Constitutional Court to rule on amnesty law in next six to twelve months

Spain's Constitutional Court will rule on the amnesty law for all those figures involved in the independence push between the next six months and one year, according to sources of the court.

Judges will answer many appeals filed since the amnesty law came into force in June and will be studied simultaneously, while appeals submitted by political parties will have their ruling.

The amnesty law has, so far, benefited over 100 people, most of them law enforcement agents. The bill pardoned individuals who have been investigated, accused or charged with a wide range of crimes, including embezzlement and disobedience.

The original amnesty proposal covered those prosecuted from January 2012 to November 2023, but the revised version extends this period back to November 2011.

Estimates of the number of beneficiaries under the law vary widely. Based on the first draft, the pro-independence civil society organization Òmnium estimated that around 1,500 people were to benefit, while the Socialists estimated the number to be around 300. 

No new European Arrest Warrant

After former president Carles Puigdemont spoke in Barcelona after a scheduled but still surprise appearance and left the territory, once again, Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena does not plan to file new European Arrest Warrants.

Puigdemont spoke on August 8 in Barcelona in front of thousands of supporters, stepping foot for the first time in Catalonia since 2017, when he left the territory after the independence referendum deemed illegal by Spain.

After the politician spoke, he disappeared and traveled back to Belgium.

Almost a month later, Llarena ruled out filing new arrest warrants, as there are still some appeals open in the politician's case that will need to be studied by Supreme Court judge Manuel Marchena.