Op-Ed: “MEP Immunity and the Junqueras Conundrum” by Daniel Sarmiento

In late 2019, the Court of Justice delivered its ruling in the much-anticipated Junqueras case, further to a request for a preliminary reference made by the Spanish Supreme Court. The question at issue was essentially at what moment in time does an MEP start to enjoy the immunities provided in Protocol nº 7. Did Mr Junqueras’s immunity become effective at the time the election results were declared, or after national measures had been complied with - which included, inter alia, taking an oath of office before the electoral commission?

Oriol Junqueras is the leader of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), the leading Catalan pro-independence party, and he was Vice-President of the Catalan regional government prior to the suspens