From Puigdemont to Catalan in schools: the way to denounce "systematic discrimination" against Catalans
A Catalan judge presents a strategy to the European Court of Justice (UCE) based on the CJEU's doctrine on European Arrest Warrants with Boye and Torra.
Conflent MeadowThe independence movement scored a point in its legal battle against the Spanish judiciary when, in 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) admitted the possibility of denying a European arrest warrant in very specific circumstances: as declared by the Luxembourg Court, a judge can refuse extradition due to evidence of "generalized deficiencies" in the judicial system and a risk of persecution against individuals from a specific group.
The term used was "objectively identifiable group of persons," known in the jargon as GOIP by its acronym, in a ruling that meant a bucket of cold water to Pablo Llarena's demands that the Belgian judge hand over Carles Puigdemont and the former ministers in exile to him. The judicial strategies that this path opens were the focus of a round table discussion this Friday with lawyer Gonzalo Boye, former president Quim Torra, and magistrate Guillem Soler at the Catalan Summer University, in Prada de Conflent.
Why is the concept of the GOIP important? As Soler explained, it is a "legal umbrella" that allows for denouncing the "systematic discrimination" against Catalans in Spain. And this encompasses the lawfare, Pegasus spying, or judicial resistance to applying the amnesty, but also the rulings of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) imposing a 25% restriction on the use of Spanish in classrooms, contrary to the criteria of the Parliament. Soler, who acknowledged not being "in the majority sector" of the judiciary, attacked the Supreme Court's "interpretative delusions" and its refusal to apply the amnesty for embezzlement.
The judge has systematized how to apply the GOIP strategy, which proposes activating when alerts are raised about "strange things": for example, judges demonstrating against the amnesty law when its wording was not yet known. Then, it is necessary to specify that discrimination is occurring "that has no justification other than belonging to the Catalan community," whether or not there is a conscious intention to do so, and that it can translate into a more or less serious violation of rights. Soler is a member of a Barcelona court of first instance and is a member of the Àgora Judicial collective.
Now, what is the subject of this GOIP group? According to Boye, it's a construct that could be used by anyone affected by the State's attacks against elements "essential to Catalan identity." For example, language and political representation. In this sense, Torra added that the attacks against Catalan separatists have, at their core, historical reasons: "We have been a country conquered by another, which has had very clear consequences," he emphasized. Knowing how the audience at the UCE was breathing, Boye delivered his speech today almost entirely in Catalan.
September 4th, a key date
Boye himself has used the concept of the GOIP in his defense of Puigdemont. Developments are expected in one of the pending European cases by September 4, when the European Union's Advocate General is scheduled to announce his conclusions on the immunity of Puigdemont, Toni Comín, and Clara Ponsatí when they were MEPs during the last term. "The case is so important that similar cases have been left hanging until this one is resolved," the lawyer said. Once again, he declined to give any clues about when the former president might return. It will be when the amnesty is implemented "without any fine print," he added, in statements to the media. In current affairs, Boye took a swipe at the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni. who has been denied entry into Israel: "I don't know. I've also been denied entry to countries due to the socialist management."
Torra, who declined to comment on current events—specifically, on what Junts should do with the PSOE—said he would only talk about the GOIP: "I won't answer, because if I answer, the headline will surely be about this question," he said. In passing, however, he criticized the new financing being negotiated between Esquerra and the Socialists, asserting that a "singular model for all ceases to be singular." In an interview with Efe this Friday, the secretary general of Junts, Jordi Turull, He reiterated the message that his party and Puigdemont have been sending out this week.: that the PSOE must get its act together by fulfilling the agreements and that, given the lack of progress with the transfer of immigration or Catalan to Europe, the regional council members will make "decisions" for the fall.
