The Prosecutor’s Office asked the Constitutional Court to allow the Senate to vote on the reform on its renewal, before the two magistrates directly involved in the legislative change must be removed at the plenary session. The Public Ministry understands that the plenary session imposed a precautionary measure that the PP requested very quickly, showing its fear that it would create a precedent and, in addition, Pedro González-Treviano and Antonio Narváez should be removed from the decision. That would leave the majority of the progressive sector, which maintains that the Senate should be able to vote.
The renewal of these two magistrates, which has been pending since June, depends on the government and the current reform aims to precisely unlock their and the CGPJ’s two dependent replacements. For the prosecutor’s office, this prevents them from participating in the review. The prosecutor’s office talks about “the indisputable direct connection of the above-mentioned members of the plenary with the object of parliamentary processing” and the automatic inclusion of this rule in their personal and professional situation according to their writing is “objectively indisputable”.
The Prosecutor’s Office notes that this is “an indisputable determinant of impartiality, which is constantly and emphasized as an essential factor in the jurisprudence of both the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court itself.” In addition, he considers that the Senate’s complaint is well-founded and the decision was made hastily, without precedent, and even warns of the danger of setting any kind of precedent.
Magistrates will this afternoon consider the decision they reached, by a majority of six to six, on Monday this week. In the plenary session, the conservative majority, after two magistrates rejected their own challenge, decided to maintain the precautionary measures requested by the People’s Party and immediately suspend the reform process. The reform, by which the government intends to overcome the blockade imposed by the conservative sector of the General Council of the Judiciary and replace the majority system, so that the governing body of judges appoints its two constitutional magistrates. Yesterday was the last episode of this blockade of these eight vocal rebels.
The conservative majority, in the first place, understood that the challenge brought by United We could not be allowed to stand on the understanding that they had not yet been properly represented in the case. Later, with a difference of one vote, he also understood that it was necessary to use a restraining measure, thus giving the parties and the prosecutor’s office 10 days to report on it.
Political and institutional crisis
The Senate announced the immediate implementation of the constitutional order and suspended the legal reform process, which affected the changes challenged by the PP. All interventions by members of the central government point to the “unpublished” nature of the judgment of the Court of Guarantee, pointing to the People’s Party for a judicial maneuver and also a blockade to renew the institutions for 4 years on the case. CGPJ.
Pedro Sánchez described the situation as a “serious institutional clash” and said that “according to the law and the constitution, the government will take all necessary measures to end the unjustified blockade of the judicial and constitutional authorities”. Minister Félix Bolaños, a few minutes after learning the court’s decision at midnight on Monday, also looked at the “conflict” between those who “violated” the constitution for four years, referring to the PP of Alberto Núñez Feijoo.
The People’s Party, which was started to celebrate the constitutional decision. “The Constitutional Court did not allow itself to succumb to government pressure and defended the PP deputies,” the leadership of Alberto Núñez Feijoo said in a statement also shortly after the decision.
“Disproportionate” measure for Senate
The plenary session was urgently convened this morning after the Senate appeared on the matter and declared against the precautionary measures. The letter, in which the chief advocate of the upper house called the suspension issued by the Constitutional Court “disproportionate”, convinced that the measure causes “the most serious violation” of the legislative body “to be able to fully exercise the functions conferred by the constitution”. without unnecessary interference”.
The appeal, filed this morning, also accuses the constitutional ruling of “a particularly serious violation of the fundamental rights of the majority of all senators and deputies.” If the processing of the emergency reform, with the changes, violated the parliamentary rights of the PP group, this may “be announced in the future by means of a penalty with declaratory effect,” the Senate said. But this very preemptive measure eventually led to a rebuke in the upper house, “preliminarily addressing the controversial issues specific to the merits of the Amparo appeal, thus awaiting a decision on it.”
Two more letters filed within hours of the plenary session came from United We Can. In one of them, the parliamentary group insisted on the exclusion of Pedro González-Treviano and Antonio Narváez if they themselves decided to withdraw from the procedure. In a second letter, Unidas Podemos requests that these precautions be lifted and that the amendments continue to be processed.
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Source: El Diario
