Supreme Court applies the amnesty

On Tuesday, 20 October 2026, Spain's Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo, TS) decided to apply the amnesty law to Oriol Junqueras, the ERC leader, and to former Catalan ministers Jordi Turull, Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa. All four were convicted over the 2017 independence push, and the amnesty covers the embezzlement charge for which they were sentenced. The order follows a Constitutional Court ruling that upheld amnesty for that offence and required the Supreme Court to apply it. According to the order seen by ANSA, the court's criminal chamber, the panel that tried the independence case, carried out the ruling in full while stating its disagreement with the reasoning behind it.

A rebuke over tone and jurisdiction

The Supreme Court order sharply criticises the Constitutional Court's reasoning. The magistrates attacked what they called the 'unnecessary grandiloquence' of that ruling, saying it reveals a wish to dress up reasoning that intrudes on the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. They also described passages accusing the Supreme Court of interpretations at odds with the law's logic and purpose as entirely superfluous for justifying the decision. Manuel Marchena, who presided over the court that jailed the independence leaders, described the Constitutional Court's ruling as a break with its own historical case law. The Constitutional Court's president, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, responded while speaking at an institutional event of the Consejo General de Procuradores de España (CGPE).

“The respect for constitutional and ordinary jurisdiction is fundamental, otherwise judicial independence could not be guaranteed.”

Reactions from ERC and Junts

Junqueras welcomed the decision in a message on X, saying justice had finally been done where there had only been injustice. Speaking to reporters at ERC's Barcelona headquarters that afternoon alongside Romeva, Bassa and other party figures, he said politics had returned to its own field, away from judicialisation and repression. ERC said in a separate message that the amnesty had become a reality even though all Spanish powers were opposed to it. Junts secretary general Jordi Turull called the ruling a victory for independence and a 'capitulation' by Marchena and the Supreme Court. Asked by reporters whether he would stand on electoral lists, he denied it and said he had not considered it. He added that the process would not be complete until amnesty reaches Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Lluís Puig.

“Today it has been proven that voting for or against, but voting on the independence of Catalonia, is not a crime.”

Government response and what comes next

Sílvia Paneque, the Catalan Territory councillor and government spokeswoman, welcomed the decision at the press conference held after Tuesday's Executive Council meeting.

“It is what the Govern has always asked for.”

The Supreme Court has already revoked Puigdemont's arrest order, but it has not ruled on whether the amnesty applies to him. That question must go to the Supreme Court's criminal chamber for separate application. The four leaders can now stand in Spain's elections on 29 November, since their bans from holding public office have been revoked.