Redaccion
On Wednesday, judges and prosecutors in the islands of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura joined the strikes that have taken place in various judicial venues nationwide because they acknowledge that judicial independence is «under threat» due to recent legislative initiatives.
In a statement signed by the Professional Association of Magistrates (APM), the Judicial Association Francisco de Vitoria (AJFV), Independent Judicial Forum (FJI), and Independent Professional Association of Prosecutors (APIF), they cite the Spanish Constitution, which establishes the separation of powers and the existence of an independent Judiciary as a «guarantor free from political interference» of the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.
This judicial independence, they emphasize, is «key» to a «real democracy and true» integration in the European Union, which is «under threat» due to recent legislative initiatives. Specifically, they refer to the bill to modify access to the judicial and prosecutorial careers, as well as the draft reform of the organic statute of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The first, they explain, has been processed «unjustifiably as a matter of urgency,» considering it a project that «does not respond to any social demand,» and which has a «very critical» technical report from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ).
In this sense, they believe that this legal reform «will lower the excellence» of knowledge in accessing the judicial and prosecutorial careers, «eliminating essential content» for training and introducing tests «more subjective and susceptible» to leaks.
They add that among other measures, «such as bringing politics into the body that must oversee the ethics of judges,» they intend to create a training center for candidates «directly dependent on the Government and, therefore, at risk of ideological selection» of the future judges and prosecutors of this country.
They underline that by «falsely using Europe as an excuse,» they seek to modify the basis of both careers by turning 1,300 substitute judges and prosecutors into judges and prosecutors «without tests to measure their aptitude» for it and, thereby, «against the constitutional principles of equality, merit, and capacity, to the serious detriment» of younger promotions, as well as the «thousands of candidates who are sacrificing themselves» to achieve their dream of becoming a judge or prosecutor.
Along with all this, they clarify, with the draft reform of the organic statute of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, they aim to increase the powers of the Attorney General of the State, who, as head of all prosecutors, including the future investigating prosecutors they want to create, «will continue to be appointed by the Government without any prior filter, which, combined with the elimination of guarantees of prosecutors’ autonomy, will further increase, against European demands, the risk of political interference» in corruption cases.
They point out that all these reforms occur in an environment of «continuous attack» on the judiciary and «discredit» of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, as political statements are made that «undermine judicial resolutions that bother,» treating the Public Prosecutor’s Office as a «government appendage,» thus «undermining the confidence» of citizens in their justice and «facilitating abuses» of power against those same citizens.
«The existence of a strong and independent judiciary is not a right of judges, it is a guarantee for everyone, as is having an impartial and autonomous Public Prosecutor’s Office. Both requirements are essential to preserve the good democratic health of a country,» they point out, adding that these reforms are aimed at turning the judiciary into a «lowercase power, a weaker power» in its function as a «counterbalance» to political power, as well as «more malleable and sensitive» to media and power pressures.
Therefore, they have requested the withdrawal of both projects, not ruling out the adoption of more intense conflict measures such as strikes if they are maintained.
Finally, they once again demand a massive creation of judicial and prosecutorial positions to «improve the quality and speed» of the service they provide to society.
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