Spain’s constitutional court has struck down the Catalan parliament’s motion to begin the process of secession, ruling in record time that the legislation infringes on the constitution.

The motion, passed by separatist MPs in the regional parliament in early November, aimed to chart the process of independence for the north-eastern region. The legislation pledged a “disconnection from the Spanish state” to establish a Catalan republic, putting separatists on a collision course with the central government.

Reaction was swift from the central government, which challenged the legislation in Spain’s constitutional court within days. The central government argued that Catalan MPs from the pro-independence Together for Yes coalition and the smaller, far-left Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) had overstepped the region’s boundaries. The legislation was automatically suspended while the court heard the challenge.

On Wednesday, the court said its 11 magistrates had unanimously decided that the legislation “ignores and infringes” on the rules laid out in the 1978 constitution. “The principle of democracy cannot be considered to be separate from the unconditional primacy of the constitution,” the court said in its decision, noting that the motion violated five articles of the constitution as well as two articles from Catalonia’s statute.

While the court had earlier warned Catalan MPs that they could face criminal charges if they defied the court’s order, Wednesday’s decision made no mention of this.

The decision was hailed by Spain’s conservative prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, who said: “This makes the majority of Spaniards who believe in Spain, in national sovereignty and in the equality of all very happy.”

With just weeks left before Spaniards vote in one of the country’s tightest elections in years, Rajoy has sought to present his People’s party as the best guarantor of the country’s sovereignty. He noted that the court had revoked the legislation entirely. “With this decision, the court demonstrated that all Spaniards are equal before the law and nobody is above anyone else,” he said.

The decision was one of the quickest in the court’s history, coming three weeks after the central government lodged its appeal. While the court said the “constitutional transcendence” of the issue had made it a priority, media in Spain suggested it had sought to sideline the issue before the formal campaign for the country’s general election begins on Friday.

The controversial legislation was the first act of the acting Catalan parliament after September’s regional elections, billed as a de facto plebiscite on independence. Pushed forward by separatists who garnered a majority of seats but just 48% of the vote, the motion called for further laws to establish an independent social security system and tax authority within the next 30 days and specified that the regional parliament was no longer bound by decisions made by institutions of the Spanish state.

On Wednesday, the acting Catalan government said the court’s decision would have little effect on curbing the political will of the regional parliament. “We will continue with the political will of the declaration approved by an absolute majority in our legally elected parliament,” said Neus Munté, the vice-president of the Catalan government. “The political will expressed by the parliament won’t stop.”

Earlier in the day, Spain’s national court said it was investigating two Catalan towns over possible crimes against the state after both passed motions supporting the independence resolution.



Since the regional election, separatists in the north-eastern region have struggled to form a government. The elections left the Together for Yes coalition with 62 seats in the 135-seat parliament and far-left pro-independence CUP with 10 seats, paving the way for a potential alliance to form a majority.



But CUP has so far refused to back Artur Mas as leader, pointing to austerity measures implemented by his centre-right government and several corruption scandals linked to his party. After rejecting Mas’s candidacy twice last month, CUP said this week it would reach a final decision by 27 December.

The regional parliament has until 9 January to form a government or new elections must be called.