Statute Of Autonomy Research Articles

The development of the Social State in the framework of the Autonomous State: constitutional principles, the social rights in the Statutes of Autonomy and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court

The development of the Social State in the framework of the Autonomous State: constitutional principles, the social rights in the Statutes of Autonomy and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court

Language Policy in Galicia, 1980-2020. An Overview

Galician is a minority language spoken in Galicia, an autonomous region in northwestern Spain. This paper will provide some basic data on the evolution of the sociolinguistic situation of Galician. It will consider the dynamics of change and revitalisation of the language and will examine the linguistic policies that underpin them. In 1981, the Statute of Autonomy of Galicia was approved, establishing the co-official status of Galician. In 1983, the Galician Parliament passed the Law on the linguistic normalisation of Galicia, which laid the ground for the language policies of successive autonomous governments. After four decades, there are several symptoms that the language policy is inadequate for promoting Galician, based on a non-confrontational model centred on the teaching and learning of Galician and the promotion of its literary and cultural prestige.

The Last Attempt at Land Reform in Spain: Application and Scope of the Andalusian Agrarian Reform, 1984–2011

In this article, we contextualise, describe and analyse the last attempt at land reform in Spain—the one passed by the Autonomous Parliament of Andalusia in 1984. The Andalusians had passed their Statute of Autonomy by referendum in 1981, incorporating the mandate to carry out an agrarian reform that would boost the rural economy, generate employment and balance the agricultural structure of this region in Southern Spain, peripheral to both national and European centres of power. The Andalusian socialist government complied with this mandate, pushing the agrarian reform law through and applying a package of reform measures, which met with resistance from landowners and conservative political forces from the outset. Political, economic, legal and administrative obstacles swiftly discouraged the Andalusian socialists from persevering in the endeavour, and at the beginning of the nineties, its dismantling began. Finally, in 2011 the end of the agrarian reform was declared, and with it, the waiver of the right to consider alternative models to the liberal management of the agricultural sector. Archives and newspaper libraries, as well as administrative and legal sources, have been consulted, and the information has been examined using content analysis and cross-checked and triangulated with the specialised literature. This article hails a breakthrough in the understanding of the socio-territorial scopes of an agrarian reform little studied to date.

Autonomy Italian Style: Sovereignty in Südtirol/Alto Adige

A critical legal thinking analysis of autonomy in Südtirol/Alto Adige is useful for rethinking Italian sovereignty in the province. Initiating with articles 5, 6, and 116 of the Italian Constitution (1948) and subsequently with two statutes of autonomy (1948 and 1972) with several amendments, a particular system of law was constructed in the context of the Italian regional state.Several historical events have also determined the current Südtirol/Alto Adige autonomous status. Most notably during the aftermath of World War I, it was subject to a change in sovereignty from Austria to Italy. Soon after, during the fascist period, a failed attempt at so-called Italianization dramatically lessened the rights of the Ladin and German-speaking majority. Moreover, following the devastation of World War II autonomy was granted but not fully accepted in its original form by the majority of the population in Südtirol/Alto Adige. As a consequence, the political movement for self-determination became more relevant and terrorist violence emerged. The international community stepped up to the conflict and the Italian government established a new form of autonomy that brought justice and peace.Thereafter, Südtirol/Alto Adige’s autonomy has received support and recognition from the United Nations, the European Union, and other international organizations.

The Hierarchization of Educational Rights of Minorities. A Critical Analysis of Discourses on Multilingualism in South Tyrolean Preschools

The article critically analyzes sociopolitical discourses about language(s) and multilingualism in South Tyrolean preschools by combining political and discourse theory. Drawing on empirical material from a discussion on the topic broadcast on public regional television, in which representatives of politics, research, pedagogical practice and parents participated, the author describes a hierarchization of educational rights in favor of the ‘German’ group, which is constructed as endangered. Through references to the historical era of fascism and Italianization measures associated with it, a continuity of minorization is constructed that requires special protection of the German group and makes it possible to demand the exclusion of non-German positioned children from the educational system. Overall, the analysis reveals a reversal of linguistic majority and minority relations. The targeted monolingualization and mono-ethnicization of preschools is legitimized with a quasinatural authority of the Second Autonomy Statute, which can be read as a strategy of depoliticization.

