The CGPJ aligns itself with the judges and announces that in the next meeting with Justice it will propose updating salaries

The Council recalls that economic independence is part of judicial independence

MADRID, 27 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has unanimously agreed in its plenary session this Thursday to bring a proposal to review and update the salaries received by judges to the meeting of the Remuneration Table convened by the Ministry of Justice to on May 3, aligning itself in this way with the judicial associations APM (the majority in the race), AJFV and FJI, which have threatened to go on strike if there is no agreement.

"It is necessary to review and update the remuneration, adapting it to the quantitative and qualitative principles contained in Law 15/2003 on the remuneration of the judicial and fiscal careers and the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ)", reads the communiqué published by the CGPJ, which has had the support of the 17 members that currently make it up, this time, without division between the conservative (10) and progressive (7) blocks.

The Council explains that "the remuneration system for members of the judicial career established in article 403 of the LOPJ, constitutes a backbone of their economic independence, closely linked to the independence in the exercise of jurisdictional power", as well as " to the realization of the effective judicial protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens".

The members stress that "the Judiciary plays an essential role", which is why the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that "member states have a duty" to "guarantee the independence of the members of the national judiciaries, also in its economic dimension".

"In the opinion of the Court of Justice, 'the fact that they receive a level of remuneration commensurate with the importance of the functions they perform constitutes an inherent guarantee of judicial independence'", they point out, citing a ruling of February 27, 2018.

In this sense, the CGPJ points out that, given that "the remuneration system for members of the judicial career constitutes a configuring element of their economic independence, it is necessary" not only to regulate it by means of a special law, but also to pay special attention to the treatment of this matter, in line with its institutional position and severe regime of incompatibilities".

And he points out that "the adequate institutional space to make these proposals real and effective is the already convened Remuneration Table", for which he appoints the members José Antonio Ballestero, Gerardo Martínez Tristán and Juan Martínez Moya to participate in his meetings carrying the proposal of the CGPJ for the "review and update" of the remuneration system so that it "adequately recognizes the responsibility and dedication of judges and magistrates".

It should be remembered that said table is expressly contemplated in the law "in order to facilitate the periodic adaptation of the remuneration of members of the judicial and fiscal careers." It must meet every five years, with representatives of the Ministries of Justice and Finance, the CGPJ, the Prosecutor's Office and professional associations.

This matter was included in the agenda of this ordinary plenary session of the CGPJ at the request of eight members of the conservative wing after last Monday those three judicial associations and two prosecutors --the AF and APIF-- announced in a joint statement that they would go on strike as of May 16 due to the "lack of concrete proposals" and a "true intention to negotiate" on the part of Justice and the Treasury to improve their salaries and reduce the workload.

The other two associations of judges and prosecutors, the progressive JJpD and UPF, also signed the statement for sharing the diagnosis and the need for improvements to overcome the "current stalemate" in the judicial system, but distanced themselves from the strike threat considering " opportune" to wait for the meeting on May 3 and its results.

In the statement, the associations reproached the department headed by Pilar Llop for the lack of concrete proposals in the preparatory meetings held on March 31 and April 4. And they also put the focus on "the null guarantee that the convocation of the Table for May 3 supposes."

"All of the above occurs in a context of systematic and persistent abandonment of the Administration of Justice, which degrades the quality of the institutional response that, from the judicial system, citizens who go to court in search of effective protection of their rights," they said.

If it materializes, the strike of judges and prosecutors would be the third in Justice so far in 2023. The Lawyers of the Administration of Justice (LAJ) were on hiatus for two months until they achieved a salary increase of up to 450 euros per month. Once this labor conflict was resolved, a new front was opened and the Justice officials began their own indefinite strike on April 17 to achieve a salary improvement "in line" with that of the LAJ.