Congress debates this week a reform of the PNV on the CNI law and its judicial control

In the government control session on April 27, after the spying scandal on pro-independence leaders broke out with Pegasus, the PNV spokesman, Aitor Esteban, asked the Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, what law prevented her from giving out data on the use of spyware by the State.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
10 December 2022 Saturday 21:31
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Congress debates this week a reform of the PNV on the CNI law and its judicial control

In the government control session on April 27, after the spying scandal on pro-independence leaders broke out with Pegasus, the PNV spokesman, Aitor Esteban, asked the Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, what law prevented her from giving out data on the use of spyware by the State. “If this is the case – which I don't think so – we would be facing parameters more typical of Moscow than of Madrid”.

The head of Defense hid behind the secrecy required by the law of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), but threw a dart at the deputy: "I am not aware that you have requested any modification of the law since 2002." The two laws that the nationalists intend to reform date from that year, in which they were approved in response to the case of illegal wiretapping of the Higher Defense Information Center (Cesid).

Weeks after that scuffle between Esteban and Robles, the Basque nationalists presented a bill to modify the two rules that regulate the CNI and its prior judicial control. This week –seven and a half months later– the initiative reaches the plenary session in search of its first green light with two main star measures: the director of the Spanish spies would be appointed by the President of the Government –and not by the Defense Minister– and It must be three judges –and not one– who authorize, for example, the interventions of the communications.

The head that claimed the Pegasus case was the then director of the CNI, Paz Esteban, after she recognized, in the Official Secrets Commission, the espionage of twenty independentistas, including the current president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès . The PNV proposal seeks to elevate political responsibility by granting the responsibility of appointing the head of the CNI to the President of the Government by royal decree. The mandate, if the reform prospers, would continue to be five years. With the current legislation in hand, it was Robles who appointed what was his number two in Defense, Esperanza Casteleiro, as the new director.

As for the judicial control to which the activities of the CNI are subject, it would be a collegiate body made up of three magistrates of the Supreme Court who, unanimously, would agree, through a reasoned resolution, whether or not to grant the requested authorization. A more guaranteed formula when making drastic decisions. But without a doubt, the novelty would lie in the fact that the director of the CNI should specify, in said request, "the means and resources to be used, detailing their specific characteristics, for their consideration from the principle of proportionality." This is: name and surname of the spyware to use.

It would not be enough to name the media – in the case of intercepting communications – generic, as was done in the petitions to spy on the pro-independence leaders whose mobile phones were infected with the highly invasive spyware developed by the Israeli cybernetic firm NSO. “It is very difficult for me to think that a judge with exact and concrete knowledge of what Pegasus means – and to what extent he can absolutely control a person's movements – would authorize it. Or do it so easily”, explained Aitor Esteban. “It is a dubious medium for a democratic state,” he added.

Along the same lines, but in the political arena, it is proposed that the congressional committee in which these matters are addressed –behind closed doors– can learn about the means through which those interventions that have received the pertinent judicial authorization are produced. .

The reform also includes a point whereby the three Supreme Court magistrates should be informed by the director of the CNI of the degree of execution of each authorization so that they can ensure their adequacy to the content thereof.

On Tuesday the plenary session will begin in Congress with the consideration of this proposal. If it passes the cut, as seems foreseeable, the Board will then decide on its progress based on the period of amendments. Jeltzals know that limbo well.