Acting President of the Supreme Court, Francisco Marin Castanhas warned this Thursday in his speech of opening of the Judicial Year that “in our days” democracies “die” not only with “a military coup or a revolution” but also with the “slow and progressive weakening of essential institutions, such as the judiciary and the press and the global erosion of traditional political norms.
Before the watchful eye of King Felipe VI, Marín’s first appointment in his speech has been to the work How Democracies Die (Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Ariel). The magistrate has stressed that the “separation of powers is key to the functioning of any democracy”, warning that in a “strongly polarized context the vision of the State declines and it is imposed with radical party”. On the way to completing five years without renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary, he has asked the political forces for heightened vision: “It is time for great politicians and great democrats.”
Much of the speech of the acting president of the Supreme Court -who has not worn the great necklace of Justice, thus making visible the abnormal situation suffered by the Judiciary – has been addressed to the political forces, which have been urged to “renew” the CGPJ.
“It is therefore essential, if we want to preserve the democratic quality of the system, not only to ensure that the constitutional framework provides all the necessary checks and balances to ensure the independence and proper functioning of the Judiciary. It is also essential that there is a true democratic commitment of loyal cooperation between the different political actors”, said the also president of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court.
The magistrate has added that the situation of the Supreme Court is “desolate” given the impossibility of renewing its withdrawals, and has ensured that the “first victim of the situation is undoubtedly the defendant: the citizen.”