Catalan declaration of independence

The Catalan declaration of independence (Catalan: Declaració d'independència de Catalunya) was a resolution that was passed by the Parliament of Catalonia on 27 October 2017. While the text proclaims the independence of Catalonia from Spain and the establishment of an independent Catalan Republic, the declaration itself did not receive recognition from the international community and it produced no legal effect.
On 10 October, in the aftermath of the 1 October 2017 Catalan independence referendum and a general strike on 3 October, a document declaring Catalonia to be an independent republic was signed by the members of Catalonia's pro-independence parliamentary majority. The same document was voted for on 27 October by a majority of 70 out of 135 MPs in a plenary session. 10 MPs voted against the declaration and 53 MPs refused to be present during the vote, after the legal counsels of the Catalan Parliament advised that it could not take place as the law on which it was based had been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court. On the same day, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain invoked Article 155 of the Constitution of Spain for the first time in history. This action dismissed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet, and called for fresh Catalan elections on 21 December 2017. The Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría was assigned to be the acting president of Catalonia until the December elections.
On September 6, 2017, the Catalan Parliament, amid significant controversy, passed legislation for a binding referendum on Catalan independence. This decision, supported by Junts pel Sí and the CUP representatives, faced opposition from other parties, with Catalunya Sí que es Pot abstaining. The referendum law stated that if the majority voted 'yes,' independence would be declared two days post the official result announcement, irrespective of voter turnout.
Following this, the Catalan Parliament also ratified the Legal and Foundational Transition Law of the Catalan Republic. This law was set intending to be the primary legal framework for an independent Catalonia until a republic's constitution was established, contingent upon the success of the independence movement.
However, both these laws were promptly suspended by Spain's Constitutional Court following appeals from the Spanish Government. Despite this suspension, Carles Puigdemont, the President of the Government of Catalonia, disregarded the court's decision and maintained the validity of these laws.
The suspended referendum went ahead on October 1, 2017, without legal backing. The Catalan government reported a 90% vote in favor of independence, with a 43% turnout. Independence opponents boycotted the referendum, deeming it illegal.
The referendum's legitimacy was widely disputed due to various procedural anomalies and the absence of validation by an independent entity. Reported irregularities included multiple voting instances, participation of non-citizens, transportation of unsealed ballot boxes, and last-minute changes to voting regulations. The Spanish government criticized these changes, including the acceptance of a universal census allowing voting at any center, and the use of unofficial ballots and envelope-less votes. It was also claimed by the government that this referendum was unconstitutional due to intending to attack the "unity of Spain" (reflected in article 2 of the Constitution of Spain).
Neither the Spanish Government nor the European Union acknowledged the referendum's validity, nor did any country recognize the proclaimed "Catalan Republic." An international observers' mission concluded the referendum failed to meet global standards. Additionally, a pre-referendum Metroscopia survey indicated that 61% of Catalans believed the referendum would not hold international legitimacy.
The Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia contained the provision that, in case of an outcome in favour of independence, independence was to be declared within 48 hours after all votes were counted. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont confirmed this on October 3 during an exclusive interview with the BBC, saying "we are going to declare independence 48 hours after all official results are counted". Final results were published by the Catalan government on October 6, and Puigdemont announced he would formally address the Parliament on October 10.
Puigdemont was widely expected to declare the independence of Catalonia, which led to worldwide coverage of the parliament session.
After saying that he considered the referendum valid and binding, Puigdemont chose to use the wording "I assume the mandate of the people for Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic", before adding that he would "ask Parliament to suspend the effects of the declaration of independence so that in the coming weeks we can undertake a dialogue".
The speech left observers bewildered as they struggled to understand whether Puigdemont had just declared independence. While some commentators stated that independence had just been declared and put on hold, others stated that the declaration of independence had been postponed.
After Puigdemont's speech, a document titled "Declaration from the Representatives of Catalonia" declaring Catalonia's independence was signed publicly by members of parliament belonging to pro-independence political parties in the auditorium of the Parliament. This document sought to establish Catalonia as an independent state, and called on the international community to recognize it. It was read publicly, but it was not voted on in the Catalan Parliament or published by the Catalan government's official journal.
The immediate reaction from the Spanish government was that "it was inadmissible to declare independence implicitly and suspend it explicitly". Minister of Justice Rafael Catalá called it a "non-declaration of independence".
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy gave a short news conference on the following day, giving Puigdemont five days to confirm whether he had declared Catalonia’s independence or not. Were the answer to be affirmative, the document provided another deadline ending on Thursday, October 19, allowing for Catalan authorities to rectify and prevent the application of Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which would authorize Madrid to temporarily take over Catalonia’s internal affairs.
