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12 July 2025

The Catalan Amnesty in the Spanish Constitutional Court

On 26 June 2025, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled that the Amnesty Act “for the Institutional, Political and Social Normalization in Catalonia” is constitutional. The decision appears to reflect a pragmatic rather than a principled understanding of the amnesty – in other words, it treats the amnesty as an instrument to normalise the political situation in Catalonia rather than a measure for redressing possible rights violations resulting from the criminal convictions. Continue reading >>
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06 December 2023

Rule of Law Eroded

Spain is going through turbulent times, marked by a strong political polarization and an increasingly evident decline in the rule of law due to the partisan takeover of institutions. This situation has been exacerbated by President Sánchez's investiture agreements with pro-independence parties, particularly Junts, led by the fugitive Puigdemont, who spearheaded the Catalan secessionist insurrection in the autumn of 2017. The bill grants amnesty for crimes committed in connection with secessionist efforts, including, among others, misappropriation of public funds, prevarication, and attacks against authority. The amnesty, as it currently stands, violates both the Spanish Constitution and basic tenets of the rule of law. Continue reading >>
07 February 2017

“Unrichtiges Recht” in Slovakia? The Radbruch Formula and Positive Law from the Nineties

While the Slovak Parliament might not be the most obvious place to look for a (modest) rerun of the classic legal dilemma about unjust laws, constitutional enthusiasts might want to tune in for once, as the National Council (the official name of the assembly), was in recent weeks the site of a reinvigorated effort to invalidate amnesties granted in the late 1990s by the once aspiring authoritarian Vladimír Mečiar. The government has not yet reached a consensus but the impending vote holds more promise than the previous seven attempts. Continue reading >>
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