There will be no agreement during this legislature to comply with the Constitution and renew the body of judges, which is on its way to serving four years of blockade. At least that is how it is suspected among the majority of the members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), who have already lost hope that the two main political parties will reach an agreement to renew the body with twenty new members and a new president. The exchange of accusations, intensified in recent weeks, between the PP and the PSOE reveals the lack of intention to end a blockade that is damaging the image of judicial independence and further deepens the existence of political interference with the judiciary.
Europe has already shown its concern about what is happening. At the end of July, the Commissioner for Justice of the European Union, Didier Reynders, met with the Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, to demand that the renewal be "urgent and necessary". However, far from attending to the European claims, the two parties have clashed in recent weeks to make it clear that this is not going to happen. Europe wants this matter to be resolved as soon as possible and, for this reason, Reynders will come to Spain at the beginning of September to try to get the actors involved to reach a solution.
From the judiciary there were great hopes placed on Alberto Núñez Feijóo so that he would highlight the situation created by his predecessor, Pablo Casado. After his election as president of the PP, the members of the current Council, as well as his possible successors, saw real options that an agreement would be closed after the Andalusian elections.
However, the popular leader has embarked on a path similar to that of Casado, with various excuses for not sitting down with the PSOE. Parliamentary sources believe that Núñez Feijóo is going to force the situation until the next general elections, in the face of a possible electoral upset. And while the PP uses an obstructionist technique, the PSOE uses legislative mechanisms to push towards that agreement, such as the reform to prevent the CGPJ – now with a conservative majority – from continuing to appoint magistrates.
The latest reform, approved in July, which sets a deadline for the body of judges to appoint two magistrates of the Constitutional Court, generated great discomfort not only within the ranks of the PP but in part of the judiciary, who have experienced it as a new attempt at political interference. In this scenario, the body of judges has called a plenary session for next September 8 to put two names on the table that go to the body of guarantees. This agreement is key for the Government. Once the CGPJ gives two names, the Executive will be able to present both of its own and comply with the constitutional mandate of renewing the TC by thirds. For Pedro Sánchez it is essential because the arrival of these four magistrates will turn the court upside down, which will have a progressive majority at a time when all the laws and royal decrees approved in this legislature must be reviewed.
Council sources trust that the agreement to appoint two magistrates of the TC will be reached within the established period –September 13–. For its approval, 12 votes in favor are needed. The tradition is that there is an agreement between the progressive bloc and the conservative so that each one of them presents its candidate.
Sources from the organ believe that on this occasion the names will not come out unanimously, but they do hope that there will be at least a minimum agreement. The celebration of the plenary session to vote on the names is scheduled for September 8, one day after the celebration of the opening of the judicial year. These same sources believe that although there is no agreement in that first vote, it is expected that an agreement will be reached before the deadline and thus comply with the Constitution and the law.
From the Government the CGPJ is being pressured to meet the deadline, sowing the suspicion that the body intends to carry out a kind of revenge against the Executive for the blockade situation that has lasted almost four years. The Council defends compliance with the law
