Overview

• Carles Puigdemont has lodged an amparo appeal with Spain’s Constitutional Court over Judge Pablo Llarena’s refusal to apply the 2023 Catalan amnesty to his malversación charge.
• His legal team urges the court to provisionally lift the national arrest and detention order to avert irreparable harm if relief is granted.
• The appeal asserts that Llarena’s decision has directly violated numerous constitutional rights, including personal liberty, political participation, and access to a predetermined judge.
• The Supreme Court excluded embezzlement from the amnesty on the basis of alleged personal enrichment, even though no diverted funds reached Puigdemont’s own accounts.
• The outcome will shape the limits of judicial competence under the amnesty law and may influence Spain–Catalonia reconciliation and EU rule-of-law scrutiny.