Spain's Constitutional Court has suspended Catalonia's planned independence referendum.
The court said it first needed to consider arguments whether the 9 November vote breached the country's constitution.
It acted on a request from the Spanish central government in Madrid.
The leader of Catalonia, Artur Mas, signed a decree on Saturday calling for the referendum. Many in the wealthy north-eastern Spanish region back him.
But Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told reporters that the vote was not "compatible with the Spanish constitution".
