The Supreme Court (TSJC) requests respect for the rulings despite being "difficult to understand" after the controversy over the Alves case.

BarcelonaJudge Mercè Caso has taken office as president of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), replacing Jesús María Barrientos, who held the position for nine years. Caso takes office just a few days after her appointment. After the TSJC overturned the conviction for sexual assault against footballer Dani Alves, who has been acquitted. Following the controversy that the ruling has sparked in recent days, in her first speech as head of the TSJC, Caso said: "We are aware that our decisions are sometimes difficult to understand." However, she called for respect for the rulings.

The new president of the TSJC has asserted that the judiciary accepts "honest and objective criticism" and insisted that the judicial system includes an appeals mechanism that "guarantees the review" of its decisions. However, she warned: "Criticism cannot entail a lack of respect for judicial decisions, because in this way we weaken the rule of law and disregard the institutions that protect it." This message comes a few days after from the unanimous position of all associations of judges and prosecutors –also from Judges for Democracy (JJxD), to which Caso belongs– against the words of the Vice President of the Spanish Government, María Jesús Montero, regarding Alves' acquittal.

However, she justified that "the law is a technical instrument with complex rules that are difficult to interpret." She also addressed the victims directly: "Their story often hits us hard, but we must overcome it because we are professionals and we must resolve the conflict by applying the laws we have."

Caso pledged to work for "a justice system that places people at the center of its interests, especially victims, vulnerable people, and children," and lamented the "image of distance" that judges often project. "But behind this position of absolute impartiality, you must think that we see the human problem behind it and we care, and we are pained by the wait you must suffer," she said, also referring to the victims.

"A new boost to Catalan"

During her speech, Caso emphasized her "pride" in being the second woman to preside over the TSJC (High Court of Justice), after Maria Eugenia Alegret (2004-2010). She was sponsored at her inauguration by another renowned judge, Montserrat Comas, who presides over Section 10 of the Barcelona Court of Appeals. She also pledged to give "a new impetus to the use of Catalan" and encouraged "all members of the judicial family who use or can use Catalan in the domestic sphere, but who dare not use it in the professional sphere due to a lack of confidence" to write judgments in Catalan.

Caso takes office as the Judicial Efficiency Law is being implemented, which aims to update the justice system and make it more agile through a complete overhaul of the organization of the courts. The judge addressed this issue and warned that this law "will be difficult to reverse" the situation of delays and collapse if cases continue to grow. However, she urged "not to be left behind": "The judiciary must lead its own adaptation to the demands and needs of society."

The event brought together the most prominent members of Catalonia's judiciary, the public prosecutor's office, and the legal profession, as well as representatives from the police and administrative bodies, at the Palau de Justícia. Among the front rows were the President of the Government, Salvador Illa; the Ministers of Justice and the Interior, Ramon Espadaler and Núria Parlon; the Spanish government delegate, Carlos Prieto; the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños; the Mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni; and the Councilor for Security, Albert Batlle. The event was presided over by the president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Isabel Perelló, and Barrientos was sitting next to her on his first day as former president of the TSJC. Also among the officials was Judge Cristina Ferrando, dean of the Barcelona courts, who competed with Caso to succeed Barrientos.