AMP. The CGPJ unanimously elects its two Constitutional magistrates: Tolosa and Segoviano

The conservative wing has managed to leave out the candidate of the progressive sector, magistrate José Manuel Bandrés

MADRID, 27 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) have unanimously elected this Tuesday in their second vote the two magistrates who are responsible for designating the Constitutional Court: the Supreme Court (TS) magistrate César Tolosa and the retired magistrate of the (TS ) Maria Luisa Segoviano; both proposed by the conservative wing of the governing body of the judges, although Segoviano was initially on the list of 9 names of the progressives.

The conservative wing of the CGPJ has obtained support for its two candidates and, therefore, has managed to leave out the option of the progressive sector, Supreme Court magistrate José Manuel Bandrés.

As reported by the CGPJ, at the time of the vote five members of the progressive wing --Mar Cabrejas, Álvaro Cuesta, Clara Martínez de Careaga, Pilar Sepúlveda and Concepción Sáez-- have stated that they were resigning from Bandrés "for institutional reasons."

Until now, the balance of forces in the CGPJ --with 8 progressive members and 10 conservatives-- had made an agreement impossible. In the December 20 vote, the two nominees for the majority sector, Tolosa and Pablo Lucas, obtained 10 votes, while Bandrés obtained 7, all that the progressive bloc could get because the member Enrique Lucas abstained as a result of his brother was one of the names on the table.

For the white smoke, 11 yeses were necessary, something that until now had not been possible because the members had voted en bloc and none had stepped down to change the balance. The current rules impose a three-fifths majority to send candidates to the Constitutional Court and allow each of the 18 members that currently make up the CGPJ to propose and vote for two applicants.

CGPJ sources consulted by Europa Press indicate that the conservative wing opted to include a progressive name in its tandem (first with Lucas and now Segoviano) so that their counterparts would resign from Bandrés, a magistrate on whom the conservatives had imposed a tacit veto.

Although the progressive sector insisted on the name of Bandrés for this second vote, at the last minute it has given up and has agreed to endorse Tolosa and Segoviano. Thus, the 18 members have unanimously agreed to support both.

With this movement, the situation is unblocked in the Constitutional Court, which since June 12 had pending renewal of the four magistrates that make up the third that the Constitution mandates to replace the Government and CGPJ: Pedro González-Trevijano and Antonio Narváez, appointed in their day by the Executive of Mariano Rajoy; and Juan Antonio Xiol and Santiago Martínez-Vares, appointed at the time by the CGPJ.

The two candidates chosen by the governing body of the judges will join the two selected by Moncloa last November: the magistrate of the National Court and former Minister of Justice Juan Carlos Campo and the former director general of the Ministry of the Presidency Laura Díez.

Now, the Constitutional Plenary must analyze the suitability of the candidates, verifying that they meet the legal requirements to be a Constitutional magistrate -- being Spanish and judges, prosecutors, university professors, civil servants or lawyers, all of them jurists of recognized competence with more than 15 years of professional practice--.

At first there were doubts that the Constitutional Court could examine and approve the two Executive candidates without the two from the CGPJ, because the Constitution establishes a renewal by thirds. Faced with this scenario, the PSOE and Unidas Podemos proposed via an amendment --in the law that repealed sedition-- to modify the system of election and arrival of the two candidates to the court appointed by the CGPJ. This path, however, was paralyzed by the Constitutional Court itself, since it admitted applying the very precautionary measures requested by the PP in an appeal filed against the processing of said amendments in the Cortes Generales.

This Tuesday, in a press conference after the Council of Ministers, the president, Pedro Sánchez, assured that if the members of the CGPJ reached an agreement this afternoon to choose their two candidates, the "urgency" to present a bill that reforms the system and the majorities necessary for those appointments "would not be the same."