Conflict of powers between the state and the autonomous regions within the framework of the employment activation programme: Commentary on Constitutional Court Ruling 40/2019 of 27 March

Abstract

The coexistence of a plurality of regulatory and administrative centres as a result of the territorial organisation of the Spanish 'state of autonomous regions' recognised and guaranteed by supreme law, and the constitutional treatment in terms of allocation and assumption of powers, are undoubtedly one of the most common friction points between the state and the autonomous regions. In this sense, when two entities - one autonomous and one national - claim the same powers for themselves, it is necessary to clearly determine the subject matter of the dispute that will ultimately determine who has the legitimacy for its exercise. A good example of this can be found in the legal system of the employment activation programme regulated in Royal Decree Law 7/2017.