Spanish Supreme Court judge confirms lifting of Puigdemont's arrest warrant, says amnesty must apply

Spanish Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena has confirmed the lifting of national arrest warrants against former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former ministers Toni Comín and Lluís Puig.

In a ruling issued on Monday morning, Llarena reaffirmed the decision he originally made minutes after the Constitutional Court upheld the application of the amnesty law to charges of misuse of public funds charges against the leaders of the 2017 Catalan independence movement.

He said keeping the arrest warrants in force was "not compatible" with the Constitutional Court ruling.

Llarena acknowledged that the higher court's legal doctrine "must be applied," even though he disagrees with its reasoning.

Although the amnesty must now be applied to the misuse of public funds charges, the case has yet to be formally closed.

Llarena said that the court panel would decide how to conclude the case, stressing that his ruling "does not replace the final decision" or mean the formal dismissal of proceedings.

Legal doctrine

Llarena's decision comes two weeks after Spain's Constitutional Court ordered the 2024 amnesty law to be applied to misuse of public funds charges against leaders of the Catalan independence movement.

The court ruled in favour of an appeal brought by former Catalan minister Dolors Bassa, establishing the legal doctrine to be followed in the cases of other leaders involved in the October 2017 independence referendum.

Llarena lifted the arrest warrants against Puigdemont, Comín and Puig minutes after the Constitutional Court backed the application of the amnesty, although he warned that the measure was "provisional."

The judge indicated that he would issue a further ruling once he had seen the full text of the Constitutional Court's judgment.

In his ruling on Thursday, Llarena reaffirmed his decision, stating that the arrest warrants had "ceased to have effect" following the Constitutional Court's ruling upholding the amnesty, even though he disagreed with its reasoning.

"Their lifting must therefore be immediate," Llarena said.

He stressed, however, that his ruling was limited to lifting the arrest warrants and did not entail the dismissal of the case or the conclusion of the pending proceedings, in which several appeals remain outstanding.

Nor did it replace the final decision on whether legal liability should be extinguished. That decision, he said, falls to the Supreme Court panel responsible for adjudicating the case.

Supreme Court sources said an appeal seeking to overturn the decision and bring the proceedings to an end was still pending.

Once it has been resolved, Llarena will have to issue a formal order concluding the investigation and refer the case to the Supreme Court's Criminal Chamber, which will then issue the final dismissal.

Llarena disagrees with Constitutional Court's reasoning

Llarena outlined his disagreement with the Constitutional Court’s decision, which rejected the Supreme Court's argument that Catalan leaders had obtained a "personal financial benefit" from using public funds to finance the 2017 independence referendum.

He also noted that five of twelve Constitutional Court judges had dissented from the ruling, highlighting the division within the court over the interpretation of the amnesty law.

Comín's return

Comín is due to return to Spain on Thursday to collect his accreditation as a Member of the European Parliament from the Central Electoral Commission in Madrid. He is expected to return to Catalonia this weekend.

Puigdemont has not yet announced when he plans to return to Catalonia. His lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, said that he does not intend to return before the November 29 general election.