APM asks for calm after the decision of the TC while JJpD advocates reforming the law of the court if the "blockade" continues

AJFV recalls that these are "exceptional" times and FJI assures that what happened is a consequence of the "politicization" of justice

MADRID, 20 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Professional Association of the Magistracy (APM) asks for "tranquility" after the decision adopted last night by the Constitutional Court (TC) to admit the appeal of the PP for processing and urgently suspend the parliamentary process of the two amendments by which it is modified the system of election and arrival of the two candidates to the TC appointed by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). Judges and Judges for Democracy (JJpD), for its part, advocates reforming the law so that the appointment of two Constitutional magistracies by the CGPJ is "encouraged" if the governing body of judges does not already renew the TC.

Juan José Carbonero, member of the Executive Committee of the APM, assures in statements to Europa Press that after last night's decision of the Constitutional Court, what is appropriate is to "send a message of tranquility." In line, he recalls that the court is still pending a ruling on the merits of the appeal filed by the PP, because yesterday it only resolved on the admission for processing and the very precautionary measures that the party demanded.

"As the situation is, the most that can be said is this: calm down. Tranquility because the procedures have been completed. The court has considered that in the processing there were indications by which the processing was not being carried out properly," Carbonero points out.

The member of the Executive of the majority association insists that "in the course of a procedure a group of deputies understood that their rights were unprotected and filed an appeal before the TC that entailed precautionary measures." "The court has understood that it was justified by law to give the measure and it has done so," he points out.

Judges and Judges for Democracy (JJpD) and the Progressive Union of Prosecutors (UPF) differ. For both associations, what happened last night "is far from what one would expect from those who should be, more than anyone else, respectful of the law."

In a statement issued this Tuesday, JJpD and the UPF underlined that a "divided and fractured" Constitutional Court issued yesterday "a controversial resolution that aggravates the institutional crisis that has dragged us down who irresponsibly have kidnapped the institutions."

In this sense, they insist that "after four years of blocking the PP for the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), a group of members of this body follows the same obstructionist path, and prevents the renewal of the Constitutional Court".

"With no other explanation than partisan following, they have submitted their status as jurists and judges to party interests, preventing the maximum guarantor of fundamental rights from completing and working with full effectiveness," the associations point out.

Thus, they remember that this Tuesday there is an extraordinary plenary session in the CGPJ that "could put an end to this situation, definitively renewing the TC". "In the event of not doing so, it will be necessary to act responsibly, submitting to the rule of law and having a high vision, promoting a specific legislative reform that puts an end to the maneuvers of those who have locked themselves into the institutions and do not intend to abandon them despite the fact that their mandate expired", maintain JJpD and UPF.

Both associations demand that the parliamentary groups propose "a bill that promotes the appointment of two magistracies to the Constitutional Court by the CGPJ, overcoming the undue extension of functions that is maintained against law and law."

For his part, the spokesman for the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association (AJFV), Jorge Fernández Vaquero recalls that the TC's decision "is certainly exceptional", but "the times that our democratic institutions are experiencing are also exceptional."

Thus, the AFJV spokesman believes that "the only possible path" is the one marked out by the president of the Congress, Meritxell Batet. "You have to abide by the decisions of the constitutional bodies," she says.

"From here, respect for the position that each one occupies within the institutional system and respect for the Constitution and the law, is that we will be able to return some normality to Spanish society," he indicates.

On the sidelines, the president of the Independent Judicial Forum (FJI), Fernando Portillo, assured in statements to Europa Press that what happened last night is the "consequence" of the "excessive politicization of the constitutional bodies."

"If, for example, the judges chose the 12 judicial members, all this would not have happened. We would have had the CGPJ already renewed for four years and it would have made its appointments, also of the magistrates of the TC, a long time ago and without problems, " indicates.

Portillo stresses that it is because of "shows" like the one experienced these days that they are asking to "depoliticize the CGPJ." "What happened is nothing more than a symptom of the disease, not the disease itself," he underlines, while calling on political leaders to "reduce exalted speeches."