| Straniero ma non proprio: lo status costituzionale di Porto Rico alla luce dell’esperienza espansionistica statunitense |
| Fascicolo 2004-1 |
| Scritto da Schuster Alexander |
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Sommario 1. L’inizio dell’espansionismo statunitense. – 2. Gli unincorporated territories. – 3. Gli Insular Cases. – 4. Lo status costituzionale di Porto Rico oggi.
Abstract The article introduces the reader to the subject of territorial relations between the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. First, the historical institutional background of the island is set out, beginning with the Carta Autonómica of 1897. It then briefly presents the major acts licensed by the Congress, i.e. the Foraker Act, the Jones Act and the Elective Governor Act, and dwells upon the Public Law 600 and the constitution-making path followed by Puerto Rico when adopting the current Constitution. The second part of the article brings in the category of unincorporated territories, and addresses the Insular Cases, a set of Supreme Court decisions dealing with the status of these territories, whose leading decision, Downes v. Bidwell, is scrutinized closely. Finally, it examines the actual constitutional status of Puerto Rico and the current challenges affecting the on-going self-determination process of the island. |