2024 Spanish Amnesty Law

The 2024 Spanish Amnesty Law (officially, the Organic Law 1/2024, of 10 June, of amnesty for the institutional, political, and social normalization in Catalonia) is an organic law of Spain that was approved on 30 May 2024 and entered into force on 11 June, the same day of its publication in the Official State Gazette.^[1][2][3][4] It was registered as a bill in the Congress of Deputies on 13 November 2023 by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) with support from Sumar, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Junts, EH Bildu, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG).^[5] The initiative derived from investiture agreements between the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, and between PSOE and Together for Catalunya (Junts), formalized on 2 and 9 November 2023, respectively.^[6][7][8][9]

The law grants amnesty for legal proceedings and convictions connected to events arising from the Catalan independence process (“procés”), including the consultation of 9 November 2014, the independence referendum of 1 October 2017—declared unlawful by Spain’s Constitutional Court—and the subsequent unilateral declaration of independence. ^[8][9]

Upon presentation of the bill to the media, acting Minister of the Presidency Félix Bolaños described it as “deeply constitutional,” intended to “guarantee political coexistence” and “heal wounds,” and stated that it had the backing of 178 deputies—those from the parliamentary groups committed to supporting Pedro Sánchez’s investiture, except Coalición Canaria.^[10][11] The People’s Party (PP) and Vox stated their opposition, arguing that the measure contravened the Constitution, the rule of law, and the separation of powers. On 12 November 2023, the PP organized demonstrations in Spain’s fifty provincial capitals and in Ceuta and Melilla, reported to have drawn hundreds of thousands of participants.^[12] Vox also promoted repeated rallies outside the PSOE headquarters on Calle Ferraz in Madrid; press accounts noted the presence of Francoist symbols and slogans, and police intervened on multiple occasions, including the night of 12 November.

The amnesty law was key in securing the support of Together for Catalonia's 7 MPs to Pedro Sánchez's investiture to a third term as prime minister of Spain following the 2023 Spanish general election and the ensuing government formation negotiations.^[13][14][15] The law proposal sparked numerous protests across the streets.^[16][17][18]

On 26 June 2025, the Constitutional Court of Spain dismissed the appeal filed by the opposition People's Party (PP) and declared the law fully constitutional by six votes to four.^[19]

On 22 June 2021, the coalition government of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and supported in parliament by fifteen deputies of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), granted pardons to those convicted in the trial of the procés, including ERC president Oriol Junqueras, who had been imprisoned for more than three years.^[20] Following the announcement, the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès (ERC), delivered an institutional statement reiterating demands for amnesty and a self-determination referendum, stating that it was “time to put an end to repression” and that the pardons “help to generate credibility on the path to negotiation,” which he characterized as an implicit recognition that the convictions were unjust.^[21] Junts parliamentary spokesperson Mònica Sales expressed skepticism about dialogue with the central government and rejected the view that the pardons strengthened prospects for negotiation.^[21]

On 13 June 2021, demonstrations were held in Madrid’s Plaza de Colón against the anticipated pardons. Leaders of Vox (Santiago Abascal), the People’s Party (Pablo Casado), and Ciudadanos (Albert Rivera) attended separately to avoid repeating the previous year’s “Colón photo.”^[22] Rosa Díez, head of Unión 78, the organizing platform, stated that the government of Pedro Sánchez constituted “an exclusionary, sectarian, and dangerous power” and would violate the Constitution if it granted pardons to “criminals.” Writer Andrés Trapiello read a manifesto describing the government as “inept, parasitic, and authoritarian” and the potential pardons as a “serious attack” on democracy.^[23]

On 23 June 2021, the nine convicted leaders of the procés were released from prison, carrying a banner reading “Freedom for Catalonia” and an estelada flag. Some described the pardons as insufficient and called for an amnesty. The pardons did not lift the disqualification penalties, which continued to bar them from public office for the duration of the original terms.^[24] At the time, the prime minister and officials of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party stated that neither an amnesty nor a self-determination referendum was compatible with the Constitution.

On 11 November 2022, the parliamentary groups of the PSOE and Unidas Podemos introduced a bill to repeal the offence of sedition (maximum penalty of 15 years) and replace it with aggravated public disorder (maximum of five years), and to reduce penalties for embezzlement when committed without personal gain to a maximum of four years (previously twelve).\[20]\[21] These offences formed the basis of convictions for leaders who remained in Spain and charges against those who left the country.^[25][26] Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the proposals as “risky” but necessary to address the territorial conflict in Catalonia.^[27] Processed under the urgent procedure, the bill was debated and approved by the Congress of Deputies on 15 December 2022; during the session the People’s Party filed a recurso de amparo with the Constitutional Court seeking suspension of the sitting, a decision the court deferred until 19 December.^[28][29]

On 22 December 2022, the Senate ratified the reform approved by the Congress of Deputies. During the debate, Socialist spokesperson José María Oleaga stated that the amendments sought to align Spanish criminal law with other European jurisdictions and to promote coexistence and reconciliation in Catalonia. People’s Party spokesperson Javier Maroto criticized the reform, urged PSOE senators to break party discipline, and accused Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of reneging on campaign commitments while affirming Sánchez’s democratic legitimacy. The debate also highlighted divisions within the pro-independence camp: Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya supported the reform—Mireia Cortès argued it reduced the state’s punitive capacity—while Junts opposed it, contending that support would imply acknowledging the illegality of the 2017 secessionist challenge.^[27]