<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>A European Commission report, released in advance by <em>El Español</em>, casts doubt on the legality and proportionality of the Amnesty Law passed in Spain, indicating that it could constitute a "self-amnesty" intended to protect certain political actors.</strong></h4> The European Commission emphasizes that "amnesty laws are exceptional measures that decriminalize acts that are normally prosecuted" and that they must respect fundamental principles such as "proportionality, legal certainty, and equality before the law." According to information published by <em>El Español</em>, the European Commission, in a report submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on December 9—although the parties involved were not able to see it until May—questions whether the Spanish Amnesty Law meets these requirements. The report states, as published by <em>El Español</em>, that "it does not appear that the Amnesty Law effectively responds to an objective of general interest recognized by the Union." In fact, it warns that this law constitutes a "self-amnesty," given that "the votes of its beneficiaries have been fundamental to its approval in the Spanish Parliament" and is part of "a political agreement to achieve the investiture of the Spanish Government," which could violate the principle of the rule of law. Brussels also criticizes the accelerated processing of the law, approved "on an urgent basis, thus avoiding important reports from advisory bodies and without public consultation." This approach has contributed, according to the report, to "deepening a deep and virulent division within the political class, institutions, the judiciary, academia, and Spanish society." Despite these tensions, the European Executive points out that the Spanish authorities "failed to heed the recommendations of the Venice Commission" to conduct dialogue "in a spirit of loyal cooperation between state institutions" and achieve "social and political reconciliation." Furthermore, it warns about the lack of clarity regarding the scope of application of the Amnesty Law, indicating that the legislator "failed to heed the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the material and temporal scope of application," which raises concerns because "it may lead to exemptions from liability for persons who normally should not be considered given the purpose of the law." The Commission also warns that the legislation imposes procedural limitations that could hinder a proper judicial assessment of the amnesty. Specifically, it notes that "an obligation imposed by national legislation on national courts to lift all interim measures before deciding whether the application of the amnesty is justified in a specific case... is incompatible with the principles of the primacy of Union law" and that, furthermore, "it imposes a mandatory two-month deadline for deciding on the application of the amnesty, which does not allow for the suspension of this deadline should the national court deem it necessary to make a request for a preliminary ruling." Following the release of this information, the European Commission warned this Tuesday that "the Commission's reports to the Court are not public" and that "the leaks are a violation of the Court's procedural rules," which "jeopardizes the serenity of judicial proceedings." Therefore, it insisted that it will not make any additional comments on the report's content so as not to interfere with the ongoing judicial proceedings. Furthermore, when asked whether it will include recommendations to amend or repeal the Amnesty Law in the next report on the rule of law in Spain, Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho declined to comment, arguing that she cannot prejudge matters that have not yet been adopted or resolved by the Court.
