The Spanish Congress Approved The Amnesty Law
This Thursday will be a landmark day for Spain: the Congress of Deputies has finally approved the amnesty law, which has already passed two amendments. Now, after publication in the official bulletin of the BOE, judges and magistrates will have to start applying it. The judiciary has been given two months to implement the law. The Spanish Prosecutor General's Office has asked the Catalan Prosecutor's offices, the National Court and the Supreme Court for information on cases that may be affected by the new amnesty law. It is expected that about 400 Catalan leaders and 73 police officers will be able to take advantage of this law.
Cancellation Of Preventive Measures
The law provides for the cancellation of all preliminary measures, including arrest warrants, against Carles Puigdemont and other fugitives. Every court and every tribunal, including the Supreme Court in the Puigdemont case, will have to act after consulting with the prosecutor's office and other parties in the process.
However, the law will not apply to terrorism cases with serious violations of the rights provided for by the European Convention on Human Rights, to cases of embezzlement with personal enrichment, as well as to cases of high treason in the presence of a real threat to territorial integrity.
Checking for Constitutionality
The Spanish Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice can check whether the new amnesty law complies with the constitution. Autonomous communities run by Partido Popular intend to declare the unconstitutionality of the law. The president of the Madrid Community, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, announced on the Es la Mañana de Federico program on esRadio that her government would file a complaint with the country's Supreme Court immediately after the approval of the law by the Congress of Deputies.
The Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish parliament, overcame the veto of the Senate and voted once again for the adoption of the amnesty law. The final approval of the law in Congress marks the end of its parliamentary path, but opens a new one - the judicial one.
Content of the Law
The full title of the law is “Ley Organica de amnistía para la normalización institucional, política y social en Cataluña". Initiated by the Socialist Party (PSOE) on November 13, 2023, the law will enter into force in the coming days as soon as it is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). The law covers criminal activities related to the struggle for the sovereignty of Catalonia in the period from November 1, 2011 to November 13, 2023. About 400 people will be able to benefit from the amnesty, including Catalan politicians, police officers, citizens and activists. All pro-independence leaders of the “process” convicted under the 2019 verdict will fall under the amnesty. The former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, will be able to return to Spain, as well as other politicians who remain abroad after the verdict.
Judicial Application
However, the process will not be simple. The first step will be to appeal to the lawyers of the amnestied to the court with a request to apply the law in their case. The judges will have two months to consider the cases. There may be problems with the inconsistency of the law with the Spanish Constitution or European law. In this case, the cases may be referred to the Constitutional Court or the Court of Justice of the European Union.