The defence of former Spanish transport minister José Luis Ábalos has filed a constitutional complaint with the Tribunal Constitucional seeking to overturn the ruling of the Tribunal Supremo in the case known as the Spain in caso Mascarillas proceedings. According to the defence, the Supreme Court no longer had jurisdiction because Ábalos had given up his parliamentary seat before the key preliminary hearing. This meant that his special legal status had ended and the case should have been heard by the Audiencia Nacional court.
Specifically, the filing alleges a breach of the right to a lawful judge and the right to an effective review of the conviction. The lawyers argue that the Tribunal Supremo ruled as the sole instance, without any appeal on the merits being possible. This was permissible only while the special legal status remained in force. Since it ended when he lost his parliamentary seat, the case should have been transferred to the ordinary courts.
The complaint’s other main point concerns the assessment of evidence. The conviction relied to a significant extent on testimony from the businessman Víctor de Aldama, whom the defence describes as a co-defendant cooperating with the authorities. The complaint argues that his statements were not sufficiently corroborated by independent evidence. The case concerns procurement deals concluded during the pandemic involving intermediary and commission payments; the defence disputes the inference of criminal conduct by Ábalos based on this testimony.
The Tribunal Supremo sentenced Ábalos to 24 years in prison. The ruling had already sparked wide-ranging political debate about the scope and limits of special legal status. The constitutional complaint now filed focuses explicitly on jurisdiction and fair-trial guarantees, rather than political assessments. The Tribunal Constitucional examines constitutional complaints; it does not rehear the facts, but can overturn rulings for breaches of fundamental rights and refer cases back to the competent court.
If the Tribunal Constitucional upholds the complaint, jurisdiction would have to be determined again and the case could be taken over by the Audiencia Nacional. The conviction remains formally in force until a decision is made. The parties expect a multi-stage review, in which the Constitutional Court will first decide whether to admit the complaint and only then rule on its merits.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).