Regulatory discretion of the CNMC in the European telecommunications network. Implications for general doctrine

The aim of this thesis is to study regulatory discretion and verify its effects on the general theory of discretion. To this end, it starts from the theory of administrative action and coins the concept of regulatory administrative act. This refers to the general regulatory effects of certain actions in regulated sectors, which are similar to those of normative powers. The Spanish regulation of telecommunications will then be used as a reference sector and the act of market definition and analysis, identification of operators with significant market power and imposition of specific obligations will be analyzed as a paradigmatic case of this type of administrative action. Next, from a judicial control perspective, it must be noted that the kind this act receives falls within the scope of what is known as regulatory discretion. The latter will be portrayed as a black swan of traditional doctrine insofar as it cannot be explained by its categories. This will lead us to propose a new doctrine of discretion based on the distinction between structural discretion and administrative discretion, the latter being the product of quasi-regulatory powers.