The Supreme Court refuses to urgently suspend Mozo's appointment as interim president of the CGPJ

Thus, he rejects the very precautionary measures requested by the member Wenceslao Olea and the secretary of the CGPJ

MADRID, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court (TS) has refused to urgently suspend the appointment of Rafael Mozo as interim president of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), a very precautionary measure requested in their respective resources by the only member who Voted against said designation, Wenceslao Olea, and the secretary of the CGPJ, José Luis de Benito.

According to legal sources consulted by Europa Press, the Sixth Section of the Third Chamber has rejected the very precautionary measures but has agreed at the same time to process the request for suspension as a precautionary measure to later decide whether to reject it or accept it, all without going into assess the depth of these resources.

Olea and De Benito have challenged the agreement reached last Thursday by the Plenary Session of the CGPJ to name Mozo --the oldest member-- their "alternate president", which meant dividing the head of the Judiciary, since the magistrate Francisco Marín Castán has been acting President of the Supreme Court since the resignation of Carlos Lesmes from both positions took effect.

The succession conflict was unleashed on October 9, when Lesmes announced his resignation as president of the CGPJ and TS --positions held by the same person-- due to the lack of tangible progress in the negotiations between PSOE and PP to renew the body of government of the judges, as he had warned during the opening of the judicial year, on September 7.

Lesmes tried to leave his succession tied by entrusting the Technical Office of the TS with said report, according to which Marín Castán would automatically replace him once the resignation was consummated because he is the one who exercises the Vice Presidency of the Supreme Court.

However, the CGPJ appointed its own president, wielding Marín Castán, who lacks the legitimacy to assume both presidencies because he has held the Vice Presidency of the Supreme Court on an interim basis since 2019. For the same reasons, the members conceded that Mozo will not be able to act as the highest authority of the TS either. .

The plenary agreement went ahead with 16 of the 18 votes at stake. It only had the express rejection of Olea, who cast a separate vote, while the member Mar Cabrejas was specifically absent from this vote for not agreeing with Mozo's enthronement.

In his private vote, Olea already advanced that, in his opinion, splitting the presidencies of the CGPJ and the TS is illegal because the Constitution and the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ) impose that whoever exercises that of the Supreme also holds that of the Council.

"Nothing more and nothing less than the Constitution is being violated," warned Olea, who in addition to being a member of the current CGPJ is a magistrate of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber.

Likewise, it showed that Mozo "does not meet any" of the legal conditions to establish himself as president, that is, to be a member of the judicial career with the category of magistrate of the TS and meet the requirements to be president of the Chamber of the same, or be a lawyer of recognized competence with more than 25 years of seniority in the exercise of his profession.

Olea also warned that with the appointment of Mozo the "legality" of the agreements adopted by the Council from now on was at stake, thus anticipating a judicialization of the conflict that he finally materialized this week.

He also wanted to underline the "disastrous legal situation" that has been caused and, in particular, the "undesirable, confusing and tortuous situation" that the CGPJ is going through due to "a thoughtless legislator who has acted with spurious and imminent party interests", alluding in this way to the reform promoted by the Government that prohibits the governing body of the judges from making discretionary appointments in the judicial leadership.