Clock stopped in wait for Tribunal

The Catalan parliament’s legal counsel are of the opinion that at the present moment Parliament is in a situation of institutional “hiatus” which may not be considered “indefinite” but rather “temporary” and indicates mechanisms to enable the legislature to begin. The key lies with the Constitutional Court (TC), the Speaker of the House Roger Torrent, and in the long run, the parliamentary groups themselves.

The cause of the current state of paralysis, according to the report, in which there was some dissent as to unsolicited opinions being included, is the postponement of the plenary session called for January 30 because of the appeal filed by the Rajoy government against investing Carles Puigdemont as President of the Generalitat. Prior to proceeding with the appeal, the TC announced measures to stop the vote and Torrent was forced to postpone the investiture. The situation remains in a legal limbo, but as the measures are provisional, the postponement is a period of waiting for allegations to be made before the TC by all parties concerned, including Parliament. Lawyers must file these by February 15.

At present the outcome is anyone’s guess and therefore parliamentary counsel has offered two alternatives which could unblock the situation. Both place the burden once again on Torrent.

One possibility is for the Speaker to call the groups together and announce that in his opinion an investiture is impossible and begin another round of consultations to decide on a candidate to propose to the House.

The second option is that if all else fails and the impasse continues both here and in Madrid, the Speaker could solicit a second opinion from counsel on the viability of dissolving Parliament and calling new elections.