Spanish government asks high court to issue warning to Catalan parliament speaker

The acting Spanish government has challenged two Catalan parliament resolutions in the Constitutional Court, and asked the court to remind the speaker and parliament's bureau of their "duty to impede any initiative" in the future that aims to "skirt" the high court's rulings.

Acting government spokeswoman, Isabel Celáa, announced the legal challenges on Friday, calling for the "immediate suspension" and "overturning" of one resolution defending the right to self-determination and another admonishing King Felipe VI.

Territorial policy minister, Luis Planas, added that the executive has asked the Constitutional Court to issue a "clear warning" to the parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, that not complying with the court's rulings could have "particularly serious" criminal consequences.

The two resolutions in question were passed thanks to the votes of the pro-independence parties in the Catalan parliament on July 25, after the Constitutional Court had already overturned them the previous year.

Planas added that the government would also challenge recent resolutions passed in parliament calling for the Guardia Civil police to be withdrawn from Catalonia, legitimizing institutional disobedience, and ratifying the right to self-determination.

After the resolutions were published in the Catalan parliament's official gazette following Friday's announcement, sources in the Spanish government confirmed that the next legal challenge would be filed with the court next week.

Torrent's response

Few hours later, Torrent responded to the Spanish government's move by saying their challenges will not solve the underlying "political conflict" between both administrations. 

For him, in the Catalan chamber MPs "should be able to discuss about everything" and not only what the Spanish government wants. 

"We won't censor the free expression of MPs," he added talking to the press.