News

The Catalan Ombudsman investigates if the Prosecutor's Office may have transgressed the legal framework in force in the recent proceedings

The Ombudsman of Catalonia highlighted this Tuesday, September 26^th, that anyone with complaints or queries related to political events in recent days can file them through www.sindic.cat or at the Ombudsman’s headquarters (pg. de Lluís Companys, 7, Barcelona). 

Rafael Ribó recalled that, in accordance with article 78 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, the Ombudsman office is performing its duties to guarantee the rights and freedoms in Catalonia. In this regard, he clarified that he will attend to all complaints from public offices that consider that the guidelines they receive, also by public offices, may result in maladministration.

The Catalan Ombudsman also issued a statement in which he questions the actions of the Public Prosecutor of Catalonia in recent events and advances that he is investigating if the Prosecutor’s Office may have transgressed the legal framework in force.

As explained in the statement, the Prosecutor's Office is performing functions that go beyond its powers. In this same sense, according to the Catalan Ombudsman, the prosecutor's instruction intends to play a "coordination" role. "Coordinating" and "directing", however, are not equivalent functions, as established by a very broad doctrine of the Constitutional Court itself. And in no case would it be justified that the security and public order should remain at the orders of the Spanish Ministry of Internal Affairs by decision of a prosecutor, instead of the Catalan Ministry of Internal Affairs, who has this competence.

Finally, he has questioned the use of the criminal way by the Public Prosecutor's Office to punish conducts that are not criminal.

Back