European justice will set a precedent on the Amnesty law for the first time on Thursday and will give the green light for the Constitutional Court (TC) to rule on the amparo appeals pending resolution two years after the entry into force of the criminal forgetfulness. The ruling, beyond the legal effects, will have political repercussions. If favorable, it will be a boost to the Government of Pedro Sánchez’s bet – heavily criticized in the first part of the legislature by PP and Vox – and will begin to clear the way for the return of former president Carles Puigdemont and former ministers Lluís Puig and Toni Comín, who are still expatriated.
Read more The irreparable damage of tension
Specifically, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), located in Luxembourg, will resolve the preliminary questions raised by the Court of Auditors and the National Court regarding the amnesty. It will clarify whether the rule complies with the EU legal framework concerning members of the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) prosecuted for a terrorism offense and whether the offense of embezzlement is amnestied. The judges must rule on the accounting responsibility for the expenses of the October 1 referendum, in a case affecting 33 former senior officials of the Generalitat Government, including former presidents Puigdemont and Artur Mas.
The Advocate General’s report, which usually anticipates the verdict, supported the criminal forgetfulness
In November, the Advocate General of the European Union, Dean Spielmann, supported the Amnesty law, although he criticized the deadlines set for its application. That opinion, although not binding, in most cases anticipates the direction of the ruling.
However, once European justice has ruled, it will be the Spanish courts that will have to make a move. The Constitutional Court has amparo appeals from several pro-independence leaders on the table. But the game is also played in the Supreme Court, which denied criminal forgetfulness to the leaders of the procés who were accused or convicted of embezzlement by interpreting that there was personal gain and, therefore, that they fell within the exceptions provided by the law to prevent people convicted or charged with corruption offenses from benefiting from criminal forgetfulness.
The ruling will also affect disqualifications, among others, of Junqueras and Turull
Puigdemont’s defense, led by Gonzalo Boye, considers that the aforementioned preliminary questions sent to Luxembourg are “artificial” and criticizes that the Constitutional Court has not yet resolved the amparo appeal filed a year ago. They see political intent in this. However, after the Advocate General’s report, Boye expects a favorable ruling and believes that the Supreme Court should change its interpretation and apply criminal forgetfulness to his clients if Thursday’s ruling supports the amnesty. He refers to what happened with the Parot doctrine and recalls that it released ETA prisoners and other inmates – some of them dangerous – within weeks, applying the European ruling, without all of them needing to file new appeals to the Constitutional Court.
The TC, in any case, must take a stand on the interpretation made by the Supreme Court and rule whether it was correct or not. Its ruling will likely arrive in autumn, after the holiday break.
Read more Preventive evacuation order in several inhabited areas due to the fire in Aiguamúrcia
Prudence prevails in JxCat; they recall that Spanish justice has the final word
Although the most striking situation is that of Puigdemont, who has been in Belgium for almost nine years, and former ministers Puig and Comín, who are in the same situation, the ruling will also be relevant for the president of Esquerra, Oriol Junqueras, as well as the secretary general of Junts, Jordi Turull, and former ministers Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa. All of them still face disqualification penalties today, so they cannot hold public office.
Prudence prevails in JxCat. They argue that whatever the ruling, the final word lies with Spanish justice and they have already had some setbacks. Two years ago, the organization took for granted that the entry into force of the law would allow the immediate return of the procés leaders, but now they do not want to anticipate scenarios. The commemoration of the party’s foundation on the other side of the border was planned for the last weekend of July, as in previous years, but after learning the CJEU’s schedule, the event was canceled.
The judicial situation of the post-convergent leader sets the pace in the party and conditions pending debates
In Puigdemont’s case, the ruling will also have political consequences, since his party has long experienced a situation of some provisionality. His return to Catalonia, they believe in the party, beyond boosting morale, will allow pending debates to be addressed and decisions to be made on how to face the second part of the Catalan legislature or prepare for the future in a complex context. In addition, the question remains whether, if the case arises, he will take his seat in the Parliament – most predict he will not – and whether he will run again as a candidate. Although in recent months the former president has stayed away from the spotlight, it is taken for granted that if he returns, his political activity will be mainly outside the Ciutadella park and that he will travel around Catalonia. The PSOE is also awaiting the ruling in the hope that a possible return will facilitate rapprochement with Junts.
The Constitutional Court will resolve the appeals in autumn
Since the Amnesty law came into force two years ago, a return horizon has been set several times for the procés leaders who are still in Belgium. The Constitutional Court (TC), which has already declared the Amnesty law constitutional, has had several appeals on the table for months and has preferred to wait for the European ruling to rule on the interpretation made by the Supreme Court to deny criminal forgetfulness to Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras, among others. After the Advocate General of the European Union’s report in November, it was taken for granted that the resolution would arrive before Easter, first, and then before summer. The Constitutional Court will hold its last plenary session before the holidays the week of July 20 and it is not expected that the appeals of the pro-independence leaders will be addressed. It will be in September or October when the judges, once they have studied the Luxembourg ruling, set their position. So far, there has been no rush on this matter. In fact, in January the TC dismissed the precautionary measures requesting the lifting of the arrest warrant for the expatriated leaders so that they could return. Now the case enters the final stretch.
