Can Puigdemont Be Amnestied? The Judge Says No... for Now

Key vocabulary

• amnistiarv.

  to amnesty, to pardon

  “El juez no quiere amnistiar a Puigdemont.”— The judge does not want to amnesty Puigdemont.

  Pattern amnistiar a alguien — to grant amnesty to someone

  Compare perdonar (to forgive/pardon)

  Conjugation: amnistío, amnistías, amnistía

  💡 From Greek amnēstia, meaning 'forgetting'; in political contexts it often refers to the pardon of political prisoners.

• juezm./f.

  judge

  “El juez Llarena rechaza la amnistía.”— Judge Llarena rejects the amnesty.

  Pattern el juez del Tribunal Supremo — Supreme Court judge

  Compare magistrado (judge/magistrate)

  Plural: jueces

  💡 juez has the same form for masculine and feminine; a female judge can also be called jueza.

• Constitucionaladj./m.

  constitutional; Constitutional Court

  “Habrá que esperar al Constitucional.”— We will have to wait for the Constitutional Court.

  Pattern el Tribunal Constitucional — Constitutional Court

  Plural: constitucionales

  💡 In Spanish political news, capitalized Constitucional often refers to the Constitutional Court.

• sentenciaf.

  sentence, ruling

  “La sentencia del TJUE no cambia la interpretación.”— The CJEU ruling does not change the interpretation.

  Pattern la sentencia del TJUE — the CJEU judgment

  Compare fallo (ruling)

  Plural: sentencias

  💡 From Latin sententia, cognate with English sentence (sentence/judgment).

• malversaciónf.

  embezzlement, misappropriation

  “El Supremo excluyó la malversación de la amnistía.”— The Supreme Court excluded embezzlement from the amnesty.

  Pattern malversación de fondos públicos — embezzlement of public funds

  Compare corrupción (corruption)

  Plural: malversaciones

  💡 mal (bad) + versar (to handle), meaning 'improper handling of funds'.

• beneficiom.

  benefit, profit

  “El Supremo habla de beneficio personal.”— The Supreme Court speaks of personal benefit.

  Pattern beneficio personal — personal benefit

  Compare ganancia (profit)

  Plural: beneficios

  💡 From Latin beneficium, cognate with English benefit.

• detenciónf.

  arrest, detention

  “Las órdenes de detención siguen en vigor.”— The arrest orders remain in force.

  Pattern orden de detención — arrest warrant

  Compare arresto (arrest)

  Plural: detenciones

  💡 From the verb detener (to detain); note the distinction from detención.

• definitivoadj.

  definitive, final

  “Su decisión no es definitiva.”— His decision is not final.

  Pattern decisión definitiva — final decision

  Compare final (final)

  Feminine: definitiva; plural: definitivos/definitivas

  💡 The adverb definitivamente means 'finally/definitely'.

Grammar spotlight

Sentence patterns to steal

• El juez Llarena no quiere amnistiar a Puigdemont todavía.

  Judge Llarena does not want to amnesty Puigdemont yet.

  subject + no quiere + infinitive + todavíaYou can replace the subject and verb: El gobierno no quiere cambiar la ley todavía.

• Las órdenes de detención siguen en vigor.

  The arrest warrants remain in force.

  subject + seguir en vigorYou can replace the subject: La ley sigue en vigor. / Las normas siguen en vigor.

• Habrá que esperar al Constitucional.

  It will be necessary to wait for the Constitutional Court.

  Habrá que + infinitive + a + place/personYou can replace the verb and object: Habrá que hablar con el juez.