A change of tone in the strategy of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to demand greater speed in the full application of the amnesty law. The narrative now seeks to focus on the economic consequences that not expediting the judicial pardon of those prosecuted for the procés could have for Spain. The demand for a possible compensatory claim arises after having reported to the European Commission the obstacles placed by the Court of Auditors to closing the case related to the origin of the money spent to finance the independence challenge and the attempted referendum of 2017. In that complaint filed in Brussels, Gonzalo Boye, who also acts on behalf of former ministers Toni Comín and Lluís Puig, already warns the Supreme Court that it will have to face compensation for damages if it persists in delaying the amnesty for pro-independence politicians.
The hook on which the claim hangs is the precedent set by the Köbler case, in allusion to the lawsuit filed by an Austrian university professor and which European justice resolved by ruling that a Member State “is liable for damages caused to an individual by a violation of Community law attributable to a supreme court.”
To reprimand the inaction of the Court of Auditors regarding the amnesty, Carles Puigdemont published a statement on his social networks this Wednesday, warning that, beyond the effect it may have on his personal situation, delaying the judicial pardon in this case implies an economic risk for Spain. “It seems that in the midst of the nationalist orgy caused by football, the Court of Auditors has been encouraged and has asked for its drink to be held to show that it dares to challenge the highest European magistracy.” And he recalled that something similar had already been attempted in Hungary and Poland, “with results known to everyone.”
The former Catalan president alluded to the sanctioning process faced by both countries; Hungary stopped collecting 1,000 million euros, by express will of the EU authorities that not a single euro of recovery funds should end up in the hands of those who violate the rule of law. “Spain is the only major economy that still collects from Europe,” the expresident’s statement pointed out.
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With the same idea of attacking the economic flank, Puigdemont and his lawyer Gonzalo Boye are pushing for the complaint to the European Commission so that the community institution urges Spain to expedite the amnesty and, if appropriate, impose the relevant sanctions. The document uses the judicial precedent set by the Köbler case as an argument. It refers to the lawsuit filed by Innsbruck professor Gerhard Köbler for Austria to recognize a seniority salary supplement for him. To collect it, the country’s rule required fifteen years of accumulated teaching experience in Austrian universities, a requirement he only met if his entire career as a professor in other EU countries was counted. The judicial resolution did not specify compensation for Professor Köbler, but the European Court of Justice did establish principles in that ruling that, according to Puigdemont’s circle, “fit like a glove” the judicial situation affecting the former Catalan president.
That ruling specified that community treaties impose on Member States “compensation for damages caused to individuals due to violations of Community law attributable to them, regardless of which body of the Member State caused the damage.”
And, with a view to what may happen soon in the Supreme Court in relation to the amnesty, the complaint filed in Brussels by the pro-independence politicians emphasizes that there is a wide-open door to claim compensation. The argument given by European justice for “State liability for violations of Community law” to arise is that a national court of last resort has violated, “in a sufficiently characterized manner,” a rule that confers rights on individuals. “We’ll see how it ends,” Puigdemont states in the reflection he keeps posted on his social networks.
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