Constitutional Court President Calls for Urgent Amnesty of Catalan Misuse Cases

Cándido Conde-Pumpido, president of the Tribunal Constitucional, presented a ponencia urging the court to direct the Criminal Chamber of the Tribunal Supremo to issue a fresh resolution that grants amnesty for the offence of public-fund misappropriation, emphasizing the law’s preferential and urgent nature. The draft specifically seeks to shield former Catalan labour minister Dolors Bassa, who was convicted for diverting funds to the independence movement, and mentions that Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull, Carles Puigdemont, Antoni Comín and Lluís Puig are also implicated.

Conde-Pumpido argues that the Supreme Court’s recent ruling misinterpreted the amnesty law by applying an expansive definition of personal enrichment, thereby shrinking the law’s remedial reach. He asserts that the law creates an autonomous notion of enrichment solely to delineate the amnesty’s scope, and that the court’s approach contradicts the law’s intent to aid societal pacification. The proposal calls for the procedural retroaction of the case so a new judgment can align with constitutional standards. The Constitutional Court is expected to issue its ruling around the 6th, which could extend the amnesty to all seven figures.