Bill would let the judiciary council pick candidates for European courts

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill argues that the Spanish government currently controls the selection of Spain's candidates for international courts, since most of the selection committee are senior officials appointed by the Council of Ministers. It says this does not meet the independence standards of the Council of Europe and the European Union.
2. The bill would add a new paragraph to Article 560 of the Organic Laworganic law A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes. on the Judiciary. The General Council of the Judiciary would then designate candidates for judges and advocates general of the Court of Justice and the General Court of the EU, for the full judge and ad hoc judges of the European Court of Human Rights, and for representatives before other international courts.
3. The General Council of the Judiciary would have three months to approve a designation procedure based on transparency, publicity, merit and ability, following applicable European and international rules.
4. If passed, the law would take effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette.

Who it affects

• General Council of the Judiciary (Consejo General del Poder Judicial): Would have to approve, within three months, a procedure for designating candidates for international courts, using transparency, merit and ability criteria.
• The Government: Would lose its current control over the selection of Spain's candidates for these courts, which would move to the judiciary.
• People who want to become judges or advocates general on European and international courts: Their candidacies would be selected by the judiciary council through a public, merit-based procedure.

Words worth knowing

Jueces ad hoc (ad hoc judges)

Judges appointed for a single case only, not permanently.

Terna

A shortlist of three candidates from which one is chosen.

Ley Orgánica (Organic Law)

A special type of Spanish law, reserved for major matters, requiring a reinforced majority in Congress.

CGPJ

Consejo General del Poder Judicial, the body that governs judges in Spain.

organic law

A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes.

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