The president of the Supreme Court and of the General Council of the Judiciary, Carlos Lesmes, will convene an extraordinary plenary session on September 8 to debate the proposal for the appointment of magistrates of the Constitutional Court, just five days before the end of the three-month period that has set the new law to do so.
The three-month period was introduced at the last minute by the Socialists to prevent the body of judges from delaying the appointments 'sine die', a movement frowned upon from within the Council for showing a sign of mistrust before a body that has been asking for three years that the PSOE and PP agree to renew it.
Lesmes today announced the date to the members of the governing body of the judges, meeting in plenary session, who have been asked to agree on the two candidates capable of gathering the minimum of 12 necessary votes.
Lesmes has decided to convene this extraordinary plenary session once the Cortes have approved the reform of the Organic Law of the Judiciary, which includes among the powers of the Council in office the proposal for the appointment of magistrates of the Constitutional Court whose designation corresponds to the constitutional body, which must be carried out within a maximum period of three months from the day following the expiry of the previous mandate and, therefore, before next September 13.
This express counter reform proposed by the PSOE was definitively approved yesterday after the vote in the Senate. This law represents the modification of another reform that the Government promoted a year ago to prevent the CGPJ from making appointments with an expired mandate.
The new reform continues to maintain such a prohibition on appointments in the judicial career and only frees up the two from the TC that correspond to the CGPJ. The Government has raised it to unblock the appointment of four new magistrates of the court of guarantees.
In June the mandate of four magistrates expired, and their substitutes must be appointed by the Government half and by the CGPJ the other two. However, with the Constitution in hand, the four appointments have to be made at the same time by requiring that the renewal be by thirds (the plenary session of the TC is made up of twelve magistrates).
For the Executive, it is essential to be able to elect its two magistrates because it will cause a change both in the presidency of the body and in the majorities, which will cause there to be more progressives when it comes to resolving the next resources that affect the Government of Sánchez.
