The former president of the Constitutional Court (TCÇ) Pascual Sala warned this Tuesday that promoting an amnesty law to "have the necessary votes to be invested as president of the Government" would make the proposal unconstitutional and arbitrary.
Although the former president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and the Supreme Court (TS) also assured that the measure has a place in the Spanish Constitution since there is no point that prohibits it, it would therefore be constitutional if its objective were “facilitate” “citizen coexistence”, based on the duty to “guarantee” “democratic coexistence within the Constitution” contained in the Magna Carta. However, if the reason for the amnesty were "to have the necessary votes to be invested as president of the Government, that would be arbitrary and unconstitutional," he has reiterated.
Along with Sala, the former vice president of the TC Encarnación Roca, the professor and expert in Constitutional Law Enrique Gimbernat, and the dean of ICAM, Eugenio Ribón, also participated in an informative meeting organized by the Illustrious Bar Association of Madrid (ICAM). ) to establish the implications of the amnesty law that Junts I ERC demand as a condition to allow the investiture of Pedro Sánchez.
The former magistrate, for her part, considered that the problem of pardoning the Catalan independentists is not its constitutionality, since it is "a law that does not exist", since no text with the guidelines to materialize the proposal has yet been presented. . For this reason, Roca focused his doubts on the possibility that the independence petition was formulated “against the principle of equality.”
With this pretext, the former vice president of the TC stated that, following the principle of equality, why not amnesty Iñaki Urdangarin or those convicted of the 'Gürtel case' if it is done with Catalan independentists. Roca has referred to the amnesty as “a political issue that has followed a series of steps that have not been programmed or required,” as the same judge exemplified with the repeal of the crime of sedition, or the pardons for the independentists after 1 October.
Regarding pardons, Sala also made a quick note, remembering that, although the Constitution establishes that general pardons are prohibited, pardons and amnesties are different measures of grace, and that there is no express mention of the latter in the Magna Carta.
Gimbernat made it clear from the beginning that "the amnesty is unconstitutional in Spanish Law" in his opinion, and questioned the capacity of the measure to pacify the conflict in Catalonia, after refuting most of the arguments that have emerged in the recent months in favor of amnesty.
Faced with the statement that some rulings of the TC had already ruled on amnesty, the professor pointed out that "a post-constitutional amnesty law has never been proposed to the TC", while, in response to Sumar's argument that outlines that Germany also contemplates amnesty, Gimbernat has insisted that this is a different case; "Here we are interpreting the Spanish Constitution, not the German one," he stressed, and added that "none" of the other constitutions referred to contain a "ban on general pardons", as in the case of Spain.
"At a time when democracies often face challenges and threats, it is essential that we work actively to ensure that our political parties act as pillars of our democracies," highlighted Eugenio Ribón, who transferred the nomination of the Illustrious Bar Association of Madrid, ensuring that the College will act "unwaveringly" to defend the fundamental principles to guarantee the integrity of the legal and political system of the European Union and its member states.
The dean has highlighted that at ICAM "we have forced ourselves not to be apathetic or indifferent", and that is why the conferences on the amnesty have been proposed. Within the framework of responsibility, he has appealed to political parties to speak about the issue with a sense of State "at a time when democracies often face challenges and threats, it is essential that we work actively to encourage our political parties to act as pillars of our democracies."
