“I wouldn’t want to be rude to my hosts by mentioning this case…” This is how the president of the Strasbourg Court its reference to the latest ruling condemning Spain, the one referring to the lack of renewal of the CGPJ and, with it, the blocking of the most important judicial appointments.
Behind the disclaimerthe Irish Cipher O’Leary has gone on to maintain that it is justified for judges to intervene when political disagreements end up putting the separation of powers and the democratic system itself at risk.
“When blockages occur at the political level in relation to the appointment of judges, national and European courts may have to intervene in defense of both judicial independence and the proper functioning of a democratic rule of law,” said O’Leary in perfect Castilian (she is married to a Spaniard).
The statement came at the headquarters of the Constitutional Court, sitting next to its president, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, and the same week that the TC has given its approval to the legal reform that prevents the CGPJ from making judicial appointments until it is renewed. .
Recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) itself condemned Spain, at the request of several judges aspiring to be members of the Council, for the inaction of the Cortes in the renewal of this body.