Is the Spanish Constitutional Court an instrument of the central government against the Autonomous Communities?

López-Laborda, Julio and Rodrigo, Fernando and Sanz-Arcega, Eduardo (2016): Is the Spanish Constitutional Court an instrument of the central government against the Autonomous Communities?

Abstract

This work applies various probit/logit models to a database constructed by the authors, consisting of rulings by the Spanish Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional, TC) resolving positive conflicts of competence between the Central Government and the Autonomous Communities from 1981 to 2014. Our goal is to contrast empirically whether the decisions of the Court respond strictly to legal criteria (the legalist or formalist viewpoint) or if they are determined by political motivations, so that we can state that the TC constitutes an extension, in the jurisdictional milieu, of the central executive power (the realist viewpoint). According to the results of our estimations, we can state that the approach which appears to predominate in the behaviour of the TC is the legalistic one.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: decentralisation, competences, conflict, realism, legalism
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H77 - Intergovernmental Relations ; Federalism ; Secession

References

Aja, E. (2014): Estado autonómico y reforma federal (Autonomic State and Federal Reform), Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Bednar, J. (2004): “Judicial Predictability and Federal Stability: Strategic Consequences of Institutional Imperfection”, Journal of Theoretical Politics, 16 (4): 423-446.

Cabrillo, F and S. Fitzpatrick (2008): The Economics of Courts and Litigation, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.

Dalla Pellegrina, L. and N. Garoupa (2013): “Choosing between the government and the regions: An empirical analysis of the Italian Constitutional Court decisions”, European Journal of Political Research, 52 (5): 558-580.

Del Castillo, P. (1987): ‘‘Notas para el Estudio del Comportamiento Judicial. El Caso del Tribunal Constitucional” (Notes for the Study of Judicial Behaviour. The Case of the Constitutional Court), Revista Española de Derecho Constitucional, 20: 177-191.

Epstein, L., W. M. Landes and R. A. Posner (2013): The Behavior of Federal Judges. A Theoretical and Empirical Study of Rational Choice, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

García Roca, J. (2004): “La consolidación de la democracia y justicia constitucionales” (The Consolidation of Constitutional Democracy and Justice), Revista Jurídica de Castilla y León, Número Extraordinario. 25 años de Constitución: lo que nos une: 33-50.

García Roca, J., ed. (2014): Pautas para una reforma constitucional. Informe para el debate (Guidelines for Constitutional Reform. A Report for Discussion), Cizur Menor: Thomson Reuters Aranzadi.

Garoupa, N., F. Gomez-Pomar and V. Grembi (2013): “Judging under Political Pressure: An Empirical Analysis of Constitutional Review Voting in the Spanish Constitutional Court”, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 29 (3): 513-534.

López-Laborda, J. and F. Rodrigo (2015): “Attribution of regional responsibilities for public services and citizens’ support for decentralisation: Evidence for Spain”, Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 152: 65-86.

López-Laborda, J. and J. Vallés-Giménez (2010): “Factors explaining the regulatory activity of the Spanish Autonomous Communities”, Environment and Planning C: Government an Policy, 28: 469-491.

Marcos, F., J. Santaló and A. Sánchez-Graells (2010): “Measuring regulatory intensity by the Spanish regions (1978-2009)”, IE Business School Working Paper, DE8-132-I.

Ministerio de Administraciones Públicas – Ministry of Public Administrations (2008): Base de Datos. Administraciones territoriales (Database. Territorial Administrations). Madrid, MAP-Lexter (CD-Rom).

Mora-Sanguinetti, J. (2009): “A Characterization of the Judicial System in Spain: Analysis with Formalism Indices”, Documento de Trabajo 2009-23, FEDEA.

Muñoz Machado, S. (2007): Derecho Público de las Comunidades Autónomas II (Autonomic Public Law II), 2nd ed., Madrid: Iustel.

Pastor, S. (1993): ¡Ah de la justicia!, política judicial y economía (Justice Ahoy!, Judicial Politics and Economy), Madrid: Ministry of Justice Publications.

Sala, G. (2010): Can Courts Make Federalism Work?: The Impact of the Constitutional Court on Federal Conflict in Spain, doctoral thesis, Yale University.

Sala, G. (2011): “Courts as Political Institutions with Legal Constraints: Evidence from Spain”, work presented at the ECPR General Conference 2011.

Sala, G. (2014): “Can Courts Make Federalism Work? A Game Theory Approach to Court-Induced Compliance and Defection in Federal Systems”, Economies, 2 (193-217).