Transnationalism as a Key Trend of Regional Self-government in the Basque Country

The paper is dedicated to the issues of transnationalism and development of nationalism in Basque self-government. In 2021, the Basque Country resumed the debate on updating the Statute of Guernica (the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, 1979). These debates are backed by the Parliament of the Basque Country. Some key points of this discussion and current Basque regional initiatives in the European Union attract attention and may indicate the development of nationalism in the context of transnational trends and the forming of new regional identity. Methodology of the article is based on the transnationalism theory and the concept of coexistence of postnational and national as simultaneous or competing forms. Transnationalism is not a brand-new idea to Basques: some traces of transnational identity may be found in previous history. In most cases one talks about Basque nationalism (not transnationalism) referring to the period of ETA terrorist group activity which lasted till the beginning of 2010th. Since the end of the terrorist era the need for new terms and definitions for Basques nationalist movement is recognized. Despite the current high level of opponents of independence, the society is still not satisfied with the level of self-government. As a result, the problem of nationalism is greatly modified in Basque society: this is no longer a demand for the creation of an independent state, but a request for a new level of relations between the Basque Country and Spain, the Basque Country and European Union, the Basque Country and other regions; this is the demand for forming and recognition of new European regional identity. The study provides the evidence for defining this new stage in Basque self-determination movement as a nationalist and transnationalist one at the same time. In terms of this definition the concept of “Europe of the regions” is becoming relevant again and the whole situation may provide the basis for nationalist development in other European regions with similar issues.

Transnationalism as a Key Trend of Regional Self-government in the Basque Country

The paper is dedicated to the issues of transnationalism and development of nationalism in Basque self-government. In 2021, the Basque Country resumed the debate on updating the Statute of Guernica (the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, 1979). These debates are backed by the Parliament of the Basque Country. Some key points of this discussion and current Basque regional initiatives in the European Union attract attention and may indicate the development of nationalism in the context of transnational trends and the forming of new regional identity. Methodology of the article is based on the transnationalism theory and the concept of coexistence of postnational and national as simultaneous or competing forms. Transnationalism is not a brand-new idea to Basques: some traces of transnational identity may be found in previous history. In most cases one talks about Basque nationalism (not transnationalism) referring to the period of ETA terrorist group activity which lasted till the beginning of 2010th. Since the end of the terrorist era the need for new terms and definitions for Basques nationalist movement is recognized. Despite the current high level of opponents of independence, the society is still not satisfied with the level of self-government. As a result, the problem of nationalism is greatly modified in Basque society: this is no longer a demand for the creation of an independent state, but a request for a new level of relations between the Basque Country and Spain, the Basque Country and European Union, the Basque Country and other regions; this is the demand for forming and recognition of new European regional identity. The study provides the evidence for defining this new stage in Basque self-determination movement as a nationalist and transnationalist one at the same time. In terms of this definition the concept of “Europe of the regions” is becoming relevant again and the whole situation may provide the basis for nationalist development in other European regions with similar issues.

Economic effects of recent experiences of federalism: Analysis of the regionalization process in Spain

AbstractSetting limits on government action is critical to economic development. Some forms of government organization, such as market‐preserving federalism, seem effective to protect property rights in the long term with good results for economic efficiency. Spain endowed its regions with “Statutes of Autonomy” in the 1980s thus moving from a centralized to a decentralized form of government. It renewed and expanded some of the statutes in the 2000s. This article investigates whether these two waves of regionalization, which had their own characteristics in each region, had led to positive effects on economic performance. Using a novel autonomous region/country‐matched balanced sample for the period 1950–2016, we apply the synthetic control method and compare the economic growth trajectories of Spanish regions with their synthetic control groups not affected by the regionalization process. We show that the first wave of “Statutes of Autonomy” had a positive but temporary economic growth impact. By contrast, the second wave of regionalization of the 2000s is associated with a negative growth impact.

Constitutional reflections on the distribution of competences regarding Spanish civil legislation

On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the approval and entry into force of a large part of the Statutes of Autonomy, the basic rules of the Autonomous Communities and Autonomous Cities in which the political power of the Spanish State is territorially distributed, this work shows the heterogeneous process of development of civil law in these territorial entities. It also analyses the problem of the future of Spanish civil law from the point of view of its territorial structure. Finally, this work proposes a constitutional solution that could be a starting point to mitigate the difficulties presented by the current scenario.

