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U.S. editionOn Tuesday, October 20, the Supreme Court issued an order applying the amnesty law to Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull and Dolors Bassa, convicted of embezzlement in the procés judgment, according to Europa Press and El Mundo. The Criminal Chamber declares the criminal liability arising from that judgment extinguished and agrees to the erasure of their criminal records, according to eldiario.es. The order takes on the operative part of the Constitutional Court judgment that granted the amparo appeal to Bassa and annulled the orders with which the Supreme Court had denied the amnesty, according to El País and eldiario.es. Seven Constitutional Court justices formed the majority and the ruling was drafted by Cándido Conde-Pumpido, according to eldiario.es. Junqueras had a ban from office until 2031 and the other three until 2030, according to that report. ABC headlines that the Supreme Court got ahead of the Constitutional Court with criticism of Pumpido, and La Vanguardia reports that the Government called the measure “a cause for celebration.”
Embezzlement was the offense the Supreme Court had left outside the amnesty in 2024, according to the reports of that year, on the grounds that there was personal financial gain. The mechanism is institutional: an amparo ruling from the Constitutional Court obliges the ordinary court to issue a new decision, and the Supreme Court yields on the ruling but puts its disagreement in writing. That sets how the same doctrine will be applied to the convicted leaders still pending.
If you follow Catalan politics, it is worth distinguishing between the Supreme Court order, which already exists, and the Constitutional Court rulings that El País announces for the six pending leaders, which have not yet been published. The ban dates cited depend on the text of the order, not on political statements.
Those who welcome the decision, such as Junqueras and the Government according to Europa Press and La Vanguardia, present it as the correction of an injustice and the fulfillment of the amnesty law as the Constitutional Court interpreted it. For them, the Supreme Court’s resistance had needlessly prolonged a criminal situation that was already over.
The critics reported by ABC, and the order itself according to eldiario.es, argue that the Constitutional Court overstepped by imposing its interpretation on a court that tried the facts, and that embezzlement with personal gain did not fit within the amnesty. They maintain that the Supreme Court yielded only out of obligation.
It is confirmed that the order exists, that it applies the amnesty to the four and that it rests on Bassa’s amparo ruling. It is not confirmed how the Constitutional Court will rule on the other convicted leaders or what electoral consequences there will be. What to look at today is the full text of the order and whether there are pending appeals against the Constitutional Court judgment.
El País (Supreme Court takes on the Constitutional Court’s doctrine, Oct. 20) · Europa Press (amnesty for Junqueras, Romeva, Turull and Bassa, Oct. 20) · El Mundo (applies the amnesty after the Constitutional Court’s order, Oct. 20) · ABC (Supreme Court gets ahead of the TC, Oct. 20) · La Vanguardia (procés leaders are amnestied, Oct. 20) · eldiario.es (Supreme Court amnesties embezzlement and lashes out at the Constitutional Court, Oct. 20)
Supreme Court applies the amnesty to Junqueras, Romeva, Turull and Bassa after the Constitutional Court’s order
The Criminal Chamber extinguishes the liability for embezzlement of the four leaders of the procés and criticizes the Constitutional Court’s interference.
The Supreme Court applied the amnesty law on Tuesday, October 20, to Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull and Dolors Bassa, the procés leaders convicted of embezzlement, according to Europa Press and El Mundo. The Criminal Chamber issued an order declaring the criminal liability arising from the judgment extinguished and agreeing to erase their criminal records, according to eldiario.es. The court took on the operative part of the judgment in which the Constitutional Court granted the amparo appeal to Bassa and annulled the Supreme Court orders that had denied her the amnesty, according to El País and eldiario.es. A majority of seven Constitutional Court justices held that the Supreme Court had interpreted the law’s exceptions too broadly, and the ruling was drafted by Cándido Conde-Pumpido, according to eldiario.es. Junqueras was barred from office until 2031 and the other three until 2030, according to that same report. All four had seen their appeals for reconsideration rejected by the Supreme Court in 2024, according to the reports of that year, which cited personal financial gain as the reason for excluding embezzlement from the amnesty.
ABC headlined that the Supreme Court got ahead of the Constitutional Court and reported criticism of Pumpido’s overreach, while eldiario.es reported that the order lashes out at the Constitutional Court’s “interference.” El País published that the Supreme Court resisted to the end and, in another report, that the Constitutional Court is starting to apply the amnesty to the last six procés leaders still pending. Junqueras welcomed the decision in these words: “At last justice has been done where there was only injustice,” according to Europa Press. La Vanguardia reported that the Government welcomed the measure and called it “a cause for celebration.” El Mundo presented the order as the direct consequence of the Constitutional Court’s instruction, which obliged the Supreme Court to issue a new ruling on Bassa and, by extension, on the other three convicted leaders.