Catalan amnesty law stalled: when and how it could be passed

The controversial amnesty bill for those involved in the Catalan independence movement, agreed between the Socialist-led Spanish government and Catalan pro-independence parties, stalled in Congress in January.

Pro-independence Junts voted against the bill in its debate in Congress, arguing that the law does not fully protect former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont from being charged with terrorism in the Tsunami Democràtic investigation.

Now the draft law must go back to the Justice Commission for further discussion and negotiation based on the latest version of the text.

Junts wants to introduce further amendments, but the Socialists insist that the current bill is constitutional and covers all those involved. So, what happens next? 

Reforming the Criminal Procedure Law 

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez is reluctant to make further changes to the text, but has proposed a parallel initiative that could satisfy Junts' demands: reforming the Criminal Procedure Law.  

The Criminal Procedure Law is a set of legal rules designed to regulate the judicial process in criminal cases.  

The Socialists could try to modify Article 324 (the law has 999 articles), which gives judges the power to grant "successive extensions for periods equal to or less than six months."

According to Sánchez, modifying this article would shorten the deadlines in judicial instructions, "addressing some of the concerns" of Junts. 

When will it be voted on again in Congress?

On Tuesday, the Congress Board reviewed the report of the legal experts and decided that the amnesty law needs further discussion in the Justice Committee.

The committee has until February 21 to come up with a new draft, with a final vote scheduled for February 27-29.

However, sources in Congress said that the committee can extend the debates for another 15 days. In this scenario, the bill wouldn't reach Congress until mid-March.