New maneuver by the Constitutional Court's right wing to stop the amnesty
Three judges proposed by the PP ask to wait for the CJEU before issuing a ruling.
MadridNew maneuver by the right wing of the Constitutional Court to halt the amnesty. Three judges proposed by the People's Party (PP) to the court, Enrique Arnaldo, Concepción Espejel, and César Tolosa, filed a petition this Monday requesting that a preliminary ruling be submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) before issuing a ruling, or else wait for Luxembourg to resolve the existing ones. For example, those from the National Court regarding the case of the members of the CDR (Republic of Catalonia) accused of terrorism, and that from the Court of Auditors regarding the October 1st referendum and the foreign action of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) during the process. They believe that there are aspects of the amnesty law that may be contrary to European law and that, before analyzing the constitutionality of the law, the CJEU should rule. However, sources consulted by ARA believe this attempt to torpedo the amnesty has little scope.
There are two judges on the right who have not supported this proposal – advanced by The World and confirmed by the ARA: José María Macías and Ricardo Enríquez. The former did not do so because he was removed from the ruling on the PP's appeal against the amnesty, and has therefore decided not to intervene further on this matter—at least not formally. On the other hand, it is surprising that Enríquez has not signed this document, given that right-wing judges usually act as a bloc.
Court sources consulted by the ARA maintain that the appeals against the amnesty law have been on the table for some time. "They are presenting it shortly before the report is issued," they emphasize, unexpectedly. And, as announced by the president of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, the ruling on the PP's appeal is expected before the summer, that is, in June. Therefore, a draft ruling should be circulated among the judges by the end of May, so they can begin studying it before taking it to the plenary session. "I don't see the Constitutional Court considering either waiting or filing a preliminary ruling, nor do I think the applicants believe their request has any grounds to follow," the court added.
