Constitutional Reform Within the Context of the Debate on the Independence of Catalonia

Abstract

This paper upholds the importance of federal constitutional reform in Spain to tackle the territorial problem of Catalonia. Firstly, it explains the reasons why constitutional reform is a better option than the holding of a referendum on independence. It goes on to set forth that which should be reformed to address both the functional problems of the autonomous State and the crisis deriving from the clamour for independence in Catalonia. In the first sense, the key element is the substitution of the current senate for a territorial council that allows the participation of the territories in the decisions of the State, via their political management bodies. In the second, the inclusion in the Constitution of legal instruments that make the configuration of a singular statute for a region within a common framework possible, without causing grievances, is defended.