Pedro Sánchez’s proposal, inspired by the idea of the president of the General Council of the Judiciary, Vicente Guilarte, to remove from this body the discretion to appoint Supreme Court judges so that they can be chosen objectively on merit, as is done In other European countries, it has provoked a reaction of great concern in some judicial associations and even in Guilarte himself, who raised the suspicion that the formula could be used so that the Government could control these appointments in some way. This Thursday, in a joint appearance with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Sánchez was emphatic in making it clear that in no case is he proposing a reform in which the Government will have any influence on the appointment of Supreme Court judges. On the contrary, he explained, it is about “depoliticizing” and letting the judges with objective criteria decide.
But what Sánchez wanted to make clear is that the time for negotiation is running out: if in the next two weeks, in which there will probably be a new meeting between the Government and the PP with the mediation of the European Commission, the popular do not show signs of wanting to unblock, the coalition Executive and its majority partners will approve a reform in Congress to unblock the situation. This initiative, of which Sánchez does not yet want to give all the details because it is in preparation and has to be negotiated in the coalition and then with the partners, does not seem to be aimed at reducing the majorities to renew the CGPJ, as Yolanda Díaz suggests. , but rather towards the Guilarte formula of making the CGPJ less attractive for political control because they would take away the most juicy decision: the direct election of the judges of the Supreme Court. The control that the conservatives have achieved of this body, the CGPJ, almost uninterruptedly since José María Aznar came to power in 1995, has gradually achieved that almost all the chambers of the Supreme Court, and especially the most important, that of Lo Penal, were turning towards very clear conservative majorities like the one they have right now, when there is a 12-3 against the progressives. In the early 1990s, before the PP came to power, that room had a progressive majority.
Sánchez was emphatic in the press conference with Erdogan. “We can all agree that Groundhog Day has gone on too long. That’s five years of violating the constitution. The PP has to decide if it wants to be a constitutional party or not. You can’t make another excuse. After 2,000 days we have reached a point where at the end of June, if there is no agreement, the Government will propose a modification to unblock this unacceptable situation,” said the president. But he immediately clarified that in no case is he thinking about government control of the appointments. “We want to free the CGPJ from political kidnapping. We are being inspired by some proposals, among them that of the president of the CGPJ. The Government has nothing to do with it. On the contrary, what we want is to depoliticize. It is a reform that respects the independence of the judiciary, in accordance with European regulations.”
Sánchez thus responded clearly to Guilarte, who had welcomed Sánchez to the “circle” of those who believe that “the problem lies in the formula for electing the judicial leadership”—flawed, he says, with “discretion”—and consider it necessary to give more weight to the principles of merit and capacity. But he warns that these appointments “must remain resident in the CGPJ by imperative of the most basic constitutional logic established in art. 122.2 [de la Constitución]”; and added that “it is in no case admissible to promote any area of influence of the Government, whether directly or masked through an intermediary body or commission.” “There is no point in going back to times gone by. [en los que los nombramientos los hacía el Ministerio de Justicia] although with different protagonists. Given the doubts that the president’s words may raise, it is essential to clarify this point, since the threatening alternative outlined would be terrifying and directly aimed at avoiding any agreement,” said Guilarte. The answer was therefore quite clear: no government influence.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo also pointed to the idea that Sánchez was proposing government control, something that Sánchez ruled out. The leader of the PP did not want to go into assessing the substance of Sánchez’s proposal to prevent the Supreme Court judges from being directly elected by the CGPJ but he did show, with harsh criticism of the president, that things are very far from a possible agreement and Therefore, everything is moving towards the Government’s decision when the month of June ends, although before that it is likely that there will be a meeting with the European Commission. “Sanchez is not reliable. The PP ignores this proposal in its entirety. It was never commented on at the talks chaired by the European Commissioner for Justice. We are a State party and we are going to defend the State from the Government. If the Government does want to invade the powers of the Judiciary alone or in collusion with the legislature, this is not acceptable. If the president wants to attack the CGPJ he will have the PP against him. I’m sorry for the president’s terrible judicial agenda, but it’s his problem. Sánchez is beginning to be a danger to judicial independence in our country. “No orders, no blackmail, no threats,” said Feijóo, who proposed “resuming the negotiation where it was,” although in reality after several meetings with the commissioner no progress was made because the PP continues to demand a change in the election system. in exchange for renewal, something that the socialists do not accept because they believe that first they must renew with the current system, that is with the law that the PP itself approved when it had an absolute majority, and then talk about reforming it.
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The president also gave figures of what is causing the blockade of the PP for five and a half years. “Citizens may think that this is a power struggle. But this blockade costs the public coffers 12.5 million a year. There are 1,000 matters delayed in the Supreme Court. 30% of places in the Supreme Court unfilled. 72 in the higher courts of justice. The professional careers of hundreds of judges have been paralyzed. It’s over. Our responsibility is to defend the good name of the Judiciary,” he concluded.
Sánchez was also convinced that the legislature will end no matter what happens in Catalonia. “Thank you for his optimistic vision,” the president joked when asked if an advance in Catalonia would also lead to an advance in the general elections. “Today Congress has endorsed the decree laws proposed by the Government. It is a complex legislature. But if anyone can handle it, it is the progressive coalition government. I am convinced that in Catalonia there will be a government and there will be no repetition. We have three years ahead of us to continue implementing progressive policies. See if things are going well: yesterday the European Commission made the fourth disbursement of European funds, and today the BBVA research service raises the growth forecast for Spain. These things are what really matter to citizens,” said Sánchez.
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