Manuel Carrasco Durán

Referéndum versus consulta

This article discusses the difference between referendums and other ways of consulting people’s opinion as articulated within the powers of some of Spain’s Autonomous Communities. It offers an interpretation of Constitutional Court decisions 103/2008 and 31/2010 that differs from the most common one amongst scholars. In particular, it argues that whereas referendums involve consultations about questions pertaining to the powers of our central government or affecting constitutional decisions, consultations about questions that lie within the powers of Autonomous Communities or local governments are different in nature. It also proposes some guidelines to clear the confusion and apparent paradoxes arising from the provisions of Statutes of Autonomy and legislation on this matter.