Spain's contested Catalan amnesty bill comes into effect

A amnesty law for Catalan separatists, including Carles Puigdemont, came into effect in Spain, with judges now charged to apply the measure.

A controversial amnesty law for Catalan separatists involved in a botched 2017 secession bid came into effect on June 11 in Spain, with judges now charged to apply the measure.

The law, which was approved by parliament on May 30 and is expected to affect around 400 people, came into force after it was published in Spain's official gazette. The most high-profile and controversial beneficiary is Carles Puigdemont.

The former president of Catalonia led the 2017 secession drive in the wealthy northeastern region of Spain before going into self-exile in Belgium, where he has resided ever since. An amnesty would allow him to return to Spain.

Judges will have two months in which to apply it on a case by case basis.

Many judges are opposed to the amnesty and they may refer it to Spain's Constitutional Court or the European Court of Justice.

"A new battle begins," Jordi Turull, secretary general of Mr. Puigdemont's hardline separatist JxCAT party, said on X. He predicted "the application of the law" by some judges "will not be easy but sooner or later we will succeed".

Catalonia's other major separatist party, the more moderate ERC, said that around 30 of its members had applied for amnesty.