EU Advocate General says amnesty law complies with European legislation on terrorism and embezzlement

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Dean Spielmann, believes that the Spanish amnesty law for all those involved in the Catalan independence push complies with EU legislation on terrorism and embezzlement, as announced on Thursday.

Spielmann said that the amnesty law on the independence push complies with legislation, as does the judicial case regarding the Committees for the Defence of the Republic (Comitès de Defensa de la República, CDRs).

Spielmann's opinion is non-binding, but he finds the deadlines imposed for resolving the cases to be incompatible. Under the amnesty law, any decision on its application in a given case must be taken within a maximum period of two months. That time limit "may be too short," the Advocate General says, and because of this "excessively short and restrictive" period, it may infringe the requirement for judicial independence.

However, it already states that the Spanish government said that the deadline was just "purely indicative."

Regarding the CDRs, the lawyer states that the amnesty law does not impair the directive on combating terrorism of its full effectiveness. The opinion also says that Spanish legislation "satisfies the case-law standards established by the European Court of Human Rights." Spielmann says that the amnesty law was adopted "in a genuine context of political and social reconciliation, and does not constitute a self-amnesty," something that was first debated in July during a Court of Auditors session.

In the case of the CDRs, the Advocate General states that the amnesty does not apply to any offenses that cause "serious human rights violations, most notably violations of the rights to life and physical integrity."

Two judicial cases at ECJ

The Spanish Congress, with the support of left-wing parties and Catalan pro-independence parties Junts and Esquerra Republicana, passed the amnesty law for institutional, political, and social normalization in Catalonia in June 2024.

It grants amnesty for acts committed in connection with the referendum on independence on October 1, 2017, and the "popular consultation" held in 2014. In Spain, the Court of Auditors is examining a case against several individuals charged with misuse of public funds, or embezzlement, in connection with the organization and promotion of the referendums.

However, because of doubts about the compatibility with EU legislation, the Court of Auditors referred the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Aside from political parties, such as the conservative People's Party and far-right Vox, many judges have questioned its legality. Therefore, the Supreme Court has rejected granting an amnesty to those charged with misuse of public funds, such as former president Carles Puigdemont or former vice president Oriol Junqueras.

Further questions

Aside from questions from the Court of Auditors and Spain's National Court, the ECJ has also been asked to address doubts of the Catalan High Court and a court in Vilanova regarding the misuse of public funds and granting an amnesty for charges of disobedience, respectively. However, no date has been announced for the hearings.

The Spanish government expected the ECJ to announce its ruling related to the embezzlement of public funds in September, although based on statistics, the court takes an average of 17.2 months to rule on preliminary questions, and the Court of Auditors issued their request back in July 2024. The only announcement so far has been made by the Atorney General on Thursday.

Regardless of the EU Court's ruling, Spanish courts will decide whether to grant an amnesty, although they will have to consider the decisions of European judges and Spain's Constitutional Court. The court already decided in late June that the amnesty law is constitutionally binding, but some other decisions are still pending.

Exposed plans to "block" amnesty

Puigdemont, current leader of Junts, wrote on X that the decision of the Advocate General has "exposed the intended strategy to extend and manipulate with the idea of blocking the amnesty law."

However, he highlights that despite the opinion being "very explicit and founded," the last decision will be made by Spanish judges "who have been urged to defend the country."

He is still waiting to be granted amnesty to return to Catalonia.

Meanwhile, Esquerra Republicana leader Oriol Junqueras welcomed the decision. He said that "we have known for many years" that there was never "embezzlement, nor rebellion, nor a single crime that can justify the judicial cases."

"We celebrate that [the Advocate General] has defended the ruling with the same thesis that we have always defended," Junqueras told media outlets on Thursday, hours after the decision was made public.

The Spanish government said it is a "clear victory," as Spain's justice minister Félix Bolaños said during a brief media appearance in Congress. He said that the report "clearly states that the amnesty law complies with European law," and that the cabinet is "very satisfied with the opinion of the lawyer, as it repeats what we have been saying for several years, that the amnesty law is constitutional."

On the other hand, the People's Party said that the decision "challenges" the European rule of law. "The European Court of Justice warned Sánchez of interference against the rule of law and warns of the risk of judicial independence and the separation of powers," said Dolors Montserrat, secretary general of the European People's Party group in the European Parliament.

She added that "there was never a global interest, it was only support in exchange for impunity."