The decision of the Government to challenge the decision of the Catalan Parliament’s Mesa to process a popular legislative initiative in favor of Catalonia’s independence once again places the responsibility of resolving a political and legal conflict in the Constitutional Court, the outcome of which greatly affects the future of the community. The challenge, which automatically suspends the processing of the initiative for five months, will be joined by others related to the future Amnesty Law and hundreds of defendants in the two independence processes initiated by Catalan governments. The Constitutional Court has a well-established jurisprudence on independence adventures, preventing unilateral initiatives as the Constitution states sovereignty is indivisible and resides in the Spanish people as a whole. The Government’s appeal seeks to suspend the legislative initiative for Catalonia’s independence and requests the nullification of the entire text.
Just like the challenges against the Statute reform, the Constitutional Court will have to once again tackle the debate on whether the independent parties are attempting a hidden constitutional reform with this law. The Executive’s challenge highlights that the mistake of the Catalan chamber Mesa is consciously and blatantly violating the criteria established by the Constitutional Court, particularly regarding the defense of Spain’s territorial integrity and the Parliament’s competences. The clash between the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and the Popular Party (PP) over the future Amnesty Law also has a pending appeal regarding the Senate’s rule reform that allows the PP to retain the law in the upper house for two months. The Constitutional Court will need to establish doctrine on whether a law passed urgently in the Congress can be slowed down in the Senate against parliamentary norms.
While awaiting the outcomes of these appeals, the maintenance of the Constitutional Court’s doctrine regarding legislative initiatives advocating territory independence is the current concern. This doctrine, which halted the Basque Country’s 2008 sovereignty consultation under the Ibarretxe plan, also nullified Catalonia’s Parliament resolution declaring the region a “sovereign political and legal entity” in 2013, and the November 2014 referendum. The Court’s rulings make it clear that promoting territory independence in Spain without constitutional reform is legally impossible. The Court stated in 2017 that there is no right to self-determination for any Spanish people, emphasizing that the consultation on Catalonia’s self-determination must involve all Spanish voters as per the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court also ruled that Catalonia is not a sovereign entity, exclusive to the Spanish Nation, and cannot compete with the national sovereignty holder. The Court rejected the 2017 Law of Legal Transition of the Catalan Republic, labeling it as a complete rupture of part of the territory with the constitutional and statutory order. In response to the 2017 referendum law, the Court stated that the Catalan Parliament sought to nullify the Constitution, the Autonomy Statute, and any laws that did not align with its will, straying from its constitutional and statutory duties. The Court’s judgments highlight the dire consequences and risks posed by Catalonia’s chamber not fulfilling its constitutional functions.
