State’s Exclusive Competences ex Article 149.1.xviii) of the Spanish Constitution and Rule Setting

On the Partial Unconstitutionality of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on Common Administrative Procedure of the Public Administrations (Constitutional Court’s Sentence 55/2018, of 24 May)

Abstract

The Constitutional Court’s Sentence 55/2018, of 24 May, partially upheld the appeal of unconstitutionality filed by the Government of Catalonia against various provisions of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on Common Administrative Procedure of the Public Administrations. The decision affects legal provisions substantially related to the discipline of regulatory production and electronic administration. This paper critically examines the doctrine affirmed in relation to the first of the above aspects. The Constitutional Court has had to face great difficulties in resolving the appeal of unconstitutionality on this point, fundamentally due to the almost total lack of previous case-law in the matter. Nevertheless the Court has been able to render a decision which can be seen as well-founded, though there are some aspects which could have been more deeply analyzed in order to get to develop a sounder argumentation.