Spain's Constitutional Court is due to begin discussion on Tuesday 22 September of an amnesty appeal involving Jordi Turull, a senior figure in Junts, according to reporting by Diari ARA. The outcome could affect the legal position of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who has lived outside Spain for nine years.

The newspaper, citing unnamed sources at the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, reported that a majority of Constitutional Court judges are expected to support applying Spain's amnesty law to Turull. The law covers people connected with the Procés, the Catalan independence process.

For Puigdemont, a favourable Constitutional Court ruling could be significant because the Supreme Court would then have to review the arrest warrant and criminal proceedings against him, Diari ARA reported. No court ruling or official court statement was supplied with the report.

October ruling expected to address Bassa and Puigdemont

Diari ARA set out the following anticipated timetable:

  • Tuesday 22 September: Constitutional Court judges are due to hold an initial debate on Turull's appeal.
  • Tuesday 6 October: the court's next plenary session is expected to consider a proposal on former minister Dolors Bassa's amnesty appeal.
  • Late October: the ruling is expected to be published, after which the Supreme Court would have to act on its implications, according to the newspaper.

The report said the Constitutional Court's president, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, is expected to present a proposal supporting Bassa's amnesty. It said a decision in her case would also affect Puigdemont's position.

Potential consequences for Junts and the next election

If the courts apply the amnesty law, Diari ARA said former vice-president Oriol Junqueras could again stand in elections. Junqueras was among the politicians imprisoned after the 2017 independence referendum.

The newspaper also reported that Puigdemont's possible return to Catalonia could prompt Junts to decide whether he should lead the opposition in the Parliament of Catalonia or step back from front-line politics. It said party leadership changes could also follow.

Spain's Congress passed the amnesty law two years ago, but Diari ARA reported that courts have so far declined to apply it in the cases discussed in its report.

Reported by en.ara.cat, Diari ARA.