The Constitutional Court addresses this week the appeal of the PP against the abortion law under the threat of the lack of 'quorum'

The speaker proposes endorsing almost all of the law except for the article on how women should be informed

MADRID, 5 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Constitutional Court (TC) will study from Tuesday the appeal presented in 2010 by the PP against the abortion law of the Government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, with a paper that proposes to endorse the entire norm except the article on how to inform the woman, and under the threat of not achieving the 'quorum' necessary to be able to resolve, due to the recusals launched by some of the 'popular' deputies who challenged the rule.

As reported by the guarantee court, the appeal presented more than a decade ago by 71 members of the Popular Parliamentary Group will be one of the issues addressed by the Constitutional Court in plenary session to be held this week, within the framework of the plan devised by the new President of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido, to unclog the court, beginning by disposing of the oldest cases.

The Plenary will study the 'popular' appeal based on a proposal by magistrate Enrique Arnaldo which, according to legal sources consulted by Europa Press, validates practically the entire abortion law -which meant implementing the system of deadlines-, proposing only its unconstitutionality with respect to article 17 considering that it does not sufficiently guarantee that there is an informed consent on the part of the woman.

In addition, the paper focuses on two issues that it considers constitutional as long as they are interpreted as Arnaldo proposes. It is about therapeutic abortion, to limit that the concept of health only refers to physical or mental health; and the conscientious objection of health professionals, so that it covers all those involved in the actions before or after the intervention.

The sources specify that the presentation is silent on the issue of parental consent in cases of abortions for minors under 16 and 17 years of age because, although it was one of the contested precepts, the Government of Mariano Rajoy repealed it in 2015, with which the 'popular' resource would have lost its object at this point.

The debate on the abortion appeal is threatened by the challenges that 5 of the 71 'popular' deputies who signed the unconstitutionality appeal, including former minister Federico Trillo, have formulated against four magistrates: Conde-Pumpido, Juan Carlos Campo, Immaculate Montalbán and Concepción Espejel.

In relation to Conde-Pumpido, they allege that "he was the State Attorney General and participated in the deliberations of the Fiscal Council that reported on the preliminary draft of the organic law that is the subject of this appeal and an opinion was formed on it to the point of signing a report alternative to the one issued by the Fiscal Council due to disagreement with the latter".

Regarding Campo, the letter - to which Europa Press has had access - argues that "he was Secretary of State for Justice during the years 2009 to 2011 and, therefore, a member of the government structure from which the initiative of the draft that gave rise to the Organic Law 2/2010 appealed today".

Finally, as regards Montalbán and Espejel, the appellants argue that they were members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) when the abortion law was processed and, consequently, "they participated in the preparation and voting of the report of that body on the aforementioned draft".

If these four magistrates were separated --voluntarily or by decision of the Plenary-- the Constitutional Court would be left without the at least 8 magistrates that are needed to resolve validly, since right now the court is made up of 11 magistrates.

Conde-Pumpido, Campo and Montalbán have refused to abstain, but Espejel has chosen to withdraw, in a decision that must be endorsed or, where appropriate, rejected by the Plenary.

From the TC it is considered that with this initiative the impartiality of these four magistrates has not been questioned, so the sources advance that the court of guarantees will apply its repeated doctrine to maintain its jurisdiction avoiding the lack of 'quorum'.

Once the problem of recusals and abstentions has been sorted, the now progressive majority of the TC is in favor of declaring the abortion law constitutional in its entirety, according to the aforementioned sources.

If so, there could be a change of speaker. If necessary, Arnaldo could adjust his draft to what was stated by the Plenary or directly resign from the paper. The president could also remove him from the matter to entrust it to another magistrate.

In addition, the Plenary will study a series of matters in which challenges have been launched against various magistrates, especially Campo, who in most cases has chosen to abstain, either because of his previous position as Minister of Justice, or because he is challenges directed against the president of the Congress of Deputies, Meritxell Batet, her sentimental partner.

Some voices in the Constitutional Court attribute the wave of challenges that the court is currently facing to a strategy of "pressure" to hinder its work.

Campo has withdrawn from the appeal of the former deputy of Unidas Podemos Alberto Rodríguez against the decision adopted by Batet on October 22, 2021 to withdraw his seat in execution of the Supreme Court ruling that sentenced him to one month and 15 days in prison for a crime of attacking authority, with the additional penalty of special disqualification for passive suffrage, for kicking a policeman during a demonstration in 2014 in La Laguna (Tenerife).

It has also abstained from the appeal for parliamentary protection formulated by the PP against Batet's decision, on September 13, 2021, not to ask the Government for the complete files of the pardons granted to the leaders of the 'procés', a measure of grace which was granted when Campo was still part of the Executive.

The same decision has been made on the appeals presented in its day by PP, Vox and Ciudadanos against the agreements adopted by Batet by which all the formulas of compliance with the Constitution used by elected deputies of United We Can and pro-independence formations were admitted.

Campo has also distanced himself from matters such as the law for the protection of consumers and users in situations of social and economic vulnerability; the law on procedural and organizational measures to deal with COVID-19 in the field of the Administration of Justice; and the Education Law.

The Plenary will also analyze the abstention of Laura Díez from the appeal of PP and Citizens against the decree-law of Catalonia 6/2022, which sets the criteria applicable to the preparation, approval, validation and review of linguistic projects of educational centers; and against the Law of Catalonia 8/2022 on the use and learning of official languages ​​in non-university education.

The former high office of Moncloa already abstained in the past plenary session of the appeal of Omnium Cultural against the decision of the Constitutional Court to reject its appearance in the question of unconstitutionality formulated by the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) so that the Constitutional Court reviews the Law approved by the Government that eliminates the obligation to teach 25% of the classes in Spanish.

The reason for Díez's abstention is that he signed several opinions of the Council of Statutory Guarantees of Catalonia in favor of not imposing said percentage of Spanish in the classrooms of the autonomous community.

Likewise, the TC will decide whether to admit Vox's appeals against the Democratic Memory Law and the Law for the recognition of legal personality of the Mar Menor and its basin.