The CGPJ exhausts the term without appointing two magistrates of the Constitutional Court

The current scenario of blockade of the CGPJ joins the other generated within the governing body of the judges.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
14 September 2022 Wednesday 08:42
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The CGPJ exhausts the term without appointing two magistrates of the Constitutional Court

The current scenario of blockade of the CGPJ joins the other generated within the governing body of the judges. The Council meets this Tuesday the term of three months to elect two magistrates of the Constitutional Court, as established by the last reform promoted by the Executive of Pedro Sánchez. And there will be no appointments. The discreet step that was taken yesterday Monday in this regard was to appoint three conservative members and three other progressives as interlocutors so that they approach positions in a "calm" way on who could be the elected magistrates.

The situation of the Spanish Judiciary is of increasing concern in the European Commission, which is already demanding that the main political parties seek a solution to end the blockade in the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, which is on its way to four years in functions. The president of the body, Carlos Lesmes, has received a boost from the Community Executive after his criticism last week for the situation of "collapse" to which both the Government and the PP are taking to justice.

The vice-president of the European Commission, Věra Jourová, addressed a letter to Lesmes yesterday, in which she conveys her “coincidence” with what she said in her speech during the opening of the judicial year: the “urgency and absolute priority” of renewing the CGPJ and then address the reform of the model for appointing members from the judicial shift, "which the Commission considers necessary." This reform happens because it is the judges themselves who choose the members without the intermediation of Parliament.

In the letter, Jourová refers to the "desperate situation" in which the Spanish Judiciary finds itself after almost four years of "institutional anomaly" and affirms that the proper functioning of State institutions "should not be part of the debate political and even less to be a hostage of that debate”. The European commissioner warns that this prolonged blockade "is detrimental to the rule of law" both Spanish and European. "All actors, when playing a constitutional role, must do so in a spirit of mutual loyalty and sincere cooperation," she adds in the letter.

To this scenario of blockade is added the other generated within the governing body of the judges. The Council today meets the three-month deadline to elect two magistrates of the Constitutional Court, as established by the latest reform promoted by the Executive of Pedro Sánchez. And there will be no appointments. The discreet step that was taken yesterday in this regard was to appoint three conservative members and three other progressives as interlocutors so that they approach positions in a "calm" manner on who could be the elected magistrates.

A few days ago, Lesmes himself warned that he was not going to consent to a "rebellion" within the CGPJ and that his desire was to meet the date set in the reform promoted last July. However, the iron stance of eight conservative members, opposed to presenting a magistrate in a timely manner, has gained ground. In addition, sources from the body explain that Lesmes is not in the mood to convene a new plenary session if there is no prior agreement.

The escalation of tension in the governing body of the judges is increasing and there are no real options for an early solution. At least that is how some sources of the organ itself see it. The progressives want to speed up the process and, in fact, they already informally asked Lesmes last week to convene a new plenary session, a request that has not been met so far. The same sources believe that there is little room for maneuver for this to happen.