On September 24, in a context marked by paralysis, the plenary session of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) reached a significant agreement without publicity: the approval of a salary increase for its members. The decision, which was processed at the proposal of the economic affairs commission, has generated controversy due to the contrast between the speed regarding their own remuneration and the inaction in other areas of justice.

Carlos Castresana has just published Under the Gowns (Tusquets, 2025) on judicial errors throughout five centuries of history. This career prosecutor, since 1989, has been a member of the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court and is currently a prosecutor at the Court of Auditors. His career is notable for having authored the complaints that led to the prosecution of Generals Pinochet and Videla.

Starting this Friday, the courts for domestic violence will be responsible for all sexual assault crimes. Until now, their jurisdiction focused on violence within a couple or ex-couple, and rapes in which there was no emotional bond between the victim and the aggressor were excluded from these specialized courts. The change will mean that they will deal with all types of gender-based violence, something already provided for in the law of domestic violence. only yes is yes 2022, which had not yet been implemented. Furthermore, these courts also have new jurisdiction over cases involving forced marriage, human trafficking for sexual exploitation, and sexual harassment. This will therefore mean taking on more work, which has raised concerns about whether the change could overwhelm these courts and significantly lengthen waiting times. This week, more than 100 judges warned in a statement that they were headed for "collapse," while other voices in the judiciary urge us to wait and see the effects of the change and the impact of the reinforcements and new judicial positions announced by the Spanish government.

The plenary session of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has unanimously decided not to recognize the strike called by judges and prosecutors announced by five associations—all except the progressive ones—for next week. Thursday's agreement warns the organizers that the strike has no "legislative support" because the right to strike is not regulated for judges. Therefore, it concludes that "it is not appropriate to announce it," and recalls that it had already issued similar statements regarding the strikes called in 2009, 2012, and 2013. The organizing associations have criticized the decision and have already announced that they will continue the strike, which they consider "a legitimate, proportionate, and responsible measure."

This week's political earthquake in Ferraz stems from a police report from the UCO (Central Court of Justice) that was under seal and was part of a separate part of the Ábalos case in the Supreme Court (SC). From the courts, the person handling that case is Judge Leopoldo Puente. This is also what he offered Santos Cerdán on Thursday to voluntarily testify before the SC on June 25th due to the "consistent evidence" pointing to him.

It is the lowest figure in recent years, but it is still "unacceptable." A woman was murdered due to domestic violence in Spain every 7.6 days last year, in 2024. This is underlined by theReport on fatalities from gender and domestic violence within a couple or ex-couple which was made public this Monday morning by the Observatory of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) in Madrid. There are 48 fatalities in total, of which 25 percent lost their lives in crimes that occurred in small municipalities with fewer than 25,000 inhabitants, according to the report.

It was on June 25th of last year when the PP and PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) announced the pact in Brussels to renew the General Council of the Judiciary, more than five and a half years after its mandate expired. The underlying reason why the two major Spanish parties found the dazzling figure unknown was unknown until this Wednesday: on the 21st of that same month, four days earlier, the Group of European States against Corruption (GRECO), which reports to the Council of Europe, had adopted a harsh report on the situation of the Spanish judiciary. "The situation is urgent. The stagnation of the CGPJ has resulted in a substantial delay in the appointment of senior officials in the judiciary throughout the country. This is, without a doubt, a worrying situation that requires swift and effective action," stated the text, now available.

The PP and the PSOE have reached an agreement to renew members of the Constitutional Court, the Court of Auditors, the Data Protection Agency and the Ombudsman, whose mandates had expired. The names of the people who will take over is expected to be announced in the coming days. But at the same time, both parties have also moved closer to renewing the General Council of the Judiciary, the judges' governing body, whose mandate expired three years ago. The interim nature of this body, which decides, among other things, the appointments of judges, is especially scandalous because it has allowed the PP to maintain a conservative majority that currently does not reflect the composition of the Spanish Parliament. The General Council must be renewed for the sake of democratic hygiene.

Ramón Sáez Valcárcel is not one of the High Court's most mediatic judges, but he has heard cases which have been all over the headlines, such as the acquittal of Catalan police major Josep Lluís Trapero or the protest surrounding the Catalan Parliament in 2011. In the interview, however, he declines to answer any questions about cases he has handled. He is in Barcelona to give a conference called Dialogue and Reparation as a Means and Objective of Criminal Justice within the framework of the Chair of Social and Restorative Justice of Universitat Rovira i Virgili - Pere Tarrés Foundation, directed by Professor Esther Giménez-Salinas. It is the only one in Spain on the subject and, curiously, is organised by the Faculty of Social Education and Social Work and not the Faculty of Law.

The Council of Europe has once again launched harsh criticism against Spain over its system to elect the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and warns of its "politicisation" in the eyes of public opinion. "It is a critical issue," warns the latest report published on Thursday by European anti-corruption body GRECO, which assesses whether States comply with adequate anti-corruption measures in both the political and judicial field

"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".