Framing the Catalan Conflict: A Decade of el procés in the International Media

Since 2010 the Catalan secessionist movement has been reported on extensively in the global media. Beginning with the 2010 demonstrations against the decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to reject a new Catalan statute of autonomy, and covering subsequent events such as the unofficial self-determination referendum in 2017, the trial and imprisonment of Catalan political leaders, and the violent protests against the verdicts; the events in the region have all featured heavily on the front pages of the international press. This study analyzes how US and UK newspapers have covered the Catalan independence movement during the period from 2010 to 2019. To do so, this study focuses on two US newspapers ( The New York Times and The Washington Post) and two from the UK newspapers ( The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian) and observes how the positions of the Spanish and Catalan governments are represented through the analysis of the frames used to construct the newspapers’ coverage, as well as the overall tone and the sources used by the journalists. To detect the dominant framework, a framing analysis is undertaken from a communicative and deductive perspective, applying Semetko and Valkenburg’s classification. In-depth interviews are also conducted with the newspapers’ Spanish-based foreign correspondents which allows the analysis to include the correspondents’ views on the difficulties faced by them during their time spent while covering the conflict. The study’s primary conclusion is that the international press downplays the significant role played by social movements and civil society in the secession movement, with a strong preference shown by journalists to rely on representatives of official sources as the most valid spokespersons for the movement. Secondly, the study finds that media attention follows closely the flash-points of the conflict with more coverage appearing at the moments of greater political tension between the Spanish and Catalan governments. This suggests that civil society mobilizations attract less interest from the media that instead prefers to focus on developments in the political sphere.

How Fluid is the Special Statute of Autonomy of Trentino Alto Adige/South Tyrol? The influence of the Court of Justice of the EU, the Council of Europe and the Italian Constitutional Court on the Process of Implementation

This article intends to examine the different legal and institutional factors that have contributed to the fluidity of the minority protection system in Trentino Alto Adige/South Tyrol, referring to the contribution of the EU, the Council of Europe and constitutional jurisprudence. To do so, it focuses on the main principles governing minority protection. To what extent have these factors succeeded in correcting the rigidities inherent in the Statute of Autonomy? The article analyses the evolution of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU that has redefined some principles of the Statute of Autonomy, the contribution of the Council of Europe and the jurisprudence on census, quotas and membership of linguistic groups, the legal principles guiding the education system and, finally, the influence of the Italian constitutional jurisprudence on the concept of closed farmyard (‘maso chiuso’/‘Der geschlossene Hof’). In the conclusions, the article highlights how openness to the EU and the European context has contributed to the fluidity of the system and protected the prerogatives of new groups that are emerging alongside the three traditional language groups, such as bilingual people and new minorities (immigrants). These developments and the new needs of society must be taken into account in the reform of the new Statute as a new social pact.

Democratic innovations in (subnational) constitution-making: the institutionalized case(s) of the Italian Provinces of Trento and Bolzano

The paper looks at Democratic Innovations in the process of amending subnational constitutional documents. Through qualitative approach, it focuses on two case studies: those of the Italian Provinces of Bolzano and Trento. Between 2015 and 2017 both Provinces conducted two parallel innovative democratic procedures with the aim of reforming the basic law of the Region (the Statute of Autonomy) in a deliberative fashion. The paper intends to analyze the procedures, identify the internal and external factors that had either negative or positive impacts on the processes and situate the analysis in the broader framework of participatory Constitution-making.

The Relevance of Language as a Predictor of the Will for Independence in Catalonia in 1996 and 2020

The Catalan secessionist parties, if added together, have won all the elections to the Parliament of Catalonia from 2010 to 2021. Their voters have been increasingly mobilized since the start of the controversial reform process of the Statute of Autonomy (2004–2010). The aim of this article is twofold. First, it intends to test whether language is the strongest predictor in preferring independence in two separate and distinct moments, 1996 and 2020. And second, to assess whether its strength has changed—and how—between both years. Only the most exogenous variables to the dependent variable are used in each of two logistic regressions to avoid problems of endogeneity: sex, age, size of town of residence, place of birth of the individual and of their parents, first language (L1), and educational level. Among them, L1 was—and still is—the most powerful predictor, although it is not entirely determinative. The secessionist movement not only gathers a plurality of Catalan native speakers, but it receives a not insignificant level of support among those who have Spanish as their L1. Conversely, the unionist group, despite being composed primarily by people who have Spanish as their L1 and have their family origins outside Catalonia, has a native Catalan-speaking minority inside. This imperfect division, which is based on ethnolinguistic alignments—and whose relevance cannot be neglected—alleviates the likelihood of an ethnic-based conflict.

