The pact in the Judiciary opens the way for the renewal of the Constitutional

The serious institutional crisis achieved a significant advance yesterday after the unblocking of the renewal of a third of the Constitutional Court.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
28 December 2022 Wednesday 00:31
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The pact in the Judiciary opens the way for the renewal of the Constitutional

The serious institutional crisis achieved a significant advance yesterday after the unblocking of the renewal of a third of the Constitutional Court. The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) agreed yesterday afternoon, in an extraordinary plenary session, to elect two magistrates to fill two places in the guarantee court, which will cause a chain unlocking.

Due to "institutional sense", the progressives gave in and withdrew their candidate to support the two proposed by the conservative members and thus settle the critical situation that was being experienced. In the progressive sector, what happened had a bittersweet taste. An hour before calling the plenary session, the members of this sector met and agreed to withdraw their candidate, Supreme Court magistrate José Manuel Bandrés – seen by conservatives as a person close to the Government – ​​and support magistrate María Luisa Segoviano.

With a progressive sensibility, the first woman to preside over a room of the High Court, Segoviano achieved the support of all the members, together with the current president of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court, César Tolosa.

Despite the fact that it was not their first choice, the progressive sector was satisfied because Segoviano is a highly regarded magistrate. In this way, the crisis that had been generated on account of a blockade created by the conservatives, determined to avoid the renewal of the Constitutional Court, which, until now, had a conservative majority, was considered settled. Sources of this sensitivity understand that these appointments have been the result of a consensus, and they are satisfied with the result.

What caused the 180-degree turn in their strategy was the announcement by the coalition government to approve a reform to modify the election system for Constitutional magistrates, which would force them to nominate two of their candidates. immediately.

This amendment was paralyzed by the Constitutional itself in full parliamentary processing, which gave rise to some of the toughest moments in the confrontation between the right and left wings of Parliament.

However, the conservative sector, reluctant to designate the candidates of the Judiciary for the renewal of the Constitutional Court, knew that it was a matter of time before the Government looked for another solution, so they decided to move forward with their candidates even by presenting two names, and not all of them related.

This vote opens the way to ease the delicate situation generated within the Constitutional Court itself.

With these appointments, the green light is given to the process for the Government to formally bring the names of its candidates to the Constitutional Court, former Minister Juan Carlos Campo and former Director General of the Presidency and professor Laura Díez.

In this way, the Constitution would be fulfilled, which requires that the members of the court be elected four by four, in this case, two candidates from the Council and two from the Government.

The next step, which will take place "immediately", will be when these four magistrates are given the placet by the Constitutional Court itself, who will replace another four whose mandate has expired since June, including the current president Pedro González-Trevijano. After the formation of the new court, the new president will have to be elected.

When the appointments are unblocked, the Government does not need to resubmit a parliamentary initiative to reform the system of election of magistrates.