The president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Vicente Guilarte, has strongly criticized the amnesty law promoted by the government of Pedro Sanchez. Guilarte expressed his views by voting blank on the text approved by the judiciary last week, considering the law unconstitutional. He views this as a precaution in response to the intense political component surrounding the debate. He believes that the amnesty initiative is a result of a “transaction” between the PSOE and the Catalan separatist parties, allowing them to gain “mutual benefits” and presenting a real “exchange” between political forces that distorts the law’s justification of being in the “general interest”.
The conservative sector of the CGPJ approved a non-binding report declaring the amnesty law unconstitutional. The report was supported by 9 out of 10 conservative members, including Guilarte who voted blank along with a progressive member. The five members proposed by the PSOE supported an alternative report by a progressive member, which argued that amnesty is constitutional but raised some objections. Guilarte believes that amnesty is a “grace measure” that can be granted unilaterally by the legislative power but should not be given in exchange for any form of compensation or reward, as it distorts its essence and nature as a grace measure.
Guilarte criticizes the original sin as the pact between the socialists and Junts, where amnesty was granted in exchange for the votes needed for Sánchez’s investiture. He questions whether the extinction of criminal action can be a corresponding provision to obtaining a significant political advantage. He argues that there are no precedents where amnesty has been part of a mutual transaction with reciprocal benefits. He questions the constitutionality of such a transaction and suggests that it may not meet the legal criteria required under civil law.
The president of the Council finds it “surprising” that the lengthy exposition of the amnesty law remains silent on the political pact that led to its creation, citing public interest in political pacification and coexistence in Catalonia as the main justification for the law. He notes that this purpose was not previously outlined in the PSOE’s electoral program. The actual intent of the law, according to Guilarte, is the amnesty in exchange for parliamentary support for the Prime Minister’s investiture, rather than the stated purpose of political pacification and coexistence in Catalonia.
The CGPJ, whose mandate expired over five years ago, is responsible for providing opinions on draft laws, but the amnesty for the Catalan separatist leaders was not subjected to their consultation as it was presented as a proposed law by the PSOE, not a government bill. The PP used their majority in the Senate to request opinions from both the CGPJ and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Public Prosecutor’s Office declined to provide an opinion, but the judiciary, which had previously expressed disapproval of the amnesty, agreed to draft a report on the matter.
