Spain's Supreme Court 'satisfied' that EU court ruling means Belgium cannot question its authority

The acting president of Spain's Supreme Court, Francisco Marín Castán, welcomed the ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the extradition requests for exiled pro-independence leaders. 

The Madrid court's magistrates are "feeling satisfied," Marín Castán said on Tuesday afternoon, despite the pro-independence camp also praising the EU court ruling. 

In fact, there have been a myriad of interpretations to the nuanced decision from the court in Luxembourg. 

But, according to Marín Castán, the CJEU ruled that the courts of another country, in this case Belgium, cannot question the authority of the Spanish Supreme Court regarding Spanish laws, and they cannot apply their own national law to deny this authority. 

He made the comments after a ceremony in Barcelona welcoming new judges to office. 

The Supreme Court acting president said he believes the decision by the CJEU shows "support" for Spain's Supreme Court and judge Pablo Llarena, who had brought the issue to the EU court. 

Marín Castán also said that European arrest warrants (EAW) can now be issued again. 

The EU court said on Tuesday that new arrest warrants can be issued, but "the execution of a new EAW must not result in an infringement of the fundamental rights of that person and the issuing of the new EAW must be proportionate." 

Llarena is not expected to submit any new arrest warrants until a decision is taken over the immunity of Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín, and Clara Ponsatí, all former Catalan government members who left Spain in 2017 and are currently MEPs. 

But the CJEU decision could have an impact on another former minister, Lluís Puig, who was the subject of the ruling. 

Spanish government: ruling "endorses Spanish legal system" 

The Spanish government believes that Tuesday's ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will "make it easier to hold Puigdemont to account before Spain's judiciary." 

Speaking at a press conference following a cabinet meeting, spokesperson Isabel Rodríguez expressed the government's "absolute respect" for court rulings, including the ruling from the CJEU, which in her opinion "endorses the Spanish legal system." 

With Catalonia's pro-independence movement claiming a victory over the court's ruling on extradition requests, the Spanish government is keen to set out its own interpretation. 

In fact, a source within the Spanish executive said while the pro-independence bloc is once again hoping on "turn judicial defeats into victories," the reality is that the judgement paves the way for the former president and ministers to "come back and be held accountable." 

The "most extreme" strains of the independence movement, the source continued, is involved in creating "mythology," but "it is ridiculous" that its defense "says that this ruling is a victory." 

What comes next in the independence leaders' extradition cases after this latest EU court ruling remains to be seen.