The Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña ruled on 3 September 2026 that the amnesty would not apply to the former senior officials of the Generalitat and politicians from Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Josep Maria Jové and Lluís Salvadó. The court also upheld the preliminary reference questions it had already submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union . The decision was made public on 4 September.
The ruling shows that considerations from Luxembourg address some of the Catalan court’s doubts, but do not answer all the specific points raised. While these questions remain open, the chamber sees no basis for immediately terminating the proceedings under the amnesty law. This means that the need for clarification referred by Catalonia to the Court of Justice of the European Union remains.
Jové and Salvadó are being prosecuted in connection with the referendum of 1 October 2017 including on suspicion of misappropriating public funds. The court’s assessment concerns, in particular, whether national amnesty rules are compatible with EU requirements in situations where the European Union’s budgetary interests or principles of EU law may be affected. The Catalan court had already submitted preliminary reference questions on this matter in 2024, and these will not now be withdrawn.
The decision has immediate procedural consequences: the proceedings against Jové and Salvadó will not be terminated, and measures already ordered will remain in place until the Court of Justice of the European Union clarifies the outstanding points or provides further guidance. Politically, the ruling sharpens the debate over the scope and limits of the amnesty law, between its application domestically and oversight under EU law. Supporters of independence see this as a delay to the detriment of those affected; those on the opposing side stress the need for what they consider to be a required assessment under European law.
Statements by the defence that a swift ruling from Luxembourg should be sought should be understood as announcements; they say nothing about when the Court might respond. Regardless, the Amnesty Law remains in force as such; in the proceedings concerning Jové and Salvadó, however, its specific application still depends on the outstanding clarification under EU law.
The case is pivotal for Catalonia because it shapes the judicial approach to acts related to 1 October 2017 and highlights the practical interface between national legislation and European law.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).