He was judge on the Constitutional Court of Spain between 1980 and 1992, of which he spend the last three years as Vice President.Rubio Llorente was born in Berlanga, Badajoz.
He was a law professor at the Central University of Venezuela between 1959 and 1967.
He then returned to Spain to take up a similar position at the Complutense University of Madrid, which he kept until his retirement.From 1977 to 1979 he was secretary general in the Congress of Deputies.