Ten years on from the ruling on the Catalan statute

On June 28, 2010, Spain’s Constitutional Court issued a long-awaited ruling on Catalonia’s attempts to renew its Statute of Autonomy—the most important set of political principles and laws along with the Spanish constitution.

The significance of the 1978 constitution and the original statute from 1979, both agreed upon in the wake of a 40-year long dictatorship, went far beyond any legal considerations: it was a political pact.

Whether, and to what extent, this pact is up for revision has become one of Spain’s most controversial political arguments.