TC overturns Catalonia’s bullfighting ban

MadridMore than six years after the historic ban on bullfighting in Catalonia by the Catalan Parliament —with 68 votes in favour, 55 against and 9 abstentions— this Thursday the Spanish Constitutional Court overturned Law 28/2010, which abolished bullfighting as of 1 January 2012. The court’s Plenary Meeting decided to rule in favour of the PP’s appeal on the grounds of unconstitutionality, filed in October 2010, which argued that the ban "infringes on the state’s powers" and "restricts the rights and freedoms of its citizens." But unlike most rulings against the Catalan Parliament’s decisions, this time the decision was not made unanimously by the high court judges. Three disagreed with the ruling: the tribunal’s Vice-President, Adela Asua Batarrita, and judges Fernando Valdés Dal-Ré and Juan Antonio Xiol Ros.

Specifically, the judges have struck down Article 1 of the Catalan law since they believe that it infringes on the Spanish state’s authority in the field of culture. The ruling is based on two pieces of legislation proposed by the PP in 2012 and 2015 —which went through unopposed— which were used to declare bullfighting intangible cultural heritage.

According to legal sources, the TC’s ruling —which will be made public in several days’ time— makes it clear that Catalonia has the power to regulate public entertainment and also to protect animals, giving the example that it could impose a ban on bullfighting in order to protect animals, as in this instance. However, since bullfighting has been declared part of Spain’s cultural heritage, the high court believes that Catalonia has overstepped its powers.

The judges have thereby endorsed the declaration made by the judge and professor of civil law at the UB, Encarnación Roca, a member of the Constitutional Court, who recommended ruling in favour of the PP’s appeal. Roca believes that the Catalan Parliament has no power to ban bullfighting, but merely to regulate it. In this regard, with respect to Articles 149.1.28 and 149.2 of the Spanish Constitution, she considers that Parliament infringed on the state’s powers. Article 149.2 states "Without prejudice to the jurisdiction which may be assumed by the Autonomous Communities, the State shall consider the promotion of culture a duty and an essential function and shall facilitate cultural communication between the Autonomous Communities, in collaboration with them".

The Court’s decision

The TC considers that bullfighting is "common cultural heritage" and its regulation is the state’s responsibility.

The Partido Popular holds their position thanks to a law passed in 2015 (making use of the PP’s absolute majority in Congress), safeguarding Spain’s intangible cultural heritage. This in turn opened the door to the return of bullfighting in Catalonia. Article 11 of the law states that "guaranteeing the preservation of Spain’s intangible cultural heritage" and "encouraging and promoting the enrichment and safeguarding the access of all citizens to its various manifestations", “is within the purview of the general administration of the State".

According to jurist Carlos Soliva, the Vice-President of the Barcelona Bar Association’s Committee for the Defence of Animal Rights and a member of the Commission on Constitutional Law, the law on intangible heritage should not be able to affect Catalan legislation banning bullfighting, since it post-dates it. The TC’s legal sources consulted by ARA stated that the court always uses the existing legislation when making its decisions. They declared "it is not an issue that the Catalan law was prior to this legislation", adding that the 2013 and 2015 initiatives went unchallenged.

The Catalan government refuses to comply with the ruling

They reiterated that the Catalan Statute specifically gives the government "exclusive jurisdiction" over public performances.

The government has stated that "bullfighting will not return, whatever the TC says". The Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Josep Rull, stated that the government possesses "all the regulatory mechanisms necessary to make it impossible", and has the support of Junts pel Sí, CSQP, the PSC and the CUP. The Minister of the Presidency and government spokesperson, Neus Munté, stated two weeks ago that if the TC overturned the ban "we would immediately work to ensure the ruling had no practical effect". She went on to say [we would] "abide by the decision made by Parliament, backed by an ILP [a citizens' initiative] and overwhelming support”, adding: "under no circumstances do we wish to be a country where animals are killed or are made to suffer".

The Catalan parliament maintains that the transfer of powers over public performances includes "regulating the sector" and that this implies the possibility of banning it. It added that the 2006 Statute states that the government has "exclusive jurisdiction" over public performances and recalls that Castilla-La Mancha, for example, has also banned a form of bullfighting. Animal welfare is also the government’s sole responsibility.

PP spends six years fighting for the return of bullfighting

The high court’s decision followed an appeal to the TC, a state-wide ILP and legislation passed by Congress.

The PP has not stood idly by, hoping for the return of bullfighting to Catalonia. Since October 2010, when it filed the appeal which has now been allowed by the Constitutional Court, the PP has continued to push for measures that ensure that bullfights are once more held at Barcelona’s Monumental bullring. In 2013, thanks to an ILP endorsed by 587,000 people from across Spain, bullfights were declared of cultural interest. This is one of the pieces of legislation which the high court has taken into consideration. The PP was convinced that bullfighting would return once it became law, but it was not to be. Mariano Rajoy’s government tried once again when it passed the law to protect intangible cultural heritage in 2015.