The plenary session of the Constitutional Court has opened the door for the conservative José María Macías to be excluded from all appeals and challenges presented against the amnesty law for his activism against the norm when he was a member of the Judiciary. The progressive majority of the plenary session has accepted the request of the Prosecutor’s Office to remove Macías from the question of unconstitutionality that the Supreme Court presented against the law of pardon of the process, while still being the speaker of the key deliberation: the appeal presented by the PP against the amnesty and that covers most of its articles.
The order understands that the role that Macías played in preparing reports against this norm when he was a member of the CGPJ represented a “direct or indirect participation in the matter that is the subject of the lawsuit and cause.” At that time, in addition, Macías could “have knowledge of the subject of the litigation and form opinions to the detriment of due impartiality.” The four judges from the conservative sector, excluding Macías himself, have announced dissenting votes against this decision.
The plenary vote implies that the Constitutional Court will face the debate on the Supreme Court’s challenge against the amnesty with a large majority of the progressive sector. After the abstention of Juan Carlos Campo and the recusal of José María Macías, the arithmetic leaves six progressives and four conservatives.
José María Macías is the latest addition to the Constitutional Court after spending almost a decade as a member of the General Council of the Judiciary. During his time in the governing body of judges, he led a group of conservative members who actively opposed, among other Government measures, the amnesty law. He was also part of the group that blocked for months one of the partial renewals of the Constitutional Court in which he now works.
The Prosecutor’s Office, supported by the State Attorney’s Office, used precisely this active opposition to Macías’ law to question whether it could be part of the deliberations on the amnesty once appointed Constitutional magistrate. He had, according to the Public Ministry, “direct participation” in “official actions” against the law, for example by preparing a contrary report. For the moment, Macías has refused to deviate from these resources.
The decision of the plenary session, pending to know if it extends to other resources, affects the question of unconstitutionality presented by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court against the amnesty. For the moment, Macías continues to be the speaker of the most important appeal of the more than 20 that the Constitutional Court handles against the amnesty of the Catalan process: the one presented by the Popular Party.
The last few months have resolved practically all the abstentions and challenges raised in the appeals presented against the amnesty. The plenary session accepted the abstention presented by Juan Carlos Campo himself, former Minister of Justice with Pedro Sánchez, when explaining that his activity in the Government during the processing of the pardons for the leaders of the process could contaminate his image of impartiality. He later rejected the challenges presented against two more members of the progressive sector: President Cándido Conde-Pumpido and Laura Díez.
Source: www.eldiario.es
