Lesmes and the separation of powers

Barcelona"The action of the courts is not an obstacle to coexistence". This phrase pronounced yesterday by the president of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary, Carlos Lesmes, was aimed especially at Pedro Sánchez and his decision to pardon the Catalan political prisoners, which was justified by the Ministry of Justice in terms of improving coexistence among Spaniards. From the outset it must be said that it is shocking that a body so jealous of its independence, and which tolerates very poorly the criticism that comes from other branches of government, should do exactly the same with the executive branch. The separation of powers is based on the fact that each power acts independently, according to Montesquieu's classic theory, because in this way a democratic balance is achieved and none of them obtains pre-eminence. And if Spanish legislation (here and in most of the countries around us) provides for the power of pardon for governments, it is because it is considered that sometimes the action of the courts can be counterproductive and also become an "obstacle to coexistence".

This is exactly what is happening in the case of the sovereignty process, in which some want to reduce what is a much more complex and eminently political phenomenon to the sphere of the Penal Code, with rulings that do nothing more than entrench positions. No, the courts are not the place to resolve the Catalan question, which the Guardia Civil and some judges have mistakenly tried to criminalise and treat as a matter of public order. Hence the decision to pardon was particularly appropriate and necessary in order to put the conflict back on track to the place it should never have left, which is a negotiating table.

Lesmes's words, however, are a symptom of a judiciary that believes it has the obligation to criticize the Sánchez government and in which there have even been manoeuvres to annul the appointment of the Attorney General of the State, Dolores Delgado. A General Council of the Judiciary, by the way, that has been in office for more than a thousand days after its mandate expired and with a composition that does not respect the current correlation of forces in the Spanish Parliament. In this sense, it must be admitted that Lesmes also had harsh words for the PP, which maintains its blockade because it enjoys a majority in this and other bodies. The president of the CGPJ urged the main opposition party to comply with the Constitution and reach an agreement with the government on the renewal of the body.

Even so, there are reasons to doubt the sincerity of Lesmes's words, who has seen his mandate lengthened without, for now, there being any agreement between the PP and the PSOE on the horizon. If he really wanted to force the parties to act, he could take a radical but effective decision, which would be to resign, along with the other expired members. In this way, the two parties would have no choice but to agree on his renewal and he would not be forced to make the same speech every year at the opening of the judicial year. But it seems that both he and the PP are already doing well with the current deadlock.