ABSTRACT
The pardons were granted in the first phase of the transition, when Carlos Arias Navarro was president of a government which represented continuity with Francoism after the death of Franco, and which failed to make any significant progress towards a future democracy. But the amnesty was also extended to members of the fascist regime responsible for grave violations of human rights during the dictatorship and the transition. The international doctrine has condemned the impunity that resulted from the 1977 amnesty, as it infringes on Spain's duty to comply with international law and to investigate crimes against humanity. Spain has shielded itself behind amnesty, prescription and the ban on retroactive effects, and continues to neglect its duty to investigate, prosecute and sentence members of Francoism responsible for crimes against humanity. The Amnesty Law obstructs any civil society initiative seeking the truth, or justice after four decades of grave violations of human rights following the 1936 coup d'état against the Second Republic.
