Thoughts on the structural reform of the State

Javier Pérez Royo maintains that the structural reform of the State is fundamentally a labour of constitutional rather than statutory reform. The positions of the State and the Autonomous Communities are fixed, and as such, cannot be amended by reforming the Statutes of Autonomy. Constitutional reform is required. Reforming the statutes can only refine the formula for self-governance, it cannot effect change on the formula for State governance. Unfortunately, the blocking of constitutional reform has left no alternative other than to try and achieve change through statutory reform. Setting oneself a goal which cannot be achieved leads, inevitably, to frustration.

This article forms part of issue 27 of the IDEES magazine, “Catalonia, the Basque Country, Spain: new transitions”, published in print format between October and December 2005. The PDF article is available to download in Catalan below.