JJpD calls on the members of the CGPJ to comply with the law to avoid having to reform it

He assures that "defending the Constitution" requires completing the formation of the Constitutional Court

MADRID, 10 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The member of the Secretariat of Judges for Democracy, Edmundo Rodríguez Achútegui, has called on the CGPJ members who refuse to appoint two magistrates to the Constitutional Court who "comply with the law and immediately proceed to appoint two capable jurists to be part of it , thus avoiding having to change the rules to demand it again".

The representative of the judicial association considers that "defending the Constitution means guaranteeing that its maximum guarantor, the Constitutional Court, can work fully, with all its components."

In a statement, it rejects "the boycott to which the appointment of two magistracies is subjected, which is a clear contempt of the law that required their appointment more than three months ago", and demands that these members "avoid the new embarrassment that there has been to reform a norm again so that they comply with it".

According to JJpD, the proposed reform "is a direct consequence of the obstructive attitude of the members of the CGPJ", who excuse, veto and delay a very simple process, which "does not deliberately hinder in clear follow-through on the guidelines of the Popular Party", by that he reproaches "for having hijacked fundamental constitutional institutions for partisan interest".

Regarding the possibility of claiming responsibilities from the members of the CGPJ, the representative of the JJpD secretariat indicated that "everyone must comply with the law, including the members of the CGPJ, who do not enjoy immunity like parliamentarians and must answer for the breach of their homework".

The JJpD spokesman added that "the whole story that institutions are assaulted is a slogan that is not legally sustained." According to the magistrate "article 159 of the Constitution clearly provides that the government must appoint two magistrates to the Constitutional Court", therefore, in his opinion, "pretending to act irregularly is a fallacious statement, which hides the desire to perpetually control institutions that the legal system orders to renew periodically".

For the representative of this judicial association, "defending the Constitution, right now, requires adopting measures to ensure that the institutions will not continue to be kidnapped by the Popular Party and those who submit to its interests in the CGPJ." For Rodríguez Achútegui, "after four years of excuses to renew the CGPJ, the same dynamic has been used to avoid the renewal of a fundamental body to guarantee fundamental rights", for which he considers that "the renewal of the Constitutional Court constitutes a priority for Democrats, as opposed to those who have succumbed to partisan pressure for it not to take place."

On the need for the new components of the Constitutional Court to receive the approval of the magistrates who are already part of it, the representative of JJpD assures that "it is an innocuous requirement, which can be suppressed because those who have ceased in their mandate neither can nor should prevent the incorporation of those who start it".

In any case, Rodríguez Achútegui considers that "it is inconceivable that prestigious jurists could lend themselves to machinations to prevent the renewal of the Constitutional Court", for which reason he considers that the reform in this sense "would simply modify a formal and outdated requirement".

On the possibility that the renewal is finally carried out partially, and that only the government designates its two positions and the CGPJ does not, the progressive judicial association maintains that "it is an extraordinary situation, which would force us to accept this partial renewal because the constituent could never assume that a constitutional body such as the CGPJ would maintain a clearly unconstitutional position, refusing to appoint two jurists of recognized competence to complete the Constitutional Court".