Puigdemont's brief to the Supreme Court

Carles Puigdemont, former president of the Generalitat and leader of Junts, has asked the Tribunal Supremo to apply the amnesty law to him 'sin más demora', or without further delay. The brief, a 14-page document filed on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, was prepared by his lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, and was seen by El Periódico and Europa Press. It falls within the five-day window the Supreme Court gave the parties to respond after receiving the Constitutional Court's judgment.

The charge still pending against him is embezzlement (malversación), because he was never tried after fleeing justice following the illegal referendum of 1 October 2017. His defence asks judge Pablo Llarena to declare the pretrial file closed and to send the case to the criminal chamber, so that his criminal liability can be extinguished and the case dismissed. It also asks that the national arrest and prison warrants, which Llarena left provisionally without effect, be lifted definitively, along with any other precautionary measures.

The brief argues that a prompt application would serve the purpose of the law.

“The law pursues institutional, political and social normalization in Catalonia, an aim whose legitimacy the Constitutional Court has recognized.”

Tribunal de Cuentas applies the amnesty

On the same day, the Tribunal de Cuentas decided to apply the amnesty in its case over spending linked to the procés, covering Puigdemont and about thirty other defendants. The court found that it had not been shown the money came from public funds drawn from the European Union budget. El Mundo, which accessed the ruling after it was notified to the parties, reports that the Generalitat had guaranteed more than 400,000 euros each for Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras and up to 23 other leaders or officials. The Institut Català de Finances granted those guarantees, which kept the court from seizing the leaders' assets in advance.

The guarantees were first granted under Pere Aragonès, who led a coalition of Esquerra and Junts, and were kept in place by Salvador Illa. El Mundo reports that the 4.3 million euros in guarantees will not be repaid, because the amnesty means the defendants do not have to return the money.

The largest guarantee went to Albert Royo, secretary general of Diplocat, at more than 846,000 euros, followed by Francesc Homs at 655,000 euros. Artur Mas and Andreu Mas Colell were each guaranteed 590,000 euros.

Albert Royo846,000

Francesc Homs655,000

Artur Mas590,000

Andreu Mas Colell590,000

Albert Royo

846000 euros

Francesc Homs

655000 euros

Artur Mas

590000 euros

Andreu Mas Colell

590000 euros

Data from the article text

Constitutional ruling and the repeal debate

The Constitutional Court ruled on 6 October 2026 that the amnesty law fits the Constitution, rejecting the reservations the Supreme Court had raised. It concluded that the Supreme Court had wrongly interpreted the law's exception for embezzlement, and the Supreme Court had held up the amnesty's application for nearly three years. Puigdemont appealed Llarena's refusal to amnesty him on 18 September, and his brief says it does not renounce that appeal or other internal or international remedies.

Speaking at a Foros de Vanguardia event organized by the Godó group, Constitutional Court president Cándido Conde-Pumpido responded to PP and Vox plans to repeal the law. He said a repeal would have no consequences for those already covered by it.

“All laws can be repealed, but the effect of a repeal can never be retroactive.”

He said the ruling clears the way for the return of Puigdemont and former councillors Toni Comín and Lluís Puig, and that the Supreme Court should apply the law and close the case. He would not set a date for the Supreme Court's decision but said it would not take long.

“It is a matter of weeks, but each court has its own pace.”

How the Tribunal de Cuentas case shrank

The case began after Catalan autonomy was suspended under article 155 of the Constitution. El País reports that first rough calculations put the public money the Generalitat under Puigdemont had spent at more than 70 million euros, while the prosecutors sought 30 years in prison through the criminal route. The claims fell to 5.4 million euros in 2021, when the court had a progressive majority, and to 3.4 million a year later, when prosecutors filed their conclusions. El País ties the reduction to a change in method, since the first approach counted any sum linked to independence aims. Councillor Elena Hernáez, appointed on a PP proposal, ran the file and decided to challenge the amnesty law before the Court of Justice of the European Union.