The CGPJ will dedicate a monographic plenary session to the "dysfunctions" caused by its interim position after the TS's call for help

The Supreme asked the Council to urge the Courts to give an "immediate" solution to the growing number of vacancies

MADRID, 26 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has agreed in its plenary session this Thursday that on February 9 it will meet on an extraordinary basis to hold a monographic one to address the "dysfunctions" that its interim is causing, after the Supreme Court (TS) asked him to urge the Cortes Generales to give an "immediate" solution to the "untenable situation" that the high court is going through due to its 19 unfilled vacancies.

This has been agreed by the governing body of the judges after the ordinary plenary session this Thursday, which began at 10:00 a.m., was extended to such an extent that the members have not had time to analyze the report sent to them by the Chamber of Government of the TS with said request for help, according to the sources consulted by Europa Press.

Consequently, as reported by the CGPJ, the members have chosen to study on February 9 "in a monographic way -and, where appropriate, adopt the appropriate decisions and proposals- the institutional situation in which the body of government of the judges and the dysfunctions and consequences that are being generated in the public service of Justice".

This "in view" of the report approved on January 16 by the Government Chamber of the Supreme Court, with which it endorsed the report prepared by the director of the Technical Cabinet of the TS, which in turn was commissioned by the CGPJ itself, where it warned that throughout this year the vacancies in the high court could reach 30% of its troops.

In said report, the Government Chamber detailed the impact that the reform carried out in 2021 to the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ) has had on its five chambers to prevent an expired CGPJ, like the current one -- which has more than four years in office--, make discretionary appointments in the judicial leadership, at the top of which is the Supreme Court.

The 'dossier' recalled that the TS must have a president and 79 magistrates by law, warning that, however, the current figures are far from ideal: it is without a titular president and with a total of 19 vacancies.

The judicial headquarters estimated that in 2023 in its Social and Contentious-Administrative Chambers -which are the two most affected- some 1,230 fewer sentences will be handed down -570 less in Litigation and 660 in Social--, "with the serious damage to the defendant that this entails", and with the serious delay in thousands of resolutions that would lead to the "collapse" of both chambers.

The Supreme Court warned of the "critical situation" in which the Social Chamber is currently --with 5 vacancies in a staff of 13-- and the Contentious-Administrative Chamber --with 10 vacancies in a staff of 33 --. For this reason, he demanded that a provision of 15 legal positions from the Technical Cabinet be paid by coordinating lawyers and to be filled preferably by magistrates.

In this context, the TS magistrates considered it necessary for Parliament to establish an "immediate remedy for this state of affairs and promote any other initiatives in order to prevent it from getting worse."