The legitimacy of constitutional arbitration in a multinational federative system

Legitimacy is inherent in any study of power because it lays the foundation of the authority impose volition, that is, to compel others to act in accordance with a directive. Legitimacy may be defined as "the morally and socially acceptable and accepted attribute - beyond strictly legal considerations - of an institution, a decision or an object." It is never wholly acquired nor lost: its ever-changing existence constitutes its inescapable characteristic. It is forever up for evaluation and can never be settled. In this regard, an institution (or power) will always be to a greater or lesser extent "legitimate." Hence, we may refer to a spectrum of legitimacy.