Spanish Court upholds controversial Amnesty Law

MADRID – The Spanish Constitutional Court has backed a controversial Amnesty Law pardoning hundreds of Catalan separatists involved in the secession movement between 2012 and 2023.

“This is very good news for Spain, we are closing a political crisis which began in 2010,” Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez told journalists before the European Council summit held this Thursday in Brussels.

But the European Commission has raised rule of law concerns on the matter. According to a Commission draft, leaked to the Spanish press, the Spanish government granting legal immunity to Catalan lawmakers in exchange for their support for Sánchez’s re-election in 2023 could constitute a “self-amnesty” as it was supported by those who stand to benefit from it.

In a separate review last year, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission found that the law “aimed ” to promote political reconciliation and was in line with international law, but criticised the urgent legislative procedure, encouraging more institutional dialogue to bridge societal and political divides between Madrid and Barcelona.

The development does not help separatist leader Carles Puigdemont however. The judge handling his case said the amnesty does not apply to him because he is also being sued for embezzlement in diverting funds for the referendum.