According to Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfonso Dastis, the written declaration was legally void, as it was not voted upon and it was signed outside of a parliamentary session.
After the declaration of independence made by Carles Puigdemont, despite the lack of legal effects, the leakage of companies that decided to move their headquarters became massive. The day after the declaration of independence, the château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art announced that it was repatriating its collection of Art & Language works on loan at Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) since 2010. The fear also extended to SMEs and savers, who due to the uncertainty decided to take their money to bank offices outside Catalonia.
On 27 October 2017, a resolution based on the "Declaration of the representatives of Catalonia" declaring the independence of Catalonia was voted in the Parliament and was approved with 70 votes in favor, 10 against, and 2 blank votes. Fifty-three MPs from the opposition refused to be present during the voting after the legal services of the Catalan Parliament advised that the voting could not take place, as the law on which it was based had been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court. The two pro-independence parties, JxSí and CUP, had 72 seats, and the vote in favour of independence obtained 70.
On the evening of 27 October 2017, the Senate of Spain approved the activation of article 155 of the Spanish Constitution for Catalonia in a 214-47 vote, with one abstention. Subsequently, on 28 October, Mariano Rajoy dismissed the Executive Council of Catalonia, dissolved the Parliament of Catalonia and called a snap regional election for 21 December 2017 and handed coordination over Generalitat of Catalonia functions to Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.
On 30 October, Parliament Speaker Carme Forcadell called off a parliamentary meeting scheduled for the next day because the chamber "had been dissolved", thus acknowledging Mariano Rajoy's order. Later that day, it transpired that Puigdemont and part of his dismissed cabinet had fled to Belgium in a move to avoid action from the Spanish judiciary, as the Spanish Attorney General José Manuel Maza announced a criminal complaint against them for rebellion, sedition and embezzlement. Concurrently, lack of civil unrest and work resuming as normal throughout Catalonia showed signs that direct rule from Madrid had taken hold, with Spanish authorities reasserting administrative control over Catalan territory with little resistance.
By 31 October, the declaration of independence was fully suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain and the dismissed Catalan government accepted the elections proposed by Mariano Rajoy. Puigdemont and part of his cabinet fled to Belgium in a self-imposed exile to avoid being prosecuted by the Spanish judiciary, having been formally accused of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement by the Spanish Attorney General.
On 2 November, the judge Carmen Lamela of the Spanish National Court ordered that eight members of the deposed Catalan government including the ex-vice-president Oriol Junqueras be remanded in custody without bail. Additionally, Santi Vila, who was the Business Minister that resigned over the unilateral declaration of independence, was granted a €50,000 bail. The prosecution requested issuing European Arrest Warrants for Puigdemont and four other members who left Catalonia for Brussels shortly after the declaration.
The Catalan elections were held on 21 December and parties supporting independence again won just over half the seats with just under half of the votes cast.
On 23 March 2018, Spanish Judge Llarena jailed five more Catalan ministers. On 25 March, Puigdemont was detained in Germany but released some days later, after the state court in Schleswig rejected extraditing him for rebellion.
On 21 June 2021, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a pardon for those involved in the secession attempt. Days earlier, a poll showed that over 60% of Spaniards opposed the pardons. Sánchez said it would ease tensions with Catalonia, whose regional government welcomed Sánchez's decision.
After the 2023 general elections, in order to reach an investiture agreement between the main government candidate, PSOE, and Junts per Catalunya, the proposal to use the Amnesty Law was presented with the intention of "pursuing full political normality, institutional and social as an essential requirement to address the challenges of the immediate future". This law affects all those responsible (both politicians and civil participants) who, after the 2014 consultation and the 2017 referendum, have been the subject of decisions or judicial processes linked to these events. However, one of the articles of the agreement leaves out of the amnesty those consequences that "have already been declared by virtue of a final and executed administrative ruling or resolution".
The proposal of this law was the cause of constant protests, mainly in the capital during the months following the law proposal, where thousands of citizens expressed their discontent with the agreement presented between the two parties. The social rejection of this agreement was based mainly on the acquittal of the politicians involved in the Procès Trial and the forgiveness of the debt caused during these events between the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Spain (central government). The forgiven debt reflects nearly 15,000 million euros of a total debt of 71,306 million that the Catalan administration maintains with the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA).
Catalan independence has received no recognition from any sovereign nation. However, the partially recognized, non-UN-member states Abkhazia and South Ossetia claimed they were willing to offer formal recognition should they receive a request to do so from the Catalan government.