The president of the Judiciary asks judges not to yield to “influences, pressures or interferences”

MadridThe same week that Pedro Sánchez's judicial nightmare has been reactivated at the National Court, and a few meters from where the former director general of the Civil Guard was testifying, under investigation in the Leire Díez case, the Supreme Court has kicked off the judicial year. Everyone knows – in Ferraz, in Génova, and in La Moncloa – that the timing of the justice system will mark the final twists and turns of the legislative term, both due to the cases splashing the PSOE and the application of the amnesty. And one of the great protagonists has been the reprimands for the criticisms of judges: “It is not admissible for public disqualification to become an instrument of pressure,” declared the president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Isabel Perelló. “If the disqualifications come from those who hold institutional responsibilities, the gravity is greater,” she added.

Without saying it openly, Perelló alluded – for example – to the successive and repeated criticisms that Pedro Sánchez and the minister Óscar Puente have expressed against the judges in the cases of Begoña Gómez and David Sánchez. And she sent a message directly to the judges: “Our independence is the best guarantee that, when making a decision, we will do so without yielding to influences, pressures, or interference of any kind”.

The president of the CGPJ has demanded that the Spanish government respect the justice system as a “true counterweight” to the other powers of the State, and has called for “respect” for judges to be “preserved,” even when there are disagreements. Just this week, Óscar Puente openly said that he distrusts the role of María Tardón, the judge who will investigate the massive entry of migrants into Ceuta at the National Court: “She comes from the world of politics [she was a PP councilor at the Madrid City Council from 1999 to 2003]. So far, she has shown signs that lead us to doubt her impartiality, of course,” he said. However, Pedro Sánchez acknowledged that María Tardón's “conjunctural political commitment” is “not at odds” with her duties as a judge.

Likewise, Perelló has warned that accusations of lawfarecould be criminal, when it is suggested that some judge may be making decisions for political reasons. Finally, she has sent a message that can be understood as an implicit reproach to Juan Carlos Peinado, who has investigated the Spanish president's wife for more than two years and has left her one step away from the dock. Months after Peinado's decision to withdraw her passport, the president of the CGPJ has asked judges to have “restraint,” to think about the “transcendence that their decisions can have” and to have “prudence” in their public interventions.

A “systematic disqualification” against the Public Prosecutor's Office

The one who has debuted is Teresa Peramato, Attorney General of the State since November of last year. Working in tandem with Isabel Perelló, it has been the first year in history in which two women have intervened in the opening of the judicial year. Peramato said that corruption “erodes the trust of the citizenry in institutions” and “distorts the correct functioning of public powers,” and has demanded “maximum rigor, independence, and determination” from the public prosecutor's office to investigate and prosecute these behaviors, “particularly when they affect authorities or officials who take advantage of the responsibilities inherent to their position.” She did not mention him, but the name of José Luis Ábalos resonated on the walls of the Supreme Court's plenary hall.

The Attorney General of the State also addressed the criticism received by some prosecutors. The PP, for example, has long been attacking the prosecutors of the cases of Begoña Gómez and David Sánchez, who from the first day have been in favor of archiving the cases against the wife and brother of the Spanish president, which have moved forward only with the impulse of popular accusations. “Spurious motivations are gratuitously attributed where only a legal assessment exists, distinguishing between good and bad prosecutors depending on whether the procedural position they adopt suits one side or the other,” she lamented.

On the other hand, Peramato has also demanded strengthening “all mechanisms for prevention, detection, protection, and assistance to victims” of gender-based violence and creating the “necessary conditions” so that they can “report with safety and confidence.” The words come a month after it was learned that in Andalusia the PP has left the service for the assessment of victims of sexist violence in the hands of Vox. Peramato took advantage of the speech to shower praise on the reforms promoted by Minister Félix Bolaños, which place Spain, in her view, before a “historic opportunity.” After celebrating the implementation of the instance courts, she showed her “firm support” for assigning the direction of criminal investigation to the Prosecutor's Office, and emphasized that the proposal for a new Statute of the Prosecutor's Office is an “important step forward” and a “bold bet.” However, it is highly unlikely that both projects will see the green light in Congress.