Supreme Court's 'Grandchild Law' Scrutiny Sparks Government Outrage

The Supreme Court has requested consulates to certify the origin of nearly 150,000 individuals naturalized under the 'grandchild law,' sparking a war of words with the government.

The **Supreme Court** has focused on the granting of nationalities through the so-called ‘grandchild law’. The High Court's decision to provisionally suspend the instruction that expands this law has provoked a strong reaction from the Government, which considers that it is "undermining democracy". The **State Legal Service**, representing the Executive, has appealed the resolution, arguing that it curtails "the voting rights of hundreds of thousands of people".

## The Supreme Court's Request

The Government's argument, however, is not easily sustained. The **Supreme Court** is not denying the right to vote to Spaniards of origin or naturalized individuals without any legal doubt. What it has requested is that Spanish consulates certify that the nearly **150,000 naturalized** individuals under this law are, in fact, children or grandchildren of Spaniards who suffered exile for political, ideological, belief, or sensual identity reasons. The measure questions not so much the right to vote itself, but the validity of the nationality concession.

The Executive has argued that consulates will not be able to issue these certificates before **January 1, 2027**. Faced with this, two responses are possible. On the one hand, the State Legal Service could request an extension of the deadline from the judges to comply with the court order. On the other hand, if the naturalization files were processed correctly, the information about kinship with exiled grandparents or parents should already be documented and in the hands of the consuls.

## Suspicions of a "Loopholes"

The **Supreme Court**'s interim measure seems to have brought to light naturalization procedures that lacked the necessary legal rigor. This, in addition to generating tension within the Government, would force consuls to reconstruct incomplete files at forced pace. The Executive's reaction fuels the suspicion that the instruction approved by the then minister **Sofía Puente**, trinc higher directives, functioned as a "loophole" for obtaining nationalities, and therefore, new voters. It is not the first time that the possibility has been raised that the increase in the electoral roll is a political objective; in fact, former minister **Irene Montero** explicitly acknowledged that the mass regularization of immigrants sought to prevent a right-wing electoral victory.

While it cannot be broadly stated that all those naturalized in these circumstances would vote for the left, the main problem lies in the lack of transparency and integrity of a process that has significantly increased the number of voters without a clear link to Spain.

## Democracy According to Sánchez

It seems that the democracy that **Pedro Sánchez** defends against the **Supreme Court** is one that guarantees his prospects of remaining in Moncloa. Any other democratic manifestation, such as the separation of powers or judicial independence, is "profoundly intolerable" to him. Sánchez's so-called "political voluntarism" aspires to become the sole legitimate source of the legal order, an aspiration consistent with his proven anti-parliamentarianism and his autocratic practices, unusual in Western democracy and in the foundational values of the EU.