Statute of autonomy

Template:Short description In Spain, a statute of autonomy is the basic institutional, quasi-constitutional law of an autonomous community or autonomous city. The process of devolution after the transition to democracy (1979) created 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities, each having its own Statute of Autonomy. The two autonomous cities are Ceuta and Melilla, both on the north coast of Africa.

These statutes define the institutional framework within a region and the powers Template:Langx of the region, within the limits of the Constitution. Powers fall into four broad categories: those exclusive to the State; those where the State legislates and the autonomous communities implement this legislation; those where the State defines framework legislation and the regions add detailed legislation and are responsible for execution; and finally those powers that are exclusive the autonomous communities.

Legal basis

Statutes of autonomy are defined in the Spanish Constitution. Statutes of autonomy are part of the legal system of the State, but how they are drafted and approved is distinct from other laws. Initially drafted by an assembly made up of members of Provincial Council wishing to become an autonomous community, they are then submitted to the Spanish Parliament as a bill and passed into law.

To modify or replace a statute of autonomy, the process is according to provisions in the existing statute but is initiated and drafted by the parliament of the autonomous community and require a strong majority to pass (e.g., two-thirds in Catalonia or three-fifths in Murcia). They must then be approved by Spanish Parliament as an organic law, which requires an absolute majority voting in favour in the Congress of Deputies.

Reform

As the Constitution had not set clearly defined methods for power sharing, particularly over shared jurisdiction or powers, there had been major conflict because the real power of an autonomous community depended upon how far the State wanted to legislate. Since 1982, the PSOE and later the PP pursued policies to temper enthusiasm for devolution and instead sought to harmonise the powers devolved to all autonomous communities. This was interpreted by the 'historic nationalities' of Catalonia and the Basque Country as the re-imposition of centralist control from Madrid particularly after a landmark ruling of the Constitutional Court upheld the prerogative of the central government to use 'Basic (ie framework) Laws' to encroach upon devolved jurisdictional powers to promote and protect 'the national interest' of the Spanish state.

Consequently, from about 2004, there was a wave of reform of statutes aimed at updating and resolving conflicts. On 18 June 2006, Catalonia approved by referendum a highly innovative but controversial new statute that was seen as the leading model of reform, with such elements as a full charter of rights and a detailed chapter on the judiciary. This triggered and influenced reform of several other statutes which have been modified including those of Valencia (2006), Balearic Islands (2007), Andalucía (2007), Aragón (2007), Castile and León (2007), Navarra (2010), and Extremadura (2011), all agreed by the national parliament and the two main Spanish parties.

List of autonomy statutes

#	Name	Adopted	Latest reform
1	File:Flag of the Basque Country.svg Basque Country	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">18 December 1979 (LO 3/1979)
2	File:Flag of Catalonia.svg Catalonia	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">18 December 1979 (LO 4/1979)	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">19 July 2006 (LO 6/2006)
3	File:Flag of Galicia.svg Galicia	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">6 April 1981 (LO 1/1981)
4	File:Bandera de Andalucia.svg Andalusía	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">30 December 1981 (LO 6/1981)	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">19 March 2007 (LO 2/2007)
5	File:Flag of Asturias (gala).svg Asturias	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">30 December 1981 (LO 7/1981)
6	File:Flag of Cantabria.svg Cantabria	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">30 December 1981 (LO 8/1981)
7	File:Flag of La Rioja (with coat of arms).svg La Rioja	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">9 June 1982 (LO 3/1982)
8	File:Flag of the Region of Murcia.svg Region of Murcia	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">9 June 1982 (LO 4/1982)
9	File:Bandera de la Comunidad Valenciana (2x3).svg Valencian Community	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">1 July 1982 (LO 5/1982)	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">10 April 2006 (LO 1/2006)
10	File:Flag of Aragon.svg Aragon	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">10 August 1982 (LO 8/1982)	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">20 April 2007 (LO 5/2007)
11	File:Flag of Castile-La Mancha.svg Castilla-La Mancha	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">10 August 1982 (LO 9/1982)
12	File:Flag of the Canary Islands.svg Canary Islands	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">10 August 1982 (LO 10/1982)	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">6 November 2018 (LO 1/2018)
13	File:Bandera de Navarra.svg Navarre	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">10 August 1982 (LO 13/1982)
14	File:Flag of Extremadura with COA.svg Extremadura	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">25 February 1983 (LO 1/1983)	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">28 January 2011 (LO 1/2011)
15	File:Flag of the Balearic Islands.svg Balearic Islands	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">25 February 1983 (LO 2/1983)	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">28 February 2007 (LO 1/2007)
16	File:Flag of the Community of Madrid.svg Community of Madrid	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">25 February 1983 (LO 3/1983)
17	File:Flag of Castile and León.svg Castile and León	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">25 February 1983 (LO 4/1983)
18	File:Flag Ceuta.svg Ceuta	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">13 March 1995 (LO 1/1995)
19	File:Flag of Melilla.svg Melilla	<span data-sort-value="" style="display:none;">13 March 1995 (LO 2/1995)

See also

• Autonomous communities of Spain
• Government of Wales Act 1998
• Nationalities and regions of Spain
• Northern Ireland Act 1998
• Scotland Act 1998

Bibliography

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