns.

Etymology and related terms: responsable derives from the Latin responsable or responsabilis, related to respondeo (to respond) and to respondere. The noun form conscientes or responsabilidad translates to responsibility, accountability, or duty, and is used across contexts to discuss who is answerable for actions or outcomes.

Contexts and usage: the term is common in governance, management, safety, and ethics to denote who bears responsibility or is accountable for decisions and results. In professional and legal language, phrases like los responsables de cumplir la normativa or los responsables del tratamiento are used; in data protection, the term adverse to the data controller is “responsable del tratamiento.” The concept emphasizes duties, answerability, and the assignment of accountability, including discussions of responsabilidad compartida when multiple parties are involved.

See also: responsibility, accountability, data controller (responsable del tratamiento), responsabilidad compartida.