The Spanish government announces 91 more judges for Catalonia: "Put an end to the historical deficit"

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Justice announced on Monday that it will create 500 new judgeships across Spain this year, 91 of which will be in Catalonia. This represents an average increase of 8.5% in judgeships nationwide, and a 10.5% increase in Catalonia, from 870 to 960 judges and magistrates. The Ministry explained that this is "the largest expansion of the judicial system in history." Regarding the impact on Catalonia, the Catalan Minister of Justice, Ramon Espadaler, celebrated that the measure "puts an end to the historical shortage of judgeships" and brings Catalonia's number of judges in line with the national average. To illustrate the significance of this announcement, Espadaler noted that only 65 judicial positions had been created in Catalonia in the last 10 years. For now, the Ministry has presented a draft royal decree that is just beginning the legislative process. Without offering any timeline, Espadaler explained that before the legislation is finalized, they will assess with the judiciary whether any changes are needed in the allocation of these 91 judge and magistrate positions. The draft royal decree plans to bring new personnel to all judicial levels: the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), the provincial courts, and the lower courts, formerly known as ordinary courts. the reform of the efficiency law"We have a unique opportunity to modernize the public justice system," the regional minister declared during a press conference this Monday. Although the regional ministry has not specified the cost, the national ministry estimates that creating a judicial position currently costs around €100,000, whereas before the reform it cost €500,000. Therefore, it calculates that the 500 judicial positions to be created nationwide will cost €55.7 million, compared to €260 million before the reform. The new positions to be created this year will also be distributed across all jurisdictions. Espadaler acknowledged that until now his team had focused primarily on strengthening the criminal justice system in the Barcelona district. a plan against repeat offenders that added five additional courts for fast-track trialsIn fact, these reinforcements will be stabilized with the 91 positions announced this Monday. This time, the new positions will cover all specialties and will expand staffing in areas such as commercial and civil law.

"Fine-tuning" with the TSJC

The Justice Department team plans to meet in the coming days with all the legal professionals involved to "fine-tune" the proposal and clarify the specifics of these 91 positions. Initially, priority has been given to areas with the most pending cases. The Justice Department will also meet with the governing body of the TSJC (High Court of Justice of Catalonia), the governing body of judges in Catalonia. Espadaler stated that, at the moment, they have not received any feedback from the TSJC regarding the announcement of the 91 positions. In the last projection published, corresponding to the 2024 judicial report, The TSJC estimated that Catalonia needs another 187 judges and magistrates so that the courts can optimally handle their workload.

The cost of activating these new positions, beyond the cost of the judge or magistrate, also needs to be determined. On the one hand, the Ministry of Justice is studying in which cases additional construction work or the adaptation of additional rooms and offices will be necessary for them to work. Furthermore, each judge has staff members, but Since the reform of the efficiency law, there is no exact figure for staff per judgeWithout specifying the total cost, Espadaler assured the Government's commitment to provide "all the necessary human resources so that these positions can be filled."