The president of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary, Carlos Lesmes, this Thursday during a meeting with the heads of the judicial bodies and legal operators of La Palma. Luis G Morera (EFE)
The decision of the PSOE to impose by law on the General Council of the Judiciary a maximum period of three months (which would expire on September 13) to appoint the two magistrates of the Constitutional Court that correspond to it has caused outrage in the most conservative sector of the body government of the judges.
"It is one more lack of respect and a sign of tremendous distrust," laments a counselor appointed by the PP.
In the progressive wing, some members are sympathetic to setting a date, although they warn that it is impossible to guarantee that it can be met.
The President of the Council, Carlos Lesmes, took the same line this Thursday, who, when asked by the media during a visit to La Palma, has promised to convene a plenary session to vote on these appointments before September 13,
when the term expires (counting from June 13, when the mandates of the four magistrates to be renewed expired);
Lesmes has warned, however, that he cannot ensure that the members reach an agreement that day with a three-fifths majority, as required by law.
"I will make an effort to ensure that this situation occurs and occurs, but I cannot guarantee it," he warned.
The process to appoint the two Constitutional magistrates has not started because the CGPJ, with the mandate expired, had the powers for this appointment vetoed until this Thursday, when the legal reform that returns that power has been approved.
From now on, what is expected, according to members consulted, is that contacts between directors and possible candidates begin.
The members proposed by the CGPJ for the Constitutional Court are usually Supreme Court magistrates and it will be in this area that these conversations take place, but both the Council and the high court paralyze their activity in August, and these sources consider it "unlikely" that there is a closed list of candidates, much less consensual, before that date.
Because that is the second phase of the process, and the most difficult:
While the Council maintained its powers to appoint discretionary positions, most of the appointments it made were reached with broad consensus, but no member consulted now assures that this situation will be repeated.
First, because the body is more divided than it was then and it may not be easy to reach an agreement.
And second, because some of the most critical of the Government can avoid any type of pact to torpedo the plan of the Socialists.
"Simply if a group votes blank or insists on supporting a certain candidate for whom there is no consensus, it is already impossible to obtain a majority," says a councilor appointed at the proposal of the PSOE, who admits that, even without attempting to boycott, the agreement to elect the two magistrates is not easy and he doubts that it will be reached before the scheduled date.
The legal reform approved by Congress does not specify what consequences the Council would have if it did not meet those three-month deadline, but the members reject that a possible delay could lead to sanctions for the body.
“It would not make sense, but it would also be highly reprehensible that all the pressure falls on us despite the fact that they [the political parties] are the ones that cannot agree on our renewal.
If they renew, everything is solved at once”, emphasizes a counselor.
The president of the CGPJ insisted on this line yesterday when he reproached the parties for being "incapable" of unblocking the situation of the Council.