The standing of regional governments to challenge the constitutionality of legislation. A comment on STC 176/2019

Authors

  • Enric Fossas Espadaler Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/redc.123.09

Abstract

This paper analyzes the Judgement of the Constitutional Court (STC 176/2019), which raises for the second time the controversial issue of the legal standing of regional executives to file an appeal of unconstitutionality against statutory law passed by their own legislative Assemblies. It is argued that, far from dealing with just a simple procedural problem, the case raises three important constitutional issues: the scope of the matters reserved to the Organic Law of the Constitutional Court according for the article 165 CE, and the constitutional limits regarding the standing of the autonomous authorities; the application and the interpretation of the rules concerning this standing by the Constitutional Court; the nature and functionality of the constitutional appeal in the quasi-federal Spanish State. The paper reaches the conclusion that the dysfunctions generated by the existing legal rules concerning the regional standing could not be resolved in this Judgment, as the dissenting votes intended. But the Court ought not to hint the unconstitutionality of a future regulation.

Published

2021-12-28

Issue

Section

JURISPRUDENCE. CRITICAL STUDIES