Statute of autonomy#List of autonomy statutes

Statutes of autonomy are defined in the Spanish Constitution.{{sfn |Spanish Constitution|1978|loc= Articles 146 and 147}} 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.{{sfn|Casanas Adam|2017|p=375}}

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.

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.{{sfn|Arzoz|2012|p=182}} 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.{{sfn|Anderson|2020a|pp=4,5}}{{sfn|Casanas Adam|2017|p=392}}

Consequently, from about 2004, there was a wave of reform of statutes aimed at updating and resolving conflicts.{{sfn|Casanas Adam|2017|p=375}} 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.{{sfn|Casanas Adam|2017|p=375}} 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.{{sfn|Colino|2013|p=219}}

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

{{reflist}}

{{notelist-lr}}

• {{cite journal|title=Decentralisation at a crossroads: Spain, Catalonia and the Territorial Crisis |first=Paul |last=Anderson |journal=Ethnopolitics |volume=19 |year=2020a| issue=4 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |pages=342–355|doi=10.1080/17449057.2020.1795470 |lang=en | issn=1744-9065|oclc=300873767|url=https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/download/08de36fe281562b260890afcb48ed7e443ec7cf8a7e309319c7f0f5f9442485f/259158/Catalonia%20final%20paper%20PDF.pdf}}
• {{cite book|first=Paul|last=Anderson|year=2020b|title=Power-sharing in Europe: Past practice, present cases and future directions|editor-first1=S|editor-last1=Keil| editor-first2=A| editor-last2=McCulloch|chapter=A Consociational Compromise? Constitutional Evolution in Spain and Catalonia|chapter-url=https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15880/|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-53590-2_9 | publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-030-53590-2|page=201-225|access-date=27 March 2025}}
• {{cite journal|title=New developments in Spanish federalism |first=Xabier |last=Arzoz |journal=L'Europe en Formation |year=2012| volume=363 |issue=1 |pages=179–188|doi=10.3917/eufor.363.0179 |lang=en | issn= 2410-9231|oclc=140465166|url=https://shs.cairn.info/article/EUFOR_363_0179/pdf?lang=en|access-date=27 March 2025|url-access=subscription}}
• {{cite book|first=Elisenda|last=Casanas Adam|year=2017|title=Courts in Federal Countries|editor-first1=Nicholas|editor-last1=Aroney| editor-first2=John| editor-last2=Kincaid|chapter=The Constitutional Court of Spain: From System Balancer to Polarizing Centralist |pages=367–403 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt1whm97c.16|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4875-1466-2|jstor=10.3138/j.ctt1whm97c.16 |access-date=29 March 2025}}
• {{cite book| last=Colino|first=César|

chapter = Living with Contradictions in Federalism: goals and outcomes of recent constitutional and financial reforms in the Spanish Estado autonómico

|editor-first1= Grace |editor-last1=Skogstad|editor-first2=Keith |editor-last2=Banting|editor-first3=David |editor-last3=Cameron |editor-first4=Martin |editor-last4=Papillon |title=The Global Promise of Federalism|publisher=University of Toronto Press|pages=214–235|year =2017|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286929586

|access-date=27 March 2025|isbn=9781442619197|oclc=1004879919

}}

• {{cite news|last=Force| first=Marina | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/catalonias-place-in-spain-a-brief-history-1506735974 |title=Catalonia's Place in Spain: A Brief History"|work=Wall Street Journal| date=11 October 2017|access-date= 16 October 2017|url-access=subscription| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020072422/https://www.wsj.com/articles/catalonias-place-in-spain-a-brief-history-1506735974| archive-date=20 Oct 2020}}
• {{cite web |title=The Spanish Constitution |url=https://www.tribunalconstitucional.es/es/tribunal/normativa/normativa/constitucioningles.pdf |publisher=Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado |access-date=10 June 2022 |language=English |date=1978|ref={{harvid|Spanish Constitution|1978}}}}

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