Beyond Conciliation: A Structural Analysis of the Constitutional Court’s Jurisprudence on Catalonia-Central Government Conflicts Unresolved by Art. 33.2 LOTC

Abstract

This article examines the jurisdictional conflicts between Spain’s central government and Catalonia which remained unresolved through the conciliation procedure outlined in Article 33.2 of the Organic Law of the Constitutional Court (LOTC in Spanish). Specifically, it identifies and examines, through a series of quantitative variables, the constitutional appeals lodged before the Constitutional Court. Additionally, it delineates the content of the Court’s decisions to identify trends and correlations between the pre-jurisdictional and jurisdictional procedures. Finally, it provides a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of the pre-jurisdictional process based on a set of data and graphs enabling visual identification of the evolution of those conflicts against which the procedure outlined in Article 33.2 LOTC proved ineffective.

Keywords

• cooperation relations
• bilateral commissions
• alternative conflict resolution
• art.33.2 of the organic law of the constitutional appeal
• bilateral relations
• catalonia-central government relationship