State Territorial Organization: Unitary, Federal, and Spain’s Autonomy System
Understanding State Territorial Organization
The territorial organization of the State refers to how power and territory relate within a state. There are two primary ways of organizing power:
Unitary State Model
- Unitary State: This model arose in the French system as a reaction against the Old Regime and its many centers of power. It seeks to concentrate power in a single center, resulting in one state power. This necessitates a single executive, a single legislative body, and a single judiciary. The law is the same for all citizens, regardless of their location within the territory. There is only one center of political leadership, and territorial organization is relevant primarily for administrative purposes.
Federal State Model
Federal State: Originating from the independence of the British colonies in North America, this model involves the union of different states into one. There are several centers of power endowed with political autonomy. A central authority, called the Federation, possesses its own executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Additionally, territorial entities (states/regions) have their own, with their own constitutions, where they establish their own organization. Furthermore, there is a federal constitution for all states, which defines the scope of competence for both the federation and the states, ensuring uniformity. Bodies are created to resolve conflicts of jurisdiction between federal and state entities. States are involved in decision-making through a territorial chamber, typically the Senate.
Regional Government in the Spanish State
The Spanish State, with its political autonomy, has adopted a unique formula composed of two elements:
- Establishes a single state, with a single Constitution (CE) and legal system (OJ).
- Recognizes and guarantees the right to autonomy of nationalities and regions within Spain. Thus, if a region exercises this right, the state is conceived as a structure based on political autonomy. The CE allows the Spanish State to become a Composite State if some of the nationalities and regions desire it.
A significant part of the legislative and regulatory powers does not reside solely in Parliament or the government but also in new state bodies. These are legal instruments mentioned in the CE, known as Statutes of Autonomy, which possess a sub-constitutional, constituent character.
The Constitutional Process of Defining Autonomy in Spain
The framework, which ensures the democratic supremacy of civilian authority, the separation of church and state, political and trade union pluralism, the rule of law, and parliamentary monarchy, drew models from other countries. It established general criteria and common contrasting variations over time.
The territorial organization of power had to be adapted to unique conditions. Differences in views regarding the political integration of nationalities and regions were very marked among various political sectors. Therefore, a formula was needed that would allow for maximum consensus, so as not to damage the nascent constitutional democracy, leading to a project that assumed the Statute of Autonomy.
The constituent assembly did not finalize a single model but instead set a framework to initiate a process of reshaping the state to organize the State of Autonomies. The CE does not impose a composite state structure but ensures that such a structure could arise if the nationalities or regions desire it.
Objectives of the Autonomy Process
Objective: To ensure that Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia qualified for political autonomy and to allow the process to develop, following the approval of the CE, for the determination of other Autonomous Communities.
Outcomes of Spain’s Autonomy Development
Results: A part of the state’s constitutional structure did not materialize solely through the CE but also through the Statutes of Autonomy, which hold a unique position in the legal system (OJ).
To understand the actual structure of the Spanish State, one must refer to both the CE and the Statutes of Autonomy, which define the regions.