Constitutional Court rejects putting Catalan president's ousting on hold while ruling on appeal

Spanish court must position itself on matter before Torra's case can be taken to ECHR

Ousted Catalan president Quim Torra at an event commemorating the October 1 independence referendum on its third anniversary (by Sílvia Jardí) / ACN

ACN | Madrid

First published: October 6, 2020 02:10 PM

Spain's Constitutional Court rejected putting Quim Torra's ousting as Catalan president on hold while it deliberates on his appeal.

This decision comes barely over a week after the Supreme Court upheld the Catalan High Court's December 2019 ruling barring Torra from office for disobedience for a year and a half as he failed to remove signs in solidarity with the pro-independence leaders, including yellow ribbons, from public buildings in time during an electoral period last year.

Although the Supreme Court's ruling has been appealed to the Constitutional Court, and unlike the Catalan High Court sentence, its effects barring him from office came into force not long after the decision was made public on September 28.

Torra has shown little faith in the outcome of his appeal to the Constitutional Court, but he has acknowledged it is a necessary step before taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights, "the only place where the independence movement finds justice."

Catalan Government Catalan Independence Constitutional Court Supreme Court Quim Torra 'Constituïm'yellow ribbons