Spain Creates Anti-Independence Task Force

According to the front page of Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the Spanish government has put together a special task force in order to stop the Catalan independence process. Its main goal will be to analyse the different legal alternatives to be used to stop Catalans from deciding on their own political future.

This task force would have been created by special request of the Spanish Minister of Justice, Mr Alterto Ruiz-Gallardón, who is also coordinating a strategy against the Catalan independence process.

The task force will be joined by, among others, Mr. Eduardo Torres-Dulce, Spain's Attorney General, Ms. Marta Silva, lawyer and Ministry of Interior representative.

The office of the Attorney General office would take care of writing down the initial document, which could include the possible legal answer to the Catalan independence process.

According evidence from government sources, which would have been gathered by the newspaper Unidad Editorial, the office of the Attorney General is weighing the different options from a constitutional and administrative point of view, while the Public Prosecution Office is dealing with the announcement of a referendum of self-determination from a criminal point of view.

The Spanish government would like to study other ways of using the penal law in order to consider it as a criminal offense of disobedience. According to the law if an authority or a government employee openly refuses to obey a judge’s resolution or an order from high authorities, which have been pronounced with all legal formalities, this would be punishable with a fine between three and twelve months of jail as well as a disqualification for holding a public office of between six months and two years.

The Catalan referendum could be taken to the Constitutional Court in order to declare it unconstitutional, and then Catalan Parliament would be asked to cancel it. If they refuse, the Attorney General would start a criminal lawsuit against the president of the Catalan government accusing him of committing a criminal offence of disobedience.

They are also considering the possibility of declaring unconstitutional the Catalan Law of Plebiscite approved by the Catalan Parliament. Furthermore, according to article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, the Spanish government could also take measures against the Catalan president for breaching the constitution as well as asking the Senate to disqualify him as the president of Catalonia's government.