politics
TC suspends Catalan social laws
Spain's constitutional high court, the Tribunal Constitucional (TC), yesterday issued sentences suspending Catalan legislation establishing measures to remedy two serious consequences of the economic crisis: mortgage debt and energy poverty. The TC also provisionally suspended legislation regulating the location of shopping centres outside urban areas. In each case, the sentences uphold appeals by the PP central government. The suspended Codi de Consum was passed by the Catalan parliament as a decree on the back of similar legislation, while the housing law introduced measures to avoid abusive clauses in loans and to foster the resolution of conflicts outside court. As for the law on energy poverty, the legislation aimed to prevent disadvantage people having their power cut off.