Constitutional Court Disqualifies Magistrate José María Macías from Amnesty Law Deliberations
The Constitutional Court (TC) has officially responded to a request from the Prosecutor's Office, consenting to remove conservative block magistrate José María Macías from deliberations regarding the constitutionality of the amnesty law. Legal sources confirmed to Europa Press that the court's Plenary made this decision with a majority vote of 6 in favor and 4 against, following a disqualification incident presented by Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz.
The Attorney General's request highlighted that Macías had previously expressed opinions about the amnesty law during his tenure on the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). These statements were regarded as carrying institutional weight, which, according to the Prosecutor's claims, renders him biased against participating in TC discussions surrounding this legal matter.
The decision to disqualify Macías was made following a Plenary gathering on December 3, where the court agreed to review the disqualification with progressive magistrate Inmaculada Montalbán assigned to compile a report on the issue. Although the disqualification applies specifically to the Supreme Court's challenges regarding the amnesty law, it is expected to extend to other challenges concerning the law as the legal discourse progresses.
Possible routes are being discussed regarding how to manage Macías's disqualification. The simplest approach would allow Macías to voluntarily recuse himself from the proceedings. However, other alternatives are also being evaluated, including direct applications on the ongoing challenges regarding the amnesty without needing to disqualify Macías in those contexts.
Macías argued against his removal from the discussion, asserting that it undermines political pluralism within the TC. He claimed that the action not only jeopardizes the principles of diversity and representation within the court but also amounts to ideological manipulation by skewing the court's composition towards a more favorable outcome for certain political factions.
In Macías's written allegations, which were accessed by Europa Press, he contended that the real motive behind the disqualification was not his prior opinions, but rather the potential consequences of allowing his viewpoints to stand. Accepting such reasoning, he argued, would fundamentally contradict the principles of political pluralism that underpin the court's establishment and operations.
After the recent ruling, Macías has become the second magistrate excluded from discussions on the amnesty, following Juan Carlos Campo's decision to abstain from deliberations. Campo, having previously served as Justice Minister, expressed that the amnesty was unequivocally unconstitutional in his assessments of the pardons for those involved in the 'procés' movement.
Meanwhile, attempts by the Popular Party (PP) and regional governments led by this party to oust TC President Cándido Conde-Pumpido and progressive magistrate Laura Díez from proceedings were ultimately rejected by the court's Plenary. The Plenary also dismissed a request from the State Attorney's Office to exclude Macías from the ongoing discussions as being too late.
As this controversy unfolds, the implications of the TC's decisions on the amnesty law and the judicial system as a whole may touch upon fundamental issues of constitutional integrity and political basic principles.
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