Overview

• Carles Puigdemont filed a recusation against magistrates Concepción Espejel, Enrique Arnaldo and José María Macías the day before the plenary was set to take up his case.
• Court sources say the challenge freezes the planned admission of his amparo appeal and is expected to delay progress by at least a month, likely pushing any action into October.
• The plenary had been poised to admit his appeal and to reject an emergency bid to halt his arrest warrant, steps that are now on hold.
• The Constitutional Court will continue with related amparos from ex-councillors Lluís Puig and Toni Comín, as the recusation affects only Puigdemont’s case; the incident has been assigned to magistrate Laura Díez.
• Puigdemont’s lawyer argues the warrant lacks a firm conviction as a basis, while the court plans to resolve other ‘procés’ appeals by late 2025 or early 2026 and is awaiting guidance from the EU Court of Justice.