Reform of the Judicial Power Law: new court office and court secretaries

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. A second criminal instance is generalized: the High Courts of Justice will hear appeals against decisions of the Provincial Courts, and an Appeals Chamber is created at the National Court.
2. The judicial office (Oficina judicial) is deeply reformed. It is defined as the organization that provides support to the work of judges and courts, with direct support procedural units and common procedural services.
3. Judicial secretaries become a single national senior legal body. They exclusively exercise judicial public faith and technically direct the staff of the judicial office.
4. The bodies of civil servants serving the Justice Administration are reorganized: new bodies for procedural management, procedural processing and judicial assistance are created, and civil servants from the previous bodies are integrated into them according to their qualifications.
5. Entry into the judicial career is still mainly through a competitive exam, but access as a magistrate for jurists of recognized competence is done through a merit-based competition with a scoring system and a training course at the Judicial School.
6. The rules on judges stepping aside or being challenged are renewed, with a detailed list of grounds and specific deadlines, and the practice of removing a judge from a case through baseless criminal complaints is limited.
7. The administrative situations, leave and permits of judges and magistrates are updated, including leave to care for children and relatives, and mandatory continuing training is introduced throughout their career.
8. Within six months the Government must approve the regulations on entry, disciplinary regime and organization of the Judicial Secretaries body, and within one year it must send Parliament the bills to adapt procedural laws.

Who it affects

• Citizens who go to court: They will have the right to information about the status of their cases and will have a second criminal instance in their autonomous community.
• Judges and magistrates: Their entry into the career, assignment competitions, administrative situations, leave and disciplinary regime change.
• Judicial secretaries: Their status, functions and organization are redefined, with new figures such as the Provincial Coordinating Secretary.
• Civil servants of the Justice Administration: They are integrated into the new bodies according to their qualifications, and their rights, duties and pay are updated.
• Lawyers and court representatives (procuradores): Their exclusive functions are kept, and disciplinary corrections for their conduct before the courts are regulated.

Words worth knowing

Oficina judicial (judicial office)

The organization that supports the work of judges and courts.

Fe pública judicial (judicial public faith)

The function of officially and reliably recording procedural acts.

Abstención y recusación (recusal)

Mechanisms for a judge to step aside from a case when an interest or relationship compromises impartiality.

Segunda instancia penal (second criminal instance)

The possibility for a higher court to review and, if appropriate, correct a criminal ruling issued by another court.

Situación administrativa (administrative situation)

Each of the positions a civil servant can hold, such as active service, leave of absence or suspension.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries