La unidad de cuenca en la jurisprudencia constitucional

Abstract

Water management has been instrumental in the recent of the Statutes of Autonomy reforms. Autonomous Communities have assumed exclusive jurisdiction, even for supra-regional river basin, fragmenting its management according to their political and administrative boundaries. Constitutional Court recent judgment’s rulings on Guadalquivir and Duero cases have been declared unconstitutional and void two articles of Andalucía and Castilla y León Statutes. They were declared against art. 149.1.22 CE, since they fragment the management of these river basins (material unconstitutionality) and because of Statute inadequacy to specify the territorial basis of delimitation of the jurisdiction reserved to the State (formal unconstitutionality). Doctrine established on the unitary administration of these river basins is, despite some erroneous arguments and other judgments ambiguity, of extraordinary importance, because it establishes limits that could not be ignore by water central legislator. This is the only way to guarantee unitary administration of such an essential nature resource as it is water.