After four days of deliberations, Spain’s Constitutional Court has upheld core elements of the disputed Catalan amnesty law, rejecting an appeal against it by six votes to four.
The controversial amnesty law was passed in the Spanish Congress just over a year ago, benefiting hundreds of Catalan pro-independence activists and politicians involved in the illegal and unsuccessful 2017 secession bid. ALSO READ: Controversial Catalan amnesty law gets final approval in Spanish Congress.
The law – officially termed the ‘Organic Amnesty Law for the Institutional, Political and Social Normalisation in Catalonia’ – was a crucial issue for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as it was a demand made by the Catalan pro-independence parties, Junts per Catalunya (JxCat) and Esquerra Republicana (ERC) in exchange for their parliamentary support to allow him to serve a new term. ALSO READ: The PSOE and Junts sign a pact that will guarantee investiture of Pedro Sánchez.
While the amnesty law was popular in Catalonia, the right-wing main opposition group, the People’s Party (PP), and the far-right Vox party, led numerous protests against it in Madrid and other cities across the country – and there were shouts of ‘traitor’ directed at Sánchez in the Spanish Congress when the bill was finally passed. ALSO READ: Thousands protest in central Madrid over government’s Catalan amnesty bill.
There have also been critics of the amnesty within Sánchez’s own PSOE party, with former socialist prime minister Felipe González stating that ‘neither the PSOE nor any party that has supported the amnesty law’ would receive his vote in the future. ALSO READ: Amnesty bill registered in Spanish Congress – full details.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling on Thursday comes in response to an appeal filed against the amnesty law by the PP.
‘Amnesty is not banned by the Constitution, and its adoption, when it responds to an exceptional situation and a legitimate public interest, may be constitutionally admissible,’ ruled the court, where a majority of judges had been nominated by the socialists.
The right-wing and far-right opposition parties have argued the legislation is unconstitutional and was passed solely as a socialist manoeuvre for Sánchez to stay in power.
However, the judges also made three specific conditions: the law must also apply to those who protested against the Catalan independence movement; its scope should be confined to incidents occurring between November 2011 and November 2023; and the Court of Auditors must allow private accusations to be heard before closing any proceedings.
The ruling, delivered shortly before 11am on Thursday, represents the Constitutional Court’s first decision among 16 challenges against the amnesty granted to individuals involved in the Catalan independence push. This outcome is expected to set a precedent for the other cases awaiting judgment.
Of those 15 remaining appeals, 14 have been lodged by regional governments and parliaments controlled by the PP, while one was submitted by Castilla-La Mancha’s socialist-led administration.
In addition, there are four questions of ‘unconstitutionality’ raised — one from the Supreme Court and three from the Catalan High Court (TSJC).
Appeals have also been filed by several previous pro-independence leaders — Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa, Jordi Turull and Lluís Puig — after the Supreme Court denied them amnesty on charges related to misuse of public funds.
Pedro Sánchez welcomed the court’s decision, describing it as ‘wonderful news for Spain, for its coexistence and cohesion’.
‘We are satisfied because we have always maintained that the law passed by Congress would be constitutional, and this has now been confirmed,’ he said.
Sánchez further argued that the process reflected the robustness of Spain’s democracy.
‘The law was approved by a chamber elected by citizens, underwent debate and appeals, and has now been ruled constitutional by a court,’ he said. ALSO READ: Catalan pro-independence parties lose majority, as PSC socialists win elections.
Addressing the broader issue of the Catalan independence conflict, he characterised it as ‘a very difficult conflict in Spain’ and stressed that the amnesty law serves as ‘a lever for transformation’ that has ‘contributed to its resolution’. ALSO READ: New Catalan government sworn in, ending a decade of pro-independence rule.
Despite the Constitutional Court’s ruling, the Supreme Court had previously indicated that it would not extend the amnesty to certain leaders involved in the Catalan independence bid.
Judge Pablo Llarena of the Supreme Court announced that he plans to maintain the arrest warrant for former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium. ALSO READ: Three Mossos officers suspended following Puigdemont’s escape from Spain.
Puigdemont was Catalonia’s head of government in 2017 when the region unilaterally, albeit very briefly, declared independence from Spain, prompting Madrid to impose direct control after the 1 October 2017 illegal referendum.
Llarena has signalled his intention to disregard the Constitutional Court’s ruling on grounds that it does not directly address the crime of misuse of public funds, one of the charges Puigdemont is facing.
The matter could ultimately be escalated to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a final determination. Click here for all our reports related to Catalan independence.
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