SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION ----- Upheaval in Spain’s Public Prosecution Office over the complaint against Catalan President | News from Catalonia - VilaWeb
The public prosecutors based in Catalonia refused to back
their Madrid-based boss regarding the complaint against the President of
the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, and other members of his cabinet for
authorising the symbolic vote on independence that took place on
November 9. As they said on Monday evening, there are not enough legal
reasons for filing such a complaint, despite the enormous pressure from
Spanish nationalists to do so. In fact, on Tuesday the Catalan
Government accused the Spanish Executive and the People’s Party of
pressuring the Public Prosecution Office, whose Director is appointed by
the Spanish Government and who directly reports to the Spanish Minister
of Justice.
Unsuccessful attempt
In the last few days and
after an initial controversy over the possibility of filing such a
complaint, the Director of Spain’s Public Prosecution Office, Eduardo
Torres-Dulce, had been unsuccessfully trying to obtain the explicit
support from his Catalan team to carry out a judicial action that has
deep political implications. In addition, there were serious doubts that such a process would be finally launched.
A judicial complaint against the President of Catalonia from one of the
Spanish State’s main institutions would take the current conflict one
step higher and could provoke a strong boomerang effect against Madrid’s
establishment, since many Catalans would side with their President in
solidarity. With early elections on the horizon that could become a ‘de
facto’ referendum on independence, a judicial complaint against Mas
could bring him additional support. However, on the other hand, the
judge could issue a temporary ban for public office against Mas, while
the case is being solved.
The complaint is likely to be filed anyway
Despite the lack of support from Catalan
prosecutors, Torres-Dulce is likely to follow through with it anyway,
after several members of the Spanish Government, the People’s Party (PP)
and other Spanish nationalist parties publicly urged him to do so in
the last few days, including on Tuesday. In any case, the rebellion of
Catalan prosecutors will not provoke a schism in this hierarchical
institution, since on Tuesday afternoon they announced that they will
obey Torres-Dulce if he insists. Barcelona-based prosecutors confirmed
they have the complaint “almost ready” to be filed, if they receive the
instruction from Madrid to do so. On Wednesday, Torres-Dulce will meet
with prosecutors from throughout Spain in order to gather additional
support for his position and the complaint could be filed that day or on
Thursday.
Prosecutors based in Catalonia did not find
enough evidence to file a judicial complaint for the citizen
participation process on independence, in which 2.3 million Catalans cast their ballots.
Catalan prosecutors argue that the Constitutional Court did not
explicitly tell Mas to stop preparations for November 9 – even though
the Spanish Government had requested the Court to do so. On top of this,
in order to disobey a judicial decision, the court has to issue a first
warning or a reminder of its decision, which was not the case.
Furthermore, the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended November 9’s
vote on November 4, but it did not declare the vote illegal, since the
suspension is an automatic mechanism that is activated when the Court
agrees to take into consideration an appeal from the Spanish Government.
Furthermore, the
Court rejected the opportunity to meet again after Tuesday’s decision
in order to give further instruction and to debate about the Catalan
Government’s appeal, while the vote was supposed to take place on Sunday.
Legal experts do not advise that the complaint be filed
Some expert voices back such views. Such is
the case of Spain’s Supreme Court Judge Margarita Robles, who, on
Tuesday, advised against taking political problems to court.
Furthermore, the Council of Catalan Lawyers also issued a statement and
considered that there are is enough evidence to launch a judicial
process against the Catalan President and Ministers. In addition,
Catalonia’s Supreme Court pointed out that they are already dealing with
12 complaints against the Catalan President for November 9’s vote,
mostly filed by political organisations. They highlighted that the
Barcelona-based Public Prosecution Office, which obeys Torres-Dulce,
will have to issue reports about such complaints and therefore it will
already have the opportunity to judicially investigate November 9’s
vote.
Political parties quarrel over the complaint
The Catalan Government and most of the
political parties based in Barcelona warned that Madrid’s pressures
seriously damage the separation of powers, which is essential in any
functional democracy. The Catalan Minister for the Presidency, Francesc
Homs, stated that the “unacceptable pressures” from the Spanish
Government also damage “the rule of law” in Spain. Furthermore, Homs
offered the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, a meeting with the
Catalan President on November 29, when he travels to Catalonia.
Meanwhile, the PP is continuing to say in
public that Torres-Dulce will find the complaint and that they are
positive that he will do his job and “honour his duty”, as the PP’s
Spokesperson at the Spanish Parliament, Alfonso Alonso, said on Tuesday.
They also added that there are “enough reasons [for Torres-Dulce] to
react”. Furthermore, the PP’s Deputy Secretary General for Organisation,
in charge of party discipline, Carlos Floriano, accused Catalonia-based
prosecutors of being “contaminated by the atmosphere of radical
secessionism” and of not acting in an objective way. Meanwhile, Floriano
denied putting any pressure on Torres-Dulce and highlighted the
“autonomy” of the Public Prosecution Office.
In addition, the Spanish Socialist Party
(PSOE) warned the PP and the Spanish Government about “taking a
political problem to courts” and they asked for “caution”. Furthermore,
they criticised to what extent the complaint can be seen as launching
“arguable and doubtful initiatives”. Once again, they urged the Spanish
Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, to negotiate with Catalan representatives
and to launch a Constitutional Reform. On top of this, the Spanish
nationalist and populist party UPyD, which tends to compare the Catalan
self-determination process with the Nazi regime, announced an additional
complaint against Mas. UPyD will file a complaint directly to
Catalonia’s Supreme Court but they asked the Public Prosecution Office
“to act at once”.
