The judicial policy of the Spanish Constitutional Court in the process of ratifying European Unión treaties: approximation based on a new juridical realism

Authors

  • Pablo José Castillo Ortiz

Keywords:

Judicial politics, European integration, European Union treaties, constitutional policy

Abstract

In the context of the processes of ratification of European Union Treaties, the Spanish Constitutional Court has issued two «Declaraciones» on the constitutionality of the Maastricht Treaty and the Constitutional Treaty. The two showed different outcomes: the first case was declared unconstitutional, while the second one was declared constitutional. Behaviorist approaches, which explain judicial behaviour as a result of power struggles between partisan blocks within the institution can not explain cases like ours, in which the preferences of the main political actors converged. The article shows that an argument based in the institutional constraints defined by the procederes of constitucional amendment applicable to each case offers a better explanation of the different outcomes.

Issue

Section

ARTICLES