Bill would change how top judges and prosecutors are appointed

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill would require 20 years of judicial career to become a Supreme Court judge, instead of the 10 the current rule requires for most seats.
2. Judges who run as candidates for representative public office or accept political or trusted positions would move to voluntary leave status. If they take the position, they could not return to active service until two years after leaving it, and during that time they would be assigned to the Supreme Court or the regional High Court without losing pay.
3. To become a member of the governing council of judges (Consejo General del Poder JudicialConsejo General del Poder Judicial The body that governs judges in Spain, for example by appointing them to judicial positions.) through the jurist slot, candidates could not have been a minister, state secretary, regional minister, local council president, or a member of parliament in the previous five years. Candidates would have to appear before the appointing committee of the chamber with a record of merits and goals, and one substitute would be elected for each full member.
4. A Qualification Commission would be created within the judges' governing council, with five members, to review appointments that fall to the full council. A three-fifths majority would also be required to appoint presidents of provincial courts and the Supreme Court judge who oversees the activities of the National Intelligence Center.
5. The State Attorney General (Fiscal General del EstadoFiscal General del Estado The head of the public prosecution service in Spain.) would have to step aside from cases when the grounds for disqualification that apply to judges affect him, with the decision made by the chamber board of prosecutors chaired by the Lieutenant Prosecutor of the Supreme Court. The bill would also bar proposing as Attorney General anyone who in the previous five years was a minister, state secretary, regional minister, local council president, or a member of parliament.
6. Within six months of the law taking effect, the judges' governing council would have to produce a study on European systems for electing council members and a reform proposal approved by three fifths, to be sent to the Government, the Congress and the Senate.

Who it affects

• Judges and magistrates: New rules on leave and returning to service if they take political positions or run for office, and stricter requirements to join the Supreme Court.
• Jurists of recognized competence: New disqualifications and a public appearance to become members of the judges' governing council.
• Consejo General del Poder Judicial: New Qualification Commission, substitutes for members, and three-fifths majorities for certain appointments.
• State Attorney General: New grounds for stepping aside and new disqualifications for the position.

Words worth knowing

Consejo General del Poder Judicial

The body that governs judges in Spain, for example by appointing them to judicial positions.

Excedencia voluntaria

A status in which a judge temporarily stops working as a judge but keeps some rights.

Vocal

Each member of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial.

Fiscal General del Estado

The head of the public prosecution service in Spain.

Mayoría de tres quintos

A requirement that at least 3 out of 5 members vote in favor, a higher majority than usual.

It summarizes the text passed by the full Congreso. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries