The Galician judge José Antonio Vázquez Taín, investigator of cases such as the crime of the Asunta girl or the theft of the Calixtino Codex, will have to be away from his judicial activity for 10 days. This is the sanction that the disciplinary commission of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has imposed on him following the file it opened on him last June for carrying out activities incompatible with his position as judge. Sources from the governing body of the judges have confirmed the sanction, advanced by The Spanish, and that responds to a very serious offense, although the punishment imposed is one of the lightest that exists for these cases (very serious offenses are punishable with up to three years of suspension from judicial office, forced transfer of destination or even expulsion of the career).
Vázquez Taín is one of the best-known judges in Galicia both for having been an instructor in high-profile cases and for his participation in many other activities outside the judiciary, such as radio and television gatherings, novel writer or documentary director. The decision to open a file against him came after the promoter of the CGPJ disciplinary action verified that the magistrate was carrying out activities incompatible with the judiciary without having obtained permission from the governing body of the judges. Sources from this body pointed to the creation of a film production, exhibition and marketing company to which the judge was allegedly linked. According to Council sources, Vázquez Taín created the production company with his wife in April 2022 and then requested the mandatory authorization from the Council, but the CGPJ denied it. Even so, he continued with his participation in the company from which, according to sources, he separated last June after learning of the file opened by the CGPJ.
The Galician magistrate has presented two audiovisual works in recent years. The first of them, Pilgrims, is a documentary about women on the Camino de Santiago released in 2022, which the judge promoted as his first audiovisual experience. Produced by the company Mundo Redondo Producciones, the work was sponsored by the Xunta de Galicia and the Xacobeo 21-22. Last March he presented The Mozarabic path: blood, sweat and faith, a documentary that tells the history of the Vía de la Plata produced by the company Amarola Producciones, of which his wife, the lawyer Beatriz Seijo Méndez, is the sole administrator. The company’s corporate purpose is the “production, exhibition, distribution and marketing of all types of cinematographic productions or products in the widest range.”
The Organic Law of the Judiciary allows judges and magistrates to make their work compatible with teaching and legal research, as well as with literary, artistic and technical production and creation, but vetoes “direct, administrative or economic participation in companies or companies.” commercial, public or private, of any kind.” For this reason, although Vázquez Taín has been working as a talk show host or novelist for years, the sanction has been imposed on him for participating in a company, something prohibited by law. The magistrate can appeal the sanction before the plenary session of the CGPJ and, subsequently, before the Supreme Court.
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