The Tribunal Constitucional on 22 September 2026 rejected the existing draft (Ponencia) on the application of the Ley de Amnistía to the offence of Malversación and scheduled a plenary session for 6 October 2026 . This brings closer a clarifying decision on the scope of the amnesty in connection with the so-called procés. According to sources close to the court, the plenary will consider a new version capable of securing a majority. No formal decision has yet been made.
The criminal procedural position remains unchanged for now: on 15 September 2026, the investigating judge at the Tribunal Supremo, Pablo Llarenadecided to uphold the national arrest warrant against Carles Puigdemont As of 27 September 2026, the warrant remains in force. If the Tribunal Constitucional plenary on 6 October confirms an interpretation in favour of amnesty, the Tribunal Supremo would have to apply the Constitutional Court’s instructions. Such a ruling could subsequently make it possible to lift the arrest warrant. The timing of any subsequent rulings remains unclear.
The immediate context is two dated judicial steps: the Constitutional Court’s vote on 22 September 2026 and the Tribunal Supremo’s earlier ruling of 15 September 2026. Both decisions have been communicated publicly. By scheduling the plenary, the Constitutional Court has clarified the next stage of proceedings to examine constitutional appeals against the interpretation of the Ley de Amnistía. The highest criminal court has made clear that it will stand by its existing rulings until the Constitutional Court provides clarification.
A possible lifting of the arrest warrant would have an immediate political impact: Carles Puigdemont could move freely in Spain. Internal party debates in Catalonia and reactions in Madrid are described in media reports as likely; however, they depend on the precise content and reasoning of the forthcoming plenary ruling. Any statements about a return date remain speculative until a legally binding decision by the Tribunal Constitucional and subsequent implementation by the Tribunal Supremo.
What is clear, then, is that only the plenary session on 6 October 2026 will decide whether the amnesty applies to the offence of Malversación. Until then, the arrest warrant remains in force. Everything else depends on the written version of the Constitutional Court ruling and the subsequent steps at the Tribunal Supremo.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).