Spain's Attorney General to reserve judgement on amnesty until law passed

Spain's State Attorney General has refused to comment on the amnesty law until it is passed in Congress and published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). 

In a letter to staff, Álvaro García Ortiz said his eventual position would be "technical and legal," made through statutory channels, and via procedures where the intervention of the Public Prosecutor's Office has been requested. 

"The Attorney General of the State must maintain a public position that reinforces the principle of impartiality of the Public Prosecutor's Office," acting with "full objectivity and independence in defense of the interests entrusted to him," he wrote. 

The letter comes after the Prosecutors' Association asked the Attorney General to resign because of his "passivity" over the amnesty law. 

"Any position of the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding a future amnesty for the events that occurred in Catalonia in relation to the pro-independence process requires knowing the definitive rules that will regulate it once it becomes part of our legal system after its publication in the BOE," García Ortiz wrote. 

The Public Prosecutor's Office "must respect the principle of separation of powers inherent with the rule of law and avoid any interference in the functions attributed by the Constitution to each of the three branches of the state." 

García concluded the letter by remarking that, as Attorney General, he will "always ensure the autonomy" of prosecutors "in defense of the law, constitutional values and principles, and democratic institutions." 

Amensty law

The amnesty law for individuals involved in Catalonia's independence push over the past decade was a key part of the Socialists' pacts with pro-independence parties Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and Junts. 

In return, the Catalan parties supported Pedro Sánchez's bid to be reelected as Spanish prime minister.