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Representatives from several pro-independence civil society organisations joined Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, on her way to the Court. Forcadell testified this Friday for having allowed a democratic debate on Catalonia’s independence in the Catalan Chamber on the 27th of July. Pro-independence grass-roots organisations the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural, the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) and the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM) highlighted the wide support for the representative. Indeed, the President of AMI, Neus Lloveras, said that the backing for Forcadell was a “demonstration of the unity and strength” of the pro-independence movement in Catalonia. The president of the ANC, Jordi Sànchez, deemed Forcadell’s prosecution “absolutely unjustified” and the president of Òmnium, Jordi Cuixart, said Catalonia is facing “a critical hour” and has to show “unity and firmness”.

“What happened today is inconceivable in a truly democratic state”, lamented this Friday the Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell. In a press conference soon after testifying before Catalonia's Supreme Court for allowing a debate on independence in the Catalan Chamber on the 27^th of July, Forcadell said that she considered her trial “another step” towards the Spanish State’s attempt to “violate the separation of powers”. Thus, from her point of view, what is really at stake with her trial is “democracy” rather than “the political future of a single person”. As a response, the Spanish Government’s Spokesman, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo warned that “saying that justice is not independent in the Spanish State is not only false but unfair towards the judges” and emphasised that “there is no impunity in Spain”.

The Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell, testified before the Court this Friday for having allowed a democratic debate on Catalonia’s independence in the Catalan Chamber on the 27th of July. The Spanish Constitutional Court considered illegal her decision to do so and accused her of disobedience and perversion of justice. Forcadell’s prosecution has produced a huge political and civil response not only in Catalonia but throughout many countries in Europe. The institutional support for the Parliament’s President was made clear this morning, when the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, together with the whole Catalan executive, members from radical left pro-independence CUP and alternative left alliance ‘Catalunya Sí que es Pot’ joined Forcadell on her way to the Court, together with hundreds of mayors from all over the territory and former top politicians such as former Catalan President Artur Mas.

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) suspension of the Parliament’s plan to call a referendum in Catalonia in September of next year has outraged many sectors of Catalan political and civil society. This Thursday, Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, stated that the TC’s decision “confirmed” the existence of “constitutional populism” in Spain which claims that “Catalans are not allowed to vote”. In response, assured Puigdemont, the Government will simply “apply democracy”. “Catalans have the right to vote, debate and hold meetings, therefore, we will vote, debate and hold meetings”, he stated. The Catalan President also took the chance to express his support and that of the whole executive for the Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell, who will face trial on Friday for allowing the pro-independence roadmap to be put to vote in the Catalan Chamber last July.

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) has temporarily suspended the proposal approved by governing cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left pro-independence CUP to call a referendum in Catalonia. The magistrates admitted this Wednesday to proceed with the appeal presented by the Spanish executive in October, which calls for the suspension of the pro-independence group’s proposal approved in the Parliament and considers it to have emerged from the previously suspended declaration to start launching the pro-independence roadmap. The TC judges have also warned Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont and Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell that they must avoid any initiative aimed at contravening this suspension. The TC decision arrives only two days before Forcadell is due to testify before the Court for allegedly violating the Spanish Constitution when allowing the pro-independence debate to take place in the Catalan Chamber, last July. 

“The Spanish Government is maintaining its judicial offensive against the Catalan Government and no one is sitting at the table but the Government of Catalonia”, reported the Catalan Government spokeswoman, Neus Munté, this Tuesday. The statement comes after Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) notified the president of the Parliament, Carme Forcadell, that she will have to testify on the 16^th of December for allowing the pro-independence roadmap to be put in vote on the 27^th of July. Forcadell's case and the prosecution of the organisers of the 9-N symbolic vote held in 2014 are not an exception, but rather an example of the monopolisation of the Catalan question in the complaints issued by the Spanish Government to the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC). According to the data offered by Munté, the TC has 18 pending appeals issued by the Spanish executive against Catalan laws and 27 more issued by the Catalan Government for conflicts of competences.

Catalan judge Santiago Vidal faces a three-year suspension from office for writing a draft of a theoretical Catalan Constitution. Although the proposal was not supposed to replace any Constitution or be directly adopted if Catalonia became independent but rather to steer debate by putting on the table specific constitutional articles, Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) has confirmed Spain’s Judicial Power Council (CGPJ)’s decision, announced in February 2015, and has insisted that Vidal committed “a very grave offence” and “inexcusably failed to fulfil his judicial duties”. Thus, the appeal presented by Vidal, after considering the sanction to respond to “political and ideological criteria”, has been rejected by 21 magistrates, while 11 have expressed their conformity with the appeal.  

The European Commission (EC) urged Spain to “enact EU rules on mortgage credit” and to “fully transpose EU-wide rules on mortgages”. “If these Member States fail to act within two months, they may be referred to the Court of Justice of the EU”, the EU executive said this Thursday. The warning was extended to eight more countries Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden. Member States had to implement these rules in their national law by the 21st of March 2016, but having missed the original deadline, the EC warned them through letters of formal notice last May. The Mortgage Credit Directive (Directive 2014/17/EU), which was adopted on 4 February 2014, aims to “improve consumer protection measures across the EU by introducing EU-wide responsible lending practices”.

