Never letting go: why Scotland is at constitutional stalemate over Brexit

Northern Ireland could secede from the UK, if its people agreed to do so. But Scotland cannot – and consequently it will be forced to join the rest of the UK in Brexit, unless Westminster agrees to let it hold another referendum on independence and Scots vote to quit the UK. Nikos Skoutaris compares Nicola Sturgeon’s position to that of the Catalan president and warns that she faces a constitutional stalemate unless a new agreement can be reached

The Birth of a Republic, But Not of a Nation: The Case of State-Building in Cyprus

The principle of bicommunality has been advanced as a founding feature of state-building in Cyprus. The aim of this article is to provide a systematic account of the different variations of the bicommunal principle enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus and in the Annan Plan as the most comprehensive proposal for the reunification of the island. In order to achieve its scope, the article focuses on the provisions concerning state institutions and citizenship. It argues that, in all those constitutional structures, state-building is not linked with nation-building. In fact, the acceptance of bicommunalism as a fundamental principle of the united Cyprus proves that the main concern has been the accommodation of the political tensions resulting from a divided society. “The only thing that is truly Cypriot are Cyprus donkeys.” Rauf Denktas, former leader of the Turkish Cypriot communi

Problematising the Role of the EU in Territorial Sovereignty Conflicts

The paper problematises the role of the European Union in territorial sovereignty conflicts. It points to the inherent characteristics of the Union constitutional structure that constrain the EU from becoming more active in the resolution of Territorial Sovereignty Conflicts within its borders. At the same time, it suggests that there is space for the EU to assume a much more constructive role

Reflecting and Building Asymmetries: The Role of (Sub-) Constitutional Statutes in Spain and the UK

The Spanish and the UK constitutional orders are asymmetrical as to the level of autonomy that the various regional governments enjoy but also as to the kind of relationship each and every one of them develops with the metropolitan State. The paper provides for a comparative analysis of the role that the (sub-)constitutional statutes play in Spain and the UK in reflecting political asymmetries and creating constitutional ones. It argues that the processes that led to the drafting of the relevant documents have taken into account those very different political aspirations that certain ethnic and political communities had in those countries. At the same time, the distribution of competences between the various tiers as regulated by those statutes has translated the de facto political asymmetries into de jure constitutional asymmetries