The president of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde Pumpido, has suggested that the amparo appeal registered by the former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, could be resolved before the end of the year.
In an interview on "RNE", reported by Europa Press, the magistrate pointed out that starting from September 22, the Constitutional Court will begin to debate the amparo appeals presented after the Court of Justice of the EU upheld the Amnesty Law. He also emphasized that the first to be addressed will be that of the general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull.
Conde Pumpido specified that, after the case of Turull, the appeals of those who were convicted for the 1-O will be examined first, such as the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, and that in a later phase, the appeals of those who "were outside of Spain and in a situation of rebellion" and were not convicted, as is the case with Puigdemont, will be studied.
In this context, the president of the TC has anticipated that the doctrine on these appeals will be established "in September or October" and that, from that moment on, "it is already binding."
"Once we have established that interpretation, we understand that the Supreme Court itself can, if it sees fit, apply it, or if not, then we will have to be the ones to issue one by one the rulings in the following months," he indicated.
Appeal by the Prosecutor's Office regarding the conviction of Álvaro García Ortiz
In relation to the appeal presented by the Attorney General's Office against the ruling of the Supreme Court against the former attorney general, Álvaro García Ortiz, disqualified for two years for a crime of revelation of reserved data, Conde Pumpido has refused to comment, arguing that the procedure "will have a long duration" that will extend "far beyond" his departure from the TC.
However, he has pointed out that the Constitutional Court must assess whether the interpretation applied in García Ortiz's case was "in accordance" with the Constitution.
Although he stressed that it is a matter "that is just starting," he emphasized that the resolution will be adopted "at the moment it is raised" and recalled that, with prosecutors who were directly under his responsibility, he abstained.
However, Conde Pumpido clarified that when he held the position of attorney general of the State, García Ortiz worked in Santiago de Compostela and there was "no specific relationship" between them.
Renewal of the Constitutional Court
Regarding the renewal of the Constitutional Court, the current president has expressed his confidence that starting from September 30 "there will already be movement and it will start to be put into motion".
As he has explained, the system for appointing the members of the court is "quite complicated" because it "forces the two major parties to understand each other". Furthermore, he has pointed out that the change in the TC presents an added "complication" as it has to be driven by the autonomous communities.
"It has been delayed this time because there have been three regional elections: those of Extremadura, those of Castilla y León, and those of Andalusia. Therefore, the Senate has used its power to extend the deadline for the submission of candidacies until September 30," he has indicated, specifying that "so far only" the Basque Parliament has presented its candidates, "with two judges who are really very competent".