Grønlands vej til større selvbestemmelsesret: Muligheder og begrænsninger i juridiske, administrative og andre perspektiver

The involvement of the Greenlandic people in the government of the country from the 1860’s onwards was in the beginning very limited. Not until the introduction of home rule in 1979, the local parliament obtained full legislative competence in certain areas. All major areas transferred from the Danish government were financed by Denmark as part of a ”block grant”. In 2009, the Home Rule Act was replaced by the Self Government Act. The list of areas transferable to the Greenland administration was considerably extended. In the future, areas transferred to Greenland are to be financed solely by the Greenland authorities. Formal restrictions for the Greenlandic people’s right to greater autonomy have been reduced significantly, especially in recent years. The possibility of autonomy is limited by issues related to geography, population and industrial diversity. Furthermore, the Greenland society is characterized by its dominant public sector. This is an impediment to economic sustainability. Thus, although formal restrictions in Greenlandic right to autonomy have been lessened, other issues set a limit to the possibility of implementing this right.