Spain's central authorities in Madrid have already asked the country's constitutional court to punish members of the regional parliament for allowing the vote, and have vowed to strike down the "referendum law" for the northeastern region as soon as it's passed. The country's Constitutional Court, Spain's highest legal authority on such matters, suspended the referendum law late on Thursday to allow judges time to consider whether the vote breaches the country's constitution. The Catalan government has voted in favour of a law to formalise the independence referendum of 1 October and the Spanish government says the new law is illegal, explains Steven Trypsteen, Economist at ING. PM Mariano Rajoy said he had appealed to the court to declare the referendum illegal, describing the law as an "intolerable act of disobedience". Spain's wealthy north-eastern region already has autonomous powers but the regional government says it has popular support for full secession. The plenary meeting of Catalonia's parliament was halted twice because opposition lawmakers challenged the decision by a pro-independence majority to introduce the bill without allowing it to be vetted by a legal committee for clashes with Spain's constitutional laws.
Spain's Constitutional Court suspends the Catalan Parliament's independence referendum law to give the court time to consider whether the vote would breach the country's constitution.