The King reminded the new judges, who have received their offices today, that the application of the laws of the European Union is also within their competence: "From today you are also, do not forget, European judges". Felipe VI, on his first visit to Catalonia this year, presided over the Judicial School ceremony in which the accreditations were delivered to new judges, which took place this Tuesday at the Forum convention center.
Although this is a legal reality that has been applied since the entry of Spain into the EU, the phrase acquires special relevance as it coincides with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made public this Tuesday that limits the possibilities of denying the delivery of those accused by the process claimed to be tried in Spain, including former president Carles Puigdemont. Llarena sent the CJEU some preliminary questions to clarify the scope of the Euro-orders against the former president and several of his former ministers.
In the speech with which the ceremony of delivery of the offices to the 171 members of the 71st promotion, in addition to the 44 of the 22nd promotion of the fourth shift, has closed, the King has, as usual, praised Spain's Europeanist vocation, "your independence", he said, referring to the new magistrates, "is also essential to ensure the effectiveness and uniform application of Union Law and the defense of its values: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights”. Addressing the new magistrates, he added: "From today you are also, do not forget, European judges"
This Tuesday is the King's first visit to Catalonia in 2023 and the eighth time, since he was proclaimed in 2014, in which he presides over the delivery of offices in Barcelona. He was not present at the one that was held in 2020, when the discrepancies between the Government and the Superior Council of the Judiciary ended up splashing the Crown, since the Executive made the decision to avoid the presence of the Head of State in Catalonia before the upcoming disqualification of former president Quim Torra.
In addition to the King, the acting president of the General Council of Power, Rafael Mozo, and the director of the Judicial School, Jorge Jiménez, took part in the ceremony, and the acting president of the Supreme Court, Francisco Marín Castán, attended; the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, Justice; the representative of the Government in Catalonia, María Eugènia Gay; the Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz; the Minister of Justice, Rights and Memory, Gemma Ubasart, and the presidents of the Court.
To date, all the ceremonies for the delivery of judicial offices have taken place at the Barcelona Auditorium, except for the one in 2020, which was held at the headquarters of the Judicial School, but on this occasion the Forum Convention Center was chosen due to to the high number of new judges. In addition to the 171 components of the current class, 125 of them women and 46 men, the 44 members -16 women and 28 men- of the 22nd class of the fourth judicial shift, reserved for jurists of recognized competence with at least least ten years of professional practice. Of all of them, 76 of the new judges, almost half, and 44 belonging to the fourth shift, will have as their first assignment a court in Catalonia.
The profile of the members of the 71st promotion is, according to a survey carried out upon their admission to the Judicial School in 2021, that of a woman (they represent 73.10% of the total) with an average age of 29 years, that it has taken five years and a month to prepare and approve the opposition and that he does not come from a family of jurists. Among the reasons that led her to choose this profession, the passion for law, the role of judges as guarantors of fundamental rights, the independence and impartiality of their role and the possibility of contributing to the fight against crime stand out.
Taking into account the place of habitual residence, Andalusia is once again the Autonomous Community that contributes the most judges, although the vast majority have opted for a destination in Catalonia. Although the average age of the students in the promotion when they entered the Judicial School was 29 years, the youngest was 24 and the oldest, 50. During the stage of preparing for the opposition, practically all the students of The promotion had the financial support of their parents, and only a quarter of the new judges have relatives who practice or have practiced a legal profession. The Criminal area is once again the most attractive for the new judges, ahead Civil, Family, Minors, Violence against Women, Prison Surveillance, Commercial, Administrative and Social Litigation.
