The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has endorsed this Wednesday the application of the Amnesty Law in the cases of embezzlement and terrorism that had been submitted to its trial. Consequently, the judges do not object to the application of a rule aimed at «reducing institutional and political tensions».
The Luxembourg court determines that the law is in line with EU law and the political nature of the law and supports its application, given that there have been no excesses or serious events that violate human rights or the interests of the European Union.
On Thursday, the CJEU issued two judgments arising from preliminary rulings raised by the National High Court and the Court of Auditors on the Amnesty Law. Its resolutions clarify whether the rule is compatible with EU law in matters related to terrorism and embezzlement.
His decision affects about three hundred people, including 35 prosecuted for the crime of embezzlement, the 12 tried by the ‘procés’ and the people involved in judicial proceedings for crimes of terrorism related to the independence movement. Specifically, the amnesty should be applied to those prosecuted for belonging to the CDRs and to those investigated for embezzlement.
The first of these questions was asked by the Court of Auditors, which expressed doubts about the application of the pardon measure on the grounds that the organisation of the referendum of 1 October 2017 could have affected the EU’s financial interests.
The second was raised by the National Court, which asked the European court to clarify whether the amnesty can be applied to terrorist crimes attributed to members of the Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDR).
The CJEU’s Advocate General, Dean Spielmann, already presented his conclusions on November 13. In them, he endorsed the conformity of the norm. Its position is important to the CJEU, although it is not binding. The CJEU’s decision will not have immediate effects on the situation of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who is subject to a national arrest warrant issued by Supreme Court magistrate Pablo Llarena.
THE KEY, THE CONSTITUTIONAL ONE
The Constitutional Court will first have to rule, which plans to analyse his appeal for amparo from October, and its decision will be essential for the future lifting of the Supreme Court’s arrest warrant.
The CJEU’s ruling has no direct effect on the order given by Llarena because the Supreme Court has decided not to apply the Amnesty Law to the crime of embezzlement, on the understanding that Puigdemont obtained a personal financial benefit by not compromising his assets in the holding of the referendum on self-determination.
Puigdemont went to the Constitutional Court in July 2025 against the Supreme Court’s decision. In that appeal for amparo he also asked for the suspension of the arrest warrant against him. The president of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, delayed the analysis of the appeal until the CJEU issues its ruling, which could be relevant for the resolution of the appeal.
