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What it is

How Spain would pick candidates for European courts

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Unfinished

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 13 March 2018. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Socialista.

Official title: Private member's bill regulating the procedure for selecting candidates to hold jurisdictional functions at the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000208· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The bill would have a selection committee propose candidates for judge at the European Court of Human Rights and for judge or advocate general at the Court of Justice of the European Union to the Government, and the proposal would be binding.
  2. The committee would include two members of the Congress of Deputies, two Senators, the Foreign Affairs Minister, a member of the Governing Council of the Judiciary, a representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the president of the Bar Association's governing council. For the European Court of Human Rights, the Ombudsman and a representative of human rights organizations would also join.
  3. The call for candidates would be public, with at least two months to apply. Candidates would need to be respected legal professionals with at least fifteen years of relevant experience, and would be interviewed in a public hearing.
  4. For the Court of Human Rights, the committee would send the Government three candidates, with a balanced presence of women and men, giving priority to knowledge of human rights and of English and French. For the Court of Justice of the European Union, priority would go to knowledge of European Union law and of French.

Who it affects

  • Legal professionals who want to apply as candidates for the European courts: They would have to meet experience requirements and take part in a public hearing.
  • The Spanish Government: It would receive the committee's binding proposal and pass it on to the European institutions.
  • The Congress of Deputies and the Senate: They would appoint the deputies and senators who sit on the selection committee.
  • The Judiciary, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the legal profession: Each would have one representative on the selection committee.

Words worth knowing

Proposición de ley
A bill introduced by a parliamentary group. It is not a law until it is passed.
Propuesta vinculante
A binding proposal, one the Government must accept as is.
Abogado general
Advocate general, a position at the Court of Justice of the European Union that advises on the cases being decided.
Consejo General del Poder Judicial
The governing body of Spain's courts and judges.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.

  1. Introduced13 March 2018Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted20 March 2018The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 6 official steps on a timeline
Mar 2018Jun 2018Sept 2018Dec 201811. 13 March 2018: Presentación22. 20 March 2018: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 20/03/2018 hasta 23/03/201833. 20 March 2018: Calificación44. 23 March 2018: Gobierno Contestación desde 23/03/2018 hasta 04/05/201855. 4 May 2018: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 04/05/2018 hasta 05/03/201966. 5 March 2019: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 05/03/2019 hasta 27/03/2019

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.

It has not been presented again yet.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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