Abstract

The essay starts with an analysis of the crisis in Spain's State of the Autonomies, which is the backdrop to the emergence of the Catalan secessionist movement. It examines the legal initiatives adopted to achieve a more rational management of the State of the Autonomies. It then studies the political decisions taken by Catalan institutions concerning the organization of a popular vote on the secession of Catalonia and the responses of the Spanish government, including a series of appeals made to the Constitutional Court.