El tardío reconocimiento del carácter mercantil de las sociedades cooperativas y su consecuencia

La dispersión normativa en materia de sociedades cooperativas es el efecto de circunstancias históricas y políticas que van más allá de la sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional de 1983 asumiendo la constitucionalidad de la Ley 1/1982, de 1 de febrero, sobre Cooperativas, del País Vasco, a la que siguieron otras de diversas comunidades autónomas hasta el actual marco legal cooperativo. El que no se hubiera asumido por el legislador nacional antes de 1979, fecha de publicación del primer estatuto de autonomía, la naturaleza mercantil de las sociedades cooperativas ha dado lugar a esta situación, sin embargo, el debate y conclusiones del carácter mercantil de las sociedades cooperativas ha estado presente en la doctrina desde mucho antes de dicha fecha. En este trabajo se hace un repaso a las concepciones y justificaciones legales que se ha dado a las cooperativas hasta su actual percepción como sociedades de naturaleza mercantil.
 Recibido: 03 julio 2017Aceptado: 26 septiembre 2017

La cuestión catalana: origen, desarrollo, y perspectivas

Catalonia is one of the richest regions in Spain and, thanks to its Statute of Autonomy, it enjoys a self-government comparable to that existing in federal States. It has been part of Spain for as long as Spain exists, but in the course of history there have been several episodes of disagreement and attempts at receiving independence. Since the beginning of this century, a sovereignty process has been launched by supporters of secession, ignorant of the Constitution and Spanish legality, that culminated, in October 2017, with a unilateral declaration of independence, which involved temporary intervention by the Spanish Government and the trial and condemnation of the main leaders, in addition to not being recognized by any country or international organization in the world. Catalan society is plural, formed in part by emigrants from other parts of Spain, and is very divided on this issue. Supporters of independence have never managed to obtain 50% of the votes in any of the numerous elections carried out, although there is a majority favorable to increasing the level of autonomy. The solution to this conflict can only come with the achievement of a political agreement that establishes a new relationship between Catalonia and the rest of Spain, which satisfies a majority, without the need to break up. But this solution will be difficult because of both the radicalism of some separatist leaders and the lack of agreement between the Spanish parties on how to approach the issue.

Economic Effects of Recent Experiences of Federalism: Analysis of the Regionalization Process in Spain

Setting limits on government action is critical to economic development. Some forms of government organization, such as market-preserving federalism, seem effective to protect property rights in the long term with good results for economic efficiency. Spain endowed its regions with “Statutes of autonomy” in the 1980s thus moving from a centralized to a decentralized form of government. It renewed and expanded some of the statutes in the 2000s. This article investigates whether these two waves of regionalization, which had their own characteristics in each region, had led to positive effects on economic performance. Using a novel autonomous region/country-matched balanced sample for the period 1950-2016, we apply the synthetic control method and compare the economic growth trajectories of Spanish regions with their synthetic control groups not affected by the regionalization process. We show that the first wave of “Statutes of autonomy” had a positive but temporary economic growth impact. By contrast, the second wave of regionalization of the 2000’s is associated with a negative growth impact.

The Second Statute of Autonomy and European Unification: Opportunities and Risks of the European Integration for the Protection of Minorities in South Tyrol

The Second Statute of Autonomy and European Unification: Opportunities and Risks of the European Integration for the Protection of Minorities in South Tyrol

The Statute of Autonomy of 1972 from a Ladin perspective

On the occasion of a current case in Germany, where the request of the Sorbian minority to have towns in the Sorbian settlement area signposted in both languages on the signs of highways and motorways was rejected (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.minoritymonitor.eu/case/Germany-refuses-to-provide-bilingual-motorway-signs-in-minority-languages">https://www.minoritymonitor.eu/case/Germany-refuses-to-provide-bilingual-motorway-signs-in-minority-languages</a>), the South Tyrolean Ethnic Groups Institute prepared an expert opinion on the multilingualism of the traffic signs in the higher-ranked road network in Italy for the “Minority Monitor” of the FUEN (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.minoritymonitor.eu/">https://www.minoritymonitor.eu/</a>).

The European factor in the implementing provisions of the Statute of Autonomy

The European factor in the implementing provisions of the Statute of Autonomy

From the First to the Second Statute of Autonomy to Dynamic Autonomy – A Personal Review. An Interview with Christoph Pan.

From the First to the Second Statute of Autonomy to Dynamic Autonomy – A Personal Review. An Interview with Christoph Pan.