The distribution of competences in federal systems: A proposal for a hypothetical constitutional reform in Spain

Abstract

The present work is based on the following premises. After more than 40 years of the Autonomous State, a debate should take place regarding the reform of the 1978 Spanish Constitution with respect to the design of its model for territorial organisation and, specifically, of how competences are distributed between the State and the Autonomous Communities. The present system has not resolved tensions with Catalonia and the Basque Country and should be tailored to the new reality of a Spain integrated within Europe and in a globalised world. Further, it must define a system of power sharing that the Constitution of 1978 deliberately left open.