The Danish Rigsfællesskab

Abstract

The Danish Realm or Rigsfællesskab is a decentralised state in which the Faroe Islands and Greenland each count with a home-rule, holding the executive and legislative power over transferred matters. The paper discusses several issues concerning this decentralised legal framework and its functioning. In spite of what is stated in the home-rule arrangements about equality between parties, there is a dominant position of Danish authorities and Danish law. ‘Danish central authorities’ (Rigsmyndigheder) do not exist strictly speaking since the Danish authorities act as authorities for both Denmark proper and the Danish Realm. The mechanism for solving conflicts of competences is also questioned as non-functional, potentially reinforcing inequality and uncertainty. A territorial limit to Greenlandic/Faroese laws is of little use when the criterion for application of the laws is personal, not territorial. Finally, it is argued that the bilateral nature of the home-rule arrangements is not suitable for a three-part decentralised state in which all involved laws are lex fori.