Xavier Arbós, new director of the Institute of Self-Government Studies

News | Academic
(15/10/2024)

The Government of Catalonia has appointed Xavier Arbós, professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona, as the new director of the Institute for Self-Government Studies. Arbós replaces Joan Ridao, UB professor of Constitutional Law, and will take over the direction of the Institute with the aim of strengthening its work in the study and dissemination of issues related to the Spanish autonomous system and the challenges of federalism. 

News | Academic
15/10/2024

The Government of Catalonia has appointed Xavier Arbós, professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Barcelona, as the new director of the Institute for Self-Government Studies. Arbós replaces Joan Ridao, UB professor of Constitutional Law, and will take over the direction of the Institute with the aim of strengthening its work in the study and dissemination of issues related to the Spanish autonomous system and the challenges of federalism. 

The Institute for the Study of Self-Government, created in 1988, is a Government of Catalonia-dependent body, aimed at researching and generating knowledge on territorial relations within Spain, autonomous institutions and the constitutional framework. 

Xavier Arbós Marín (Barcelona, 1954), the new head of the Institute, is an expert in constitutional law, known for his contributions regarding federalism, territorial pluralism and the organization of Spain. With an extensive career in the academic field, he is regularly consulted as a distinguished figure in debates on issues of self-government, both at the autonomous community and state level. 

Xavier Arbós holds a PhD in Law from the University of Barcelona and has been Professor of Constitutional Law at the same institution since 1993. He holds a diploma in advanced studies from the Paris Institute of Political Studies and has been president of the International Council for Canadian Studies. He is the author of several books, including Las relaciones intergubernamentales en el Estado autonómico. La posición de los actores (2009) and Acuerdos prejudiciales y conflictos intergubernamentales sobre normas con rango de ley (2014). His doctoral thesis, published in 1986, analysed the idea of nation in early Spanish constitutionalism. He has also published numerous academic works in specialized journals on federalism, territorial organization and fundamental rights. Arbós has been a member of several advisory commissions on constitutional matters, particularly as an advisor on legal issues related to processes of self-government.