{"title":"Public International Law and the Catalan Secession Process","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s40803-024-00203-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>This article briefly identifies the aspects of public international law related to the Catalan secession process, bearing in mind that Spain is a constitutional social and democratic state governed by the rule of law and a member of both the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE). Over 6 years ago, on 27 October 2017, the regional Catalan Parliament proclaimed the independence of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. From the start, the most recondite stratum of the Catalan pro-independence strategy has consistently invoked <em>international</em> law considerations with no real basis. Here we explain why. First, given the function of state sovereignty (today humanized and, in the context of the EU and CoE, democratized), under international law, these events can only be classified as a secession process (<em>stricto sensu</em>), that is, a revolutionary act in the constitutional order of the state of Spain with undertones that are far from peaceful. Second, we address the facet of the Catalan pro-secession strategy – typical of populist policies today – consisting of abusing terms and concepts, a language policy that, in our view, was and still is intended to win the minds of both the Catalan population and any other uninformed external observers. Finally, we examine how statehood is acquired under international law and its relationship to the 2017 declaration of Catalan independence and the present-day situation.</p>","PeriodicalId":45733,"journal":{"name":"Hague Journal on the Rule of Law","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Hague Journal on the Rule of Law","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-024-00203-w","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"LAW","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This article briefly identifies the aspects of public international law related to the Catalan secession process, bearing in mind that Spain is a constitutional social and democratic state governed by the rule of law and a member of both the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE). Over 6 years ago, on 27 October 2017, the regional Catalan Parliament proclaimed the independence of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. From the start, the most recondite stratum of the Catalan pro-independence strategy has consistently invoked international law considerations with no real basis. Here we explain why. First, given the function of state sovereignty (today humanized and, in the context of the EU and CoE, democratized), under international law, these events can only be classified as a secession process (stricto sensu), that is, a revolutionary act in the constitutional order of the state of Spain with undertones that are far from peaceful. Second, we address the facet of the Catalan pro-secession strategy – typical of populist policies today – consisting of abusing terms and concepts, a language policy that, in our view, was and still is intended to win the minds of both the Catalan population and any other uninformed external observers. Finally, we examine how statehood is acquired under international law and its relationship to the 2017 declaration of Catalan independence and the present-day situation.
期刊介绍:
The Hague Journal on the Rule of Law (HJRL) is a multidisciplinary journal that aims to deepen and broaden our knowledge and understanding about the rule of law. Its main areas of interest are: current developments in rule of law in domestic, transnational and international contextstheoretical issues related to the conceptualization and implementation of the rule of law in domestic and international contexts;the relation between the rule of law and economic development, democratization and human rights protection;historical analysis of rule of law;significant trends and initiatives in rule of law promotion (practitioner notes).The HJRL is supported by HiiL Innovating Justice, The Hague, the Netherlands and the Paul Scholten Center for Jurisprudence at the Law School of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Editorial PolicyThe HJRL welcomes contributions from academics and practitioners with expertise in any relevant field, including law, anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, political science and sociology. It publishes two categories of articles: papers (appr. 6,000-10,000 words) and notes (appr. 2500 words). Papers are accepted on the basis of double blind peer-review. Notes are accepted on the basis of review by two or more editors of the journal. Manuscripts submitted to the HJRL must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Acceptance of the Editorial Board’s offer to publish, implies that the author agrees to an embargo on publication elsewhere for a period of two years following the date of publication in the HJRL.