Judges, lawyers and attorneys support the union of the courts of Valle de La Orotava

In December 2021, the Board of Judges of the Judicial District of Puerto de la Cruz forwarded this request to Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC). The dean magistrate-judge of Cross port issued a report justifying the appropriateness of a measure that would put an end to “smallest judicial party in the state from the point of view of its territorial extension”, with barely 8 square kilometers.

Among his arguments, geographical reasonssince both venues are separated by just 7.5 kilometers and they share numerous roads, neighborhoods and bordering areas, which generates problems and delays due to the continuous transfer of matters between both judicial parties due to inhibitions or competition issues. Also reasons related to interest of legal professionals and operatorswho have great difficulties in attending events close in time that take place in some of the four courthouses, located in the urban centers of La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz, in areas with parking and accessibility difficulties. This causes regular delays and suspensions.

The judge also alleges efficiency reasons in judicial proceedings, since the merger would promote a more proportionate distribution of matters between the courts and would end the obligation of the National Police Corps to work with two different judicial parties. Also, go reasons of a procedural nature, since it is usual for the addresses of the parties and the territorial jurisdiction to be mixed in civil or criminal actions in both judicial districts. And he cites as an example the victims of gender violencethat it is common for them to have to travel to three different judicial offices to finish the investigation of their procedure (Guard Court, Court in charge of cases of gender violence of that first judicial district and the court of violence against women of the district final judgment).

“Logistical and economic reasons” are provided, since the unification would allow to have a single Deanery service and a single judicial body on duty, and would reduce the costs of maintenance and surveillance of the four current headquarters. In addition, it would be justified to create an exclusive court for Violence against Women “with competitions in most of the north of the island.”

The Illustrious Bar Association of Santa Cruz de Tenerife ruled in favor of this “very timely” proposal after conducting a consultation among its members, which included 130 votes in favor of unification and just 20 against. They consider that citizens’ access to judicial bodies will be facilitated; it will promote the specialization of the regular judges; It will allow the creation of “highly beneficial services such as the common service of notifications and seizures”; It will notably reduce the number of trips to different locations, and will facilitate the work of the bar association in organizing the ex officio shift, by facilitating its provision in a single location. For lawyers, the proposal would generate significant benefits, so they show their “full” support.

The Illustrious College of Attorneys of Santa Cruz de Tenerife It also exposes its “full support for this merger” and recalls that in the past it was already proposed to the TSJC but “for one reason or another it did not bear fruit.” The attorneys understand that “it would lead to a better day-to-day development with justice and a benefit for all.”

The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Santa Cruz de Tenerife considers the merger proposal “timely, adequate and convenient”, since it would allow “an optimization of human and material resources which, in turn, would mean a significant improvement in services”. This body understands that it would facilitate “a better organization of the ordinary activity and that derived from the guard services by the forensic doctors, psychologists and social workers».

Commissioner of the Police Station of the National Police Corps of Puertos de la Cruz-Los RealejosJosé Luis Rodríguez, also issued a favorable report for a unification that would make it possible to put an end to “an administrative separation that entails a territorial distance between the headquarters of both parties, which has a negative effect on the police service of this police station». The transfer of detainees to different locations reduces the available resources and “even the simple fact of sending the daily documentation already requires a double transport, one to each location.”

In this report by the CNP commissioner, it is recognized that the current situation generates, in some cases of gender-based violence, harm to the victim due to the duplication of demarcations. And it is concluded that the unification of the judicial parties «would allow a more efficient use of police means, both personal and material, as well as a simplification and streamlining of procedures. And it would reduce the chances of producing a feeling of secondary victimization among those harmed by criminal acts.