The CGPJ asks Justice to create 32 new courts in the CCAA in which the trials are indicated with more than a year of delay

MADRID, 1 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has warned the Ministry of Justice this Thursday that it is necessary to create 32 new social courts in four autonomous communities in which "acts of conciliation and trial are indicated with a delay of more than one year".

As reported by the governing body of the judges, the Permanent Commission has learned at its meeting of the need to create these 32 new courts to "expedite judicial activity" and "reduce response times."

The CGPJ has supported the agreement in a report prepared by the Inspection Service after the analysis, during the month of November, of the situation of "all the social courts that were indicating acts of conciliation and trial with more than a year of delay".

In addition, the members of the Permanent Commission have taken into account the criteria recently established by the Constitutional Court, whose First Chamber has declared that a delay of several years violates the right to effective judicial protection.

As specified by the CGPJ, in its analysis of the situation of the labor courts, the Inspection Service has assessed the average charges for the entry of cases from 2018 to 2021 and the first three quarters of 2022. It has also assessed the level of resolution, the average level of contention by territory, the average response times and the dates of the last reports of which there is evidence.

In accordance with these data, the Council has concluded that the constitution of 32 new social courts is "necessary and essential", which should be distributed territorially between Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid and the Valencian Community.

In the specific case of Andalusia, the CGPJ has proposed the creation of 12 social courts: five in Seville, three in Almería, two in Málaga, one in Cádiz and one in Jerez de la Frontera.

For Catalonia, it has claimed a social trial court in Barcelona, ​​and for Madrid, 15 social courts. In the case of the Valencian Community, it has requested four: two in Alicante and two in Elche.

The governing body of the judges has also warned of the need to increase the judicial staff in all those localities in which the workload of the social courts exceeds 130% of the average indicator in the last five years.

According to the Inspection Service, the judicial bodies that are in this situation do not appear on the above list thanks to the efforts of their owners, who have managed to reduce delay times, although these "exceed the legitimate expectations of citizens and violate the principle of celerity that governs the social jurisdiction".

The Permanent Commission has agreed to forward the report to the presidents of the High Courts of Justice affected so that they can consider promoting the adoption of reinforcing measures, while the increase in judicial staff occurs. Likewise, it is transferred to the Ministry of Justice and to the autonomous administrations.