Rajoy’s measures imposed in Catalonia illegal, claims Parliament

The Catalan Parliament claims that the Spanish government cannot dismiss the Catalan executive and dissolve the chamber of representatives in Barcelona under the Spanish Constitution. The Parliament appealed against the enforcement of the Article 155 in Spain’s Constitutional Court this Tuesday after agreeing to do so on December 27.

According to the appeal, the measures launched by Mariano Rajoy’s government in the past few months ‘violate’ the Spanish Carta Magna, which grants the “right of autonomy” to all the state’s territories. The text submitted by the Parliament also argues that the measures enforced under Article 155 of the Constitution have to be launched with “gradualness, proportionality and transience.” Indeed, it claims that Rajoy put these measures in place after “a mere rhetorical declaration” which did not result in “a factual situation”, that is, the implementation of the Catalan Republic. 

Dissolution of Parliament "unnecessary and disproportionate"

Concerning the dissolution of the Catalan Parliament and the calling of a snap election, the appeal says that these measures were “inappropriate, unnecessary and thus, disproportionate.” The text sent to the Constitutional Court also believes that Article 155 does not allow Madrid to “alter" the competencies between administrations in Spain, referring to the replacement of the Catalan police by other security forces in some cases.

The appeal comes after the Council of Statutory Guarantees (CGE) ruled that dismissing the Catalan president and all of his government ministers did not respect the principles of “graduality and proportionality”. The CGE is an independent advisory council whose decisions are non-binding.