Critical judicial situation in Tarragona: "Speedy justice takes a year and a half."

TarragonaThe president of the Tarragona Court of Appeals, Joan Perarnau, criticized the length of time the judicial system takes to resolve cases reported to citizens at a press conference this Wednesday. This slowness complicates the administration of justice and also places enormous strain on the work of these professionals: "In Valls, for example, there isn't a single judge who can last a year," lamented Perarnau, who didn't hesitate to affirm that the courts in the capital of Alt Camp (where there are four judges) are the worst of all. "Of the three judges who started in 2024, two left, and the one who continued was on leave for a long time. Now the incumbent is the one who came in as a reinforcement," he explained.

During the presentation of the 2024 judicial report, Perarnau lamented that, despite this situation, "no judicial body has been created nor has the staff been expanded" throughout the demarcation during 2024, and there are still 95 judges and magistrates for an increasing number of cases. "Fast-track justice in criminal cases in Tarragona takes a year and a half," he said. These delays hinder, for example, the effectiveness of justice in cases of multiple repeat offenders, he denounced.

The precariousness of the judicial system affects "all provinces," according to the president of the Court, but "Tarragona is the one that suffers the most." "The problems I have today are the same ones I had 30 years ago. Nothing has changed," he added.

According to data provided by Perarnau, 15 homicides and 47 attempted homicides occurred in the Tarragona district in 2024. During this year, 438 sexual assaults were also reported (8% more than the previous year). These include property crimes, which are the most common (46,255).

They are reported too much.

In addition to the lack of personnel—and judicial infrastructure—another problem that slows down the justice system is that "everything is increasingly being judicialized": "It's desperate," he said. Year after year, the number of reported cases continues to grow. Perarnau gave some examples: "80% of the cases that are brought before the civil courts shouldn't be brought before the courts. Lawsuits are filed for 50 euros because a suitcase was lost at the airport." Perarnau said that these "ridiculous" cases should be resolved with conciliations and mediations to prevent them from reaching the hands of a judge. "The administration of justice is very expensive. For a 100-euro case, we spend 4,000 euros," he said.

This is, in fact, one of the problems that the new law on judicial efficiency, which has been in place since the beginning of the year, attempts to address this issue by requiring parties to prove they have undergone mediation or conciliation before going to civil or commercial courts. The change came into effect just two months ago and has led to a flood of complaints filed by lawyers, who prefer their clients not to have to go through this mediation process.