SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, June 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The presidents of the Superior Courts of Justice (TSJ) of Spain have once again shown their concern about the general situation of Justice, with serious problems of efficiency and organization, and consider that the current system is “totally outdated” and a “deep” reform of it is urgently needed.
They understand that one could almost speak of the need to “refound” the entire system: “Justice, its constitutional design, the institutional fit of its governing body (CGPJ), its real or apparent politicization, and, of course, the organizational and structural deficits that have weighed it down for decades”.
Added to this are two events that, in the opinion of the presidents of the TSJ of Spain, put Justice at risk of paralysis or collapse. On the one hand, the pending challenges year after year; on the other, the serious situation of current conflict due to the strikes and the serious deterioration of the public service of Justice.
These are some of the conclusions of the XVIII Conference of the Presidencies of the Superior Courts of Justice of Spain, which are being held these days in La Palma and in which the presidents of the TSJ have shared various experiences and actions that are carried out carried out in their courts, which they consider of interest to improve their organization and operation.
These include the elaboration of a strategic agenda for the TSJ, the grouping of judicial districts for the purpose of carrying out the weekend guards, the interactions between the governing bodies of the Judiciary and the Body of Lawyers of the Administration of Justice, its technological modernization, the problem of service commissions and reinforcement measures, with special reference to the important role played by territorial affiliation judges and justice offices in the municipalities.
Another of the conclusions points to the need for the pending reforms: the legislative projects for organizational, procedural and digital improvement and the institutional crisis of the CGPJ, with the collapse in judicial appointments.
In this sense, they regret that the Organizational, Procedural and Digital Efficiency bills have once again been frustrated in their parliamentary process, preventing the implementation, among other measures, of more efficient management and organization formulas (everything related to the collegiate functioning of the courts and tribunals), as well as measures to streamline proceedings, technology and complementary means of conflict resolution.
Likewise, they criticize that the political leaders have allowed significant periods of time to elapse (throughout several legislatures), frustrating necessary reforms of the judicial system due to the lack of political consensus and vision of the State.
LABOR DISPUTE.
The presidents of the TSJ have also shown their enormous concern about the seriousness of the current situation of conflict, with significant suspension of trials and other types of procedural actions, and enormous damage to citizens. For all these reasons, they urge the necessary meeting and dialogue between the interested parties to find a way out of the conflict, which will allow work to return to normality in the courts and tribunals as soon as possible.
They also point out that not only compensation demands have been evidenced, but also a progressive stagnation of judicial structures and a clear asymmetry between the legal design and the reality of the courts. In this regard, they consider that the functional distribution in the judicial bodies does not respond to the needs of a modern administration, which requires a reordering of powers through the necessary legal reforms, always placing the relevance of the judicial function at the center.
The presidents also claim the “imperious” need to adapt the judicial plant to the volume and increase in litigation existing in our country as a way of overcoming the current slowness of Justice. At the same time, they consider it essential to increase the number of judges of territorial affiliation (JAT)
to counteract the excessive workloads carried by many of the courts and tribunals, once the restrictive policy in the creation of new bodies has been confirmed.
For the presidencies of the TSJ, the JAT constitute the most effective professional resource to contain the overload that increasingly affects a greater number of judicial bodies. Therefore, they urgently see the disappearance of the obstacles introduced in the organic reform of the year 2018 (Organic Law 4/2018, of December 28, which gives new wording to article 347 bis LOPJ), both for their secondment in functions of reinforcement so as to activate the mechanisms of external substitution.
PLANNING AND COORDINATION IN GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY
The presidents of the TSJ of Spain also conclude that the complexity of the activity of the self-government of the Judiciary, together with the multiplicity and territorial dissemination of the bodies that it involves (CGPJ, Government Chambers, presidencies and deaneries) , requires a planning that establishes the master lines, priorities and commitments of action of each mandate of the CGPJ.
Thus, they believe it is absolutely necessary that the next CGPJ, in due course, begin its mandate with a planning exercise that results in a strategic plan that makes explicit the commitments of each mandate and enables adequate accountability to the citizenry. They maintain that said multi-year planning, conveniently updated through annual, sectoral or thematic plans, should guide, order and give coherence to the actions of the CGPJ, while allowing the operations of the Government Chambers, presidencies and deaneries to be aligned with said plans.
With the same objective, the presidents of the TSJ once again insist on the need to hold frequent thematic meetings with the CGPJ in order to improve the levels of coordination in the entire area of judicial self-government.
Likewise, they advocate the modification of the system of selection measures for service and advisory positions in the constitutional bodies, the Government, and the Technical Office of the Supreme Court, having to create a sufficient number of organic positions, without resorting to the system of service commissions that deprive to the Superior Courts of Justice of the limited personal resources they have.
They also reject the widespread cuts that have been imposed by the Ministry of Justice last year and most recently on June 16, 2023, denying for budgetary reasons the authorization of reinforcement and support measures proposed by the High Courts with a favorable report from the General Council of the Judiciary, based on excessive workloads and structural delays due to insufficient judicial staff. For the presidents of the TSJ, this decision entails very serious damages in scheduled agendas with suspensions of hearings and necessary actions, increasing the delays in the processes.
Finally, they point out that once the health alert caused by COVID has been deactivated, the Ministry of Justice is requested to consider putting an end to the health crisis situation for the purposes of the provisions of transitory provision 2 of Law 3/2020; or, failing that, the CGPJ proceeds to adopt the measures to adapt to the health situation
currently existing.
