Requests the opinion of the Executive before ruling on the admission of the complaints of six judges who were candidates for member of the Council
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has asked the Spanish Government for explanations about the delay in the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). Strasbourg has requested information to decide on the admission of the demands presented by six magistrates of the Francisco de Vitoria Association of Judges who were candidates for a member.
These six magistrates appealed to the ECHR last October to denounce the inactivity of the Cortes Generales in the renewal process “for purely political reasons and interests.” The CGPJ should have been renewed by the end of 2018.
In a resolution issued on May 2, Strasbourg requires the Spanish Government to present a statement of facts along with its observations on the admissibility of the complaints and the merits of the matter. The ECHR gives the Spanish Executive until September 15, 2022 to present its allegations.
In their demands to the European court, the magistrates maintain that the institutional blockade violates their right to access public office. “Access to public office in accordance with the requirements indicated in the laws,” the lawsuits affirm, “is configured as a fundamental right that requires special protection.”
The spokesman for the Francisco de Vitoria Association of Judges, Jorge Fernndez Vaquero, considers that “the vices of the current system are what have caused the political parties to block the CGPJ.”
“Spain is a full Rule of Law, but there are certain cracks in the institutional system that have been widening in recent times, such as the election process of the CGPJ, and we hope that with this lawsuit the ECHR can correct some of these defects” explains Jorge Fernández Vaquero.
To incline the European court towards its admission -the most difficult filter to pass-, the lawsuits highlight the relevance that the matter has beyond the individual right of the plaintiffs. “The right of access of the judges to be elected as members by the judicial turn in the formation of the new General Council of the Judiciary displays an important and special aspect with respect to the independence of the public powers and in the functioning of the State. Therefore , it is considered appropriate for the ECHR to assess this violation and to expand the objective scope of this right to extend it to access to any public office”.
The magistrates add that “it must be taken into account that the pronouncement that is issued will also have an important protective effect on the division of powers in Spain, which is currently affected by political interests that corrupt the institution.”
In the notification informing the magistrates that explanations have been requested from the Government, the relevance of the matter is already recognized, which Strasbourg agrees to qualify as having a special “impact”, which will allow its processing to be speeded up.
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