The Constitutional Court, which has opened for the first time the possibility that the 12 judicial members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) be elected by only one of the Chambers in the ruling where it validated the reduction of functions of the governing body of the judges, now comes out against the criticism received by members and different judicial associations and maintains that “a false controversy”.
EL MUNDO revealed last week that the Constitutional resolution on the modification of the Organic law of judicial power (LOPJ) – approved in 2021 by the PSOE and Unidas Podemos – included the possibility of appointing the 12 members only by the Congress or the Senate. The aforementioned ruling, deliberated and approved by the Plenary, and notified days ago to the parties, contains the following statement: «There is no exclusive constitutional definition of the system of appointment of members of the CGPJ, it being possible, within the constitutional framework, that “the proposal for his appointment comes in whole or in part from the Congress or the Senate.”
This last possibility, where only one of the Chambers appoints the 12 judicial members, was not included in any of the rulings previously issued by the Constitutional Court. This premise does not appear either in the ruling STC 108/1986, which resolved an appeal of unconstitutionality against Organic Law 6/1985 of the Judiciary – where the parliamentary model for electing members was endorsed – or in STC 191/2016, which gave response to the legal reform promoted by the former Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz Gallardon when he changed the configuration of the Council.
However, the press release issued this Friday by the court of guarantees maintains that “the sentence outlined the doctrine of the Court on the system of appointment and renewal of its members and the functions entrusted to them.” The TC chaired by Cándido Conde-Pumpido also states that the resolution only “described the constitutional framework and the field of action of the legislator.” .
Through the aforementioned statement, released by the communication office of the court of guarantees, the court details that “the Constitution does not establish limits for the legislator at this point – in reference to the election of judicial members – so the legislator can “opt for all the members of the Council to be appointed by the Cortes Generales, the so-called parliamentary model, or for the twelve members of judicial origin to be proposed by the judges themselves.”