20 years of the Statute: which parts remain undeveloped?

BarcelonaSeptember 30, 2005. Parliament approves the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia after the Socialists and the Convergents reached an agreement. in extremis on funding and secularism in public education. The vote proceeded with virtually unanimous support, with 120 out of 135 deputies: CiU, PSC, Esquerra, and ICV voted in favor, with only the PP breaking away. Thus began the Statute's journey outside of Catalonia: first in Congress and then to the bench of the Constitutional Court, which, in 2010, struck down a total of 14 articles and reinterpreted around twenty more. Twenty years later, which parts of the (cut) Statute have not been developed?

Electoral Law

In Article 56.3, the Statute establishes that Catalonia's electoral system must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the deputies, and that it must respect both proportionality and the "adequate" representation of the territory. Parliament has never been established due to a lack of agreement between the parties on the distribution of seats, and the result is that Catalonia is the only community that does not have its own electoral law. Spanish law, the LOREG (Spanish Organic Law of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia), applies subsidiarily (for example, with regard to the grounds for incompatibility or ineligibility). that have allowed the JEC to withdraw the seats of convicted pro-independence politicians for disobedience, such as former President Quim Torra or former MP Pau Juvillà).

A Catalan electoral law could explore the scope for influencing these causes, creating its own Electoral Commission, or introducing unblocked lists. In 2007, a committee of experts from the Catalan government proposed dividing Catalonia into seven constituencies instead of four and, within the scope allowed by state legislation, introducing sanctions for non-compliance with subsidy regulations or regulating debates and campaign coverage. The last legislature ended without any progress in this area., but there could be this one: in the investiture agreement, the Government agreed with Comunes to unblock it.

Financing

Since the investiture agreement with ERC, the PSC has embraced the proposal for singular financing as a negotiating horizon with the State. However, and also during the election campaign, the Socialists consistently pointed to a specific provision of the Statute that has not been implemented: Article 204, on the Catalan Tax Agency. This article, in its second section, provided for the establishment of a consortium "or equivalent entity" of both administrations within two years to collaborate in the management, collection, liquidation, and inspection of the taxes delegated to the ATC.

Republicans insist that the consortium model is outdated. In fact, the party He had to amend his report to make it clear that they would not accept it even temporarily. despite having opened the door at first, given the complexity of the operation. Now, the Government's master plan that sets dates in the progressive assumption of personal income tax by the ATC It does provide for several phases of collaboration between the State and the Generalitat, and it does not state that the Catalan entity will end up assuming its collection alone.

The tripartite government and the Convergents ultimately opted for the consortium formula in the Statute, but this was not the only one discussed. Montserrat Nebrera, a professor of constitutional law at the UIC, who advised Josep Piqué's PP in its proposal for financing the Statute, recalls that in 2005 the PP proposed a model that recognized the Catalan "singularities" which did not work, neither in Catalonia nor in Genoa – the Pacte del Tinell also vetoed the understanding with the Popular Party.

Aside from this assumption of powers, and according to experts consulted by ARA, ensuring the principle of "per capita" ordinality is the other major outstanding issue regarding compliance with the Statute of Autonomous Communities (Estatut de Catalunya) regarding financing. Also left in the air is the clause on compensation for the State's "historical" debts with Catalonia regarding infrastructure investments, in the third additional provision.

Justice and veguerías

Another victim of the 2010 Constitutional Court ruling was the Catalan Council of Justice. The drafters of the Statute designed it as "a governing body of the judiciary in Catalonia" or, in other words, a "decentralized" entity from the General Council of the Judiciary. Of the functions attributed to it, the Constitutional Court rejected those that would have supplanted the functions of the judiciary, although it did endorse it as a body with advisory functions. Expert sources consulted by ARA clarify, however, that a reform of the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ) would be necessary for it to be established.

Joan Ridao, a professor of constitutional law at the UB and drafter of the Statute, identifies other areas of justice where legislative action has not been implemented: non-judicial personnel serving the administration of justice (for example, by creating Catalan civil service bodies), the creation and organization of judicial offices, and intervention in proposed amendments. Regarding the territorial organization of Catalonia, the constitutionalist also highlights the opportunity offered by the Statute to promote the veguerías (veguerias) as an alternative to the provincial council and to propose a "comprehensive reform" of the local government.

Charter of Rights and Duties

Another lesser-known aspect of the Statute is its mandate in the Parliament to approve a Charter of Rights and Duties of the Citizens of Catalonia, which has also not been carried out. It would not replace or diminish those already recognized in other instruments, but, according to the sources consulted, it could serve the Council of Statutory Guarantees as an element of interpretation and recognize new rights without having to undergo a burdensome reform (with qualified majorities) of the Statute.

From a sectoral perspective, there is also room for improvement. With the aim of stimulating this expansion, the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Josep Rull, announced that by the end of this year, the Catalan parliament will publish a map of all those areas where further legislative development is still possible (for example, in agriculture, mobility, or universities).

Where are we going?

Twenty years after its vote, what is the assessment of the development of the Statute? "The self-government of the Generalitat, from a jurisdictional perspective, has been conditioned by two primary events that have hampered its ability to establish or develop its own policies: first, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and, second, the progressive construction of an executive autonomous state," explains Ridao. For Nebrera, the Constitutional Court's ruling, complex and based on compromises that ultimately "pleased no one," has not helped its full development. "The feeling is that, beyond the political bickering, there is a lack of knowledge about the Statute. It is not fully understood what was intended to be done," he maintains.