Amnesty: Constitutional Court notifies Supreme Court of ruling backing pro-independence leaders

Spain's Constitutional Court has notified the Supreme Court of its ruling in favour of applying the amnesty to the offence of misuse of public funds in cases involving the leaders of Catalonia's 2017 independence push.

Judicial sources confirmed on Wednesday they had sent the full ruling approved on Tuesday on former Catalan minister Dolors Bassa's appeal, which establishes the legal doctrine to be followed in the cases involving the other leaders, including former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.

Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena lifted the arrest warrants against Puigdemont and former ministers Lluís Puig and Toni Comín on Tuesday, but made clear that this did not mean the amnesty had been declared "applicable."

He said he needed to receive the Constitutional Court's ruling.

Amnesty ruling

The Constitutional Court's ruling on Tuesday orders the amnesty to be applied to the offence of misuse of public funds in cases linked to Catalonia's 2017 independence referendum, which was deemed illegal by Spain.

While the ruling formally resolves only former minister Bassa's case, it establishes the doctrine to be followed in the cases of Puigdemont, Comín, Puig, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull and Raül Romeva.

The ruling rejects the Supreme Court's previous interpretation of the amnesty, saying it violated Bassa's rights and was contrary to the purpose of the 2024 law.

The ruling passed 7-5, with five conservative judges dissenting. They argued that the Constitutional Court had exceeded its role by intervening in the interpretation of ordinary law.

Llarena lifted the arrest warrants against Puigdemont, Comín and Puig after the ruling was approved, but stressed that this "does not declare the amnesty applicable, nor does it extinguish criminal liability or resolve the other outstanding issues."

He said he needed the "full text" of the Bassa ruling to "determine the scope of the judgment" in relation to Puigdemont, Comín and Puig.

He also said that once he had the text, he would decide "without delay" whether to confirm or modify the decision he had taken regarding the lifting of the Spanish arrest warrants.