Critical members open to consensus on the candidates for the TC but respecting the times of the CGPJ

They propose to first set the rules of proposal and voting to move later towards the names

MADRID, 7 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The members who are most critical of the legal reform that has restored to the General Council of the General Power (CGPJ) its ability to appoint two magistrates of the Constitutional Court (TC) by September 13, so that the four magistrates whose mandate expired in June, they have reached an internal consensus by which these two candidates are now open to reaching an agreement but respecting the Council's timetable.

According to the sources consulted by Europa Press, this has been agreed within the framework of a meeting held this Tuesday night to establish the position that the so-called conservative bloc will take to the plenary session convened for next Thursday with the aim that the CGPJ appoints its two candidates to the Constitutional Court.

The agreed position involves "defending institutionality in all cases", which requires reaching duly consensual agreements, as explained by the aforementioned sources. In this way, the possibility that the critical members had put on the table of preventing the appointment of the two candidates to the court of guarantees seems to be moving away, since it must have 12 votes of the 19 at stake, which implies the support of various conservatives.

This possibility could also imply the blocking of the partial renewal of the TC, since legal sources warn that, although the Government could appoint its two candidates, there are doubts that they could take office without the participation of the two appointed by the CGPJ, since the Constitution establishes that the magistrates of the TC must be renewed by thirds and this is the one that falls to the Council and the Executive.

However, the sources present at the conclave on Tuesday night warn that in order to agree on the two magistrates of the CGPJ, it will be necessary first to establish the "rules of the game", that is, to establish the internal procedure --of proposal and voting-- to carry out out these two appointments. Once established, they emphasize, the appropriate framework will be generated, in which it is essential that the Council's decision times be respected.

Thus, the same sources state that the foreseeable thing is that the plenary session next Thursday will be focused on agreeing on those "rules of the game" to later advance towards the names. The president of the CGPJ, Carlos Lesmes, has already been warning that, although the ideal is that the two candidates will be agreed on the 8th to reach the deadline of September 13, it will be difficult because twelve favorable votes must be gathered.