Judge Baltasar Garzon has been cleared the Supreme Court of overstepping his authority when he ordered an investigation into crimes committed during the Franco era.
Judge Garzon had argued that such atrocities, namely crimes against humanity, could not be subject to a 1977 Amnesty covering the Franco era and that the relatives of victims, in this case 114,000, deserved justice.
The Supreme Court, in a 63-page ruling, stated that the judge had committed an error when he opened the investigation but that it did not constitute a crime. The Justices said that Garzon misinterpreted Spanish law but did not knowingly and arbitrarily violate the limits of his jurisdiction as would be required for a conviction.