“It is especially difficult to reconcile the European Union’s efforts to end impunity for embezzlers with Spanish legislators’ desire to excuse particularly grave crimes simply because they were committed by specific political leaders during a specific period of time,” the ruling reads.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Ana Ferrer proposed that Spain’s Supreme Court submit its ruling to the European Court of Justice to determine if its reasoning was correct. The rest of the magistrates rejected this option.
As a result of the ruling, the long-standing arrest warrant for Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium following the failed referendum, will remain in effect. Former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras and several other former regional officials will likewise remain barred from holding public office or being employed in any public capacity.
The separatist politicians are expected to appeal the ruling before the country’s Constitutional Court.
The ruling is a huge setback for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was only able to form Spain’s current minority government last November after agreeing to amnesty Puigdemont and other Catalan separatists. While some judges had been expected to oppose the controversial bill, the Supreme Court’s rejection of the law marks the start of a major showdown between the country’s legislative and judicial branches.
“The will of the legislators must be respected,” Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said. “And it must be applied in its entirety.”
Catalan leaders reacted to the news with irritation and cited the ruling as fresh evidence that the country’s judiciary acts in an absolutist and biased manner. On X, Puigdemont compared the Supreme Court judges to the Sicilian mafia, referring to them as “La Toga Nostra.”