The case against Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell, for allegedly disobeying and perverting the course of justice by allowing the pro-independence roadmap to be put to vote on the 27th of July will proceed. Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) refused this Wednesday the appeal presented by the Parliament and emphasised that the crimes Forcadell are accused of are not related to “the public expression of thoughts or ideas” but to “disobeying” a ruling from the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC), which it defined as “a key piece in the architecture of democratic and advanced states”. The document, written by Judge Maria Eugènia Alegret, also urges the Parliament to present documentation to the inquiry in order to “prove that the facts described in the lawsuit constitute a crime” and also to help “the defence of the accused”. 

About 80,000 people gathered together on Sunday to demonstrate against Spain’s use of the courts to stop Catalonia’s pro-independence aspirations and the summonsing of several elected representatives. The rally, organised by civil society associations Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural and the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) took place on Barcelona’s Maria Cristina Avenue, which was soon overflowing with people. Under the motto “Let’s support our democratic institutions” demonstrators showed their solidarity with the elected representatives who have been prosecuted by Spain’s justice for complying with the electoral mandate that emerged from the 27-S elections, which led to a majority of 72 pro-independence MPs in the 135-seat Parliament. “Our cause is democracy and we will never let our elected representatives down”, stated Òmnium Cultural’s President, Jordi Cuixart.

The main pro-independence associations in Catalonia, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural and the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) have organised a rally this Sunday the 13^th of November to protest against the judicialisation of politics. “It is time to say we’ve had enough” ANC’s President, Jordi Sánchez, stated earlier this week. According to the organisers, the civil society has repeatedly “shown its strength” through massive pro-independence rallies and now it is time to do it again. One of the most talked-about examples of Spain’s use of the court in order to stop Catalonia’s pro-independence aspirations and the peoples’ right to vote was the summonsing in October last year of former Catalan Artur Mas and former Catalan Ministers, Joana Ortega, Francesc Homs and Irene Rigau for co-organising the 9-N symbolic vote on independence. However, there are more than 400 towns and villages which have cases pending with the Spanish State for different political reasons.

Bullfighting was effectively banned in Catalonia in 2012, after a Parliament Act was approved in 2010. On 20th of October last, however, the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) annulled the prohibition. Eight of the eleven magistrates at the TC considered that the Catalan Parliament “exceeded its competences” and “restricted the citizens’ rights and freedoms” when banning bullfighting. This week, the identities of the three dissenting magistrates have been unveiled. The judges Adela Asúa, Fernando Valdés Dal-Ré and Juan Antonio Xiol recalled that the Spanish Constitution does not give the Government the power to “displace” exclusive regional competencies, such as the regulation of public performances and animal protection, and therefore defend that the Spanish executive cannot impose the return of bullfighting on Catalonia. 

Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Josep Rull, explained this Friday that the Government has presented an appeal before Spain’s High Court, the ‘Audiencia Nacional’, denouncing Adif’s lack of investment in the short and medium railway network in Catalonia. Rull accuses the Spanish public body in charge of railway infrastructure and the Spanish Ministry for Infrastructure of not complying with the agreed investment. “We open the judicial way because the political one between both governments has proved to be broken”, he stated. Rull pointed out that Adif committed to investing 306 million euros in Catalonia’s railway network and only so far only 4.2% of this has been carried out. “Therefore, there is a flagrant failure to fulfil”, he insisted. Current Spanish Vice-president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, responded to the Government’s action and stated that “this proves that those who think they are right turn to the legal mechanisms available”.

The possibility that bullfighting could return to Catalonia by imposition of the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) has outraged 37 MEPs from five different parties. The signatories of a joint declaration, promoted by Catalan Eco-Socialist ICV MEP, Ernest Urtasun, point out that “animal torture can’t be considered as a cultural expression” and describe bullfighting as “an unfair activity, which is sadistic and despicable”. The initiative is supported by MEPs from Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Holland, Austria and the Catalan MEPs Josep Maria Terricabras (ERC), Ernest Maragall (ERC), Ramon Tremosa (PDC), Javi López (PSC) and Francesc Gambús (Independent). On the 20^th of October, the TC annulled the prohibition to host bullfighting in Catalonia after considering that the Parliament “exceeded its competences” and “restricted the citizens’ rights and freedoms” when banning bullfighting in 2010.

Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) has admitted the complaint for charges of perversion of justice and disobedience filed by Catalonia’s Public Prosecutor, José María Romero de Tejada, against the President of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell. In the lawsuit presented last Wednesday, de Tejada stated that Forcadell “despised and opposed the Spanish Constitution” by allowing the pro-independence roadmap to be put to vote last July and that she “openly disobeyed the authority” by ignoring the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) warnings. An official has delivered this Tuesday the notification to Forcadell. The President of the Catalan Parliament has now three days to appeal.