Supreme Court Justice Pablo Llarena has rejected Carles Puigdemont's request to apply the amnesty law to the crime of embezzlement, following the European Union Court of Justice's (CJEU) ruling that the law is compatible with EU law. The decision, issued on Tuesday 15 September 2026, maintains the national arrest warrant against the former Catalan president pending a ruling from the Constitutional Court.
Llarena ruled that while the CJEU decision invalidates one of the two grounds previously used to exclude Puigdemont from amnesty, specifically, the alleged impact on the financial interests of the European Union, it does not affect the second ground: the apparent intention to obtain personal financial benefit through the misuse of public funds. The judge stressed that the Luxembourg court did not examine this aspect, meaning the domestic legal reasoning on personal enrichment remains intact.
The amnesty law, approved by Spain’s Congress in November 2023 as part of a political agreement between the government and pro-independence parties, excludes crimes involving personal enrichment or acts of terrorism that endangered life. Llarena maintains that the use of public funds to support the 1 October 2017 independence referendum met the threshold for personal benefit under Article 1 of the law, a position not overturned by the CJEU.
Puigdemont’s legal team argued that the extinction of accounting liability under the amnesty removes the basis for claiming personal benefit. But Llarena countered that the purpose of the expenditure at the time it was made is separate from later legal consequences. He stated that the amnesty wiping out liability does not erase evidence of intent when the funds were originally diverted.
He also dismissed the argument that embezzlement must be covered by amnesty because some terrorism-related offences are included, calling the comparison legally irrelevant. Since the request for amnesty was denied, Llarena refused to lift the arrest warrant, which remains active as a precautionary measure.
Constitutional Court Ruling Expected in October
The next legal step for Puigdemont lies with the Constitutional Court, which is expected to rule on his appeal for constitutional protection in October. That appeal challenges the interpretation and application of the personal benefit clause in his case. Only if the Constitutional Court rules in his favour could the Supreme Court revisit the arrest warrant.
The first such appeal to be heard by the Constitutional Court will be that of former minister Jordi Turull on 22 September 2026, according to RTVE. Puigdemont’s case will follow, but no date has been set.
The invoked rulings have not invalidated the interpretation of personal benefit used in this case, but neither do they constitute a specific validation of that interpretation.
Llarena’s order clarifies that the current refusal to lift the warrant does not preclude future reconsideration if new circumstances arise. However, as of 15 September 2026, Puigdemont remains subject to arrest should he enter Spain.
Reported by elconfidencial.com, euronews.com, elconstitucional.es, rtve.es, en.ara.cat, Martí Odriozola i Marcé, Euractiv, reuters.com, El Confidencial.
