General Council of the Judiciary

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
General Council of the Judiciary
President of the Supreme Court
and the GCJ
CurrentlyVacant
Since11 December 2013
Vice President of the Supreme Court
and the GCJ
CurrentlyÁngel Juanes Peces
Since8 January 2014

The General Council of the Judiciary (

Spanish Constitution of 1978, article 122 and developed by the Organic Law 6/1985 of the Judicial Power (LOPJ). The President of the CGJP is also the president of the Supreme Court
.

Constitutional nature

The

Constitution of 1978 regulates the General Council of the Judiciary in paragraphs 2 and 3 of the section 122.[2]

2. The General Council of the Judicial Power is its governing body. An organic act shall lay down its status and the system of incompatibilities applicable to its members and their functions, especially in connection with appointments, promotions, inspection and the disciplinary system.

3. The General Council of the Judicial Power shall consist of the President of the Supreme Court, who shall preside it, and of twenty members appointed by the King for a five-year period, of which twelve shall be judges and magistrates of all judicial categories, under the terms provided for by the organic act; four nominated by the Congress and four by the Senate, elected in both cases by three-fifths of their members amongst lawyers and other jurists of acknowledged competence with more than fifteen years of professional practice.

This means that, the Constitution only detail the way of election of the eight members of the CGPJ that they will be chosen between the most renowned

Chamber
to be elected member of the CGPJ.

Otherwise, for the election of the twelve members precedents of the

Functions

The CGPJ is not a jurisdictional body, but an overseeing and organising body of the Spanish Judiciary - it does not form part of the judiciary itself. Among its main functions are:

The CGPJ is also compelled to report on all the laws and legal dispositions of the State and the Autonomous Communities pertaining to judicial questions, as well as being consulted in the naming of the Attorney General of the State.[5]

Composition and manner of election

The Constitution determines in its article 122.3:[2]

  • It will have 20 members and a President.
  • The President of the CGPJ it is also the President of the Supreme Court.
  • 12 members will be Judges or Magistrates. An Organic Law will decided the method of election.
  • 8 members will be lawyers or jurists. 4 of them elected by the Congress and 4 by the Senate.

The Organic Law 2/2001[6] (currently in force), modified the Organic Law 6/1985 in which refers to the election system:

Of the 12 members who must be Judges or Magistrates, 6 are elected by Congress and 6 by the Senate, from a list of 36 candidates proposed by associations of judges or by non-associate judges.

Changes in the Organic Law and new reform proposal

According to the original wording of Article 112 of the Organic Law 6/1985, of July 1st, of the Judiciary

Each of the chambers that form the Cortes Generales chose ten members by a qualified majority of three fifths. Six among active duty judges and four among lawyers of recognized competence. Members of the outgoing Council or those who provided services in their technical bodies could not be elected.

The President is appointed by the Plenary of the CGPJ between members of the judicial career or jurists of recognized competence. During his term, members can not be removed, replaced, or terminated and can not be re-elected. Formally, they are appointed by the

King of Spain
.

According to the modification made by Organic Law 2/2001 of June 21st

Organic Law 2/2001, of June 21, modified article 122 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary reforming the election method between members coming from the judiciary. The professional associations of the judiciary or groups of judges who make up at least 2% of the total on active duty may present to the chambers a total of thirty-six candidates, of which the

Congress shall elect six and the other six will be chosen by the Senate from among the remaining thirty.[3]

Reform proposal of 2012

PSOE, would contribute to depoliticization justice.[8]
The Council of Ministers rejected this project.

Members of the CGPJ

Carlos Lesmes, former president of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary

The members of the General Council of the Judiciary are the President, the Vice-president and the Members.

Presidents

The President of the CGPJ is also the President of the Supreme Court. They are:

Vicepresidents

Members

Headquarters of the CGPJ in Madrid.

These are the current Members of the CGPJ since November 29, 2013. They were elected by the

Congress[15] and the Senate. Since 2018, a third[who?] need to be renewed.[16][17] [clarification needed]. The members with expired terms refuse to step down.[18] The Spanish parliament has not mustered the 3/5 majority required to appoint new members of the CGPJ.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "CGPJ Budget for 2022" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b Spanish Constitution Part IV
  3. ^ a b Organic Law 6/1985, July 1st, of the Judicial Power Consulted November 19th, 2016.
  4. ^ Art 107 LO 6/1985 del Poder Judicial (Organic Law of the Judicial Power, LOPJ)
  5. ^ Art. 108 LOPJ
  6. ^ Organic Law 2/2001
  7. ^ Gallardón takes to the Council of Ministers the reform of the GCJ contrary to the program of the Popular Party
  8. ^ Minister Gallardón: 'The direct election of the GCJ by the Parliament will depoliticize the Justice'
  9. ^ Royal Decree 979/2013 of December 10th appointing President of the Supreme Court and of the General Council of the Judiciary to Don Carlos Lesmes Serrano.
  10. ^ "Spanish top court chief's resignation nudges parties to end 4-year stalemate". Reuters. 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  11. ^ "La Sala de Gobierno del Tribunal Supremo lamenta la renuncia del presidente y expresa su pesar por la situación que le ha llevado a tomar la decisión" [The Governing Chamber of the Supreme Court regrets the resignation of the president and expresses its regret for the situation that has led him to take this decision] (in Spanish). Comunicación Poder Judicial. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d Miembros anteriores del CGPJ Web Poder Judicial España
  13. ^ Current members of the GCJ Web Poder Judicial España
  14. ^ Carlos Lesmes takes office as president of the GCJ and the Supreme Court Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine 6th paragraph
  15. ^ Royal Decree 930/2013, of November 29, appointing Vowels of the General Council of the Judiciary at the proposal of the Congress of Deputies.
  16. ^ "El Gobierno y las Cortes deben renovar más de una decena de órganos institucionales como el CGPJ, el TC, RTVE o CNMC". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2020-01-12. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  17. ^ Royal Decree 931/2013, of November 29, appointing Spokespersons of the General Council of the Judiciary at the proposal of the Senate.
  18. ^ The Guardian
  19. ^ Reuters