Seventeen days. This is the maximum period that the government has granted itself in its latest attempt to break the ban on renewing the General Council of the Judiciary. If the talks do not bear fruit, the executive authority will make the decision Parliament Reform to review the weight of the constitutional body in designing judicial leadership. In Moncloa, they believe that this power when it comes to appointing senior officials in the judiciary is the “perverse incentive” that makes the PP refuse to resolve the situation. Hence, they see this reform as a possible way to end five years of constitutional anomaly. At the moment, there is nothing concrete. The only intention is to review the appointment formula to make it more objective and transparent.
The General Council of the Judiciary currently has the power to appoint judges of the Supreme Court and various government positions on a discretionary basis – the presidents of the National Court, the High Courts of Justice, or the District Courts, as well as the various departments of the country. National Court, High Courts and Supreme Courts. This procedure has been regulated for more than a decade. It identifies the benefits to be evaluated, but does not specify a measure for them. Candidates must undergo a prior interview before the qualification committee. but, The final word, the final decision on the appointment, rests with the plenary session of the CGPJ.
United Kingdom: Multi-stage opposition
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Türkiye has made it clear that the executive branch does not intend to assume this power. And they are “inspired by some of the proposals that have been put on the table.” One of them is the one that was transferred to Parliament by the current President of General Council of the JudiciaryVicente Guilarte. Counsel also believes that it is necessary to introduce amendments to the appointments so that the administrative body of judges is no longer attractive to the parties. Labels which, on many occasions, end up relegating the merit and ability of applicants to the background compared to their emotional closeness, ideological or trade union affiliation.
Connection via guilarte It proposes, among other things, that government positions should be selected by the judges of the relevant district or chamber and that the positions of Supreme Court judges be in the hands of a “qualified committee”. It is a formula that is actually used in some countries around us. This is the case of the United Kingdom. There, selection processes are in the hands of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). This is the public, independent body housed in the Ministry of Justice that suggests names for positions at various levels of the judiciary up to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court, whose judges are chosen by a selection committee of which, yes, the Chairman of the Joint Arbitration Committee is a member, has been excluded.
However, constitutional advocate Rosa Maria Fernández recalls that all these proposals must be ratified or rejected by the relevant authorities. However, what the member says usually goes to the block. “The weight and effectiveness of the JAC proposals Over the years they gave him a certain authority “More than a proposal or recommendation body, it has become a real appointing body,” says the university’s professor of constitutional law “Proposing and appointing judges. The Lord Chancellor (LC), the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ) and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC)”. Only in the first eight years of his life, according to data provided by Al-Dustouri, out of nearly 3,500 recommendations put on the table of the competent authority, only five did not result in charges being brought.
The Judicial Appointments Commission consists of fifteen commissioners, including lawyers, judges and people not affiliated with the judiciary – who can range from surgeons to university professors. Twelve of them are appointed through a public competition. As for the selection processes, they begin with the invitation to fill the vacant position. They usually continue to test the qualifying questions that candidates have to face. Those who have managed to overcome it and have a profile that suits the position, He will be called to the call Selection daya day in which they will have to face an interview, a set of questions about possible assumptions related to the position to be filled or some kind of simulation.
When jobs are vacant Supreme judicial bodies supreme courtAs Fernandes explains in his article “The British Model of Judicial Appointments.” Small commissions Dedicated It is chaired by the Lord Chief Justice – the head of the judiciary – which also includes two other senior judges, the Chairman of the Joint Arbitration Committee and another member of the Judicial Appointments Committee. And when they want to name what it is Judges for the SupremeThe four-member committee consists of both the President and Vice-President of that court, who leads the JAC, and the chairs of similar bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Germany: Politically influential committee
Another country where expert committees play some role is Germany, recalls Guilarte in the document he sent to parliament. On German territory, judges of the higher federal courts – Supreme Courts, Administrative Courts, Prosecutor General, Labor and Social Courts – are elected. The competent federal minister A specific committee includes all of the various competent ministers state how An equal number of members elected by the Bundestag -Total 32 people- “Experienced in the legal field.” SoEach political group submits a proposal, and depending on the votes obtained, those representatives chosen by Parliament are appointed.
Both the Federal Minister and members of the committee can propose candidates who meet the conditions. The Court’s Presidential Council then issues a ruling on the suitability or unsuitability of the candidates, a ruling that is usually respected, although not binding. The committee then decides by a simple majority and the Federal Minister gives the green light. He added, “In practice, the federal states draw up lists of names, and then the parties in the committee agree on the shares of the federal states and the shares of the parties that They often have little to do with partisan proximity and little to do with the professional qualifications of the proposers.“, explains Professor Walter Biron and President of the Heidelberg Regional Court Helmut Biron “Access to justice in Germany”.
Denmark: Independent appointments board
Sanchez says he was inspired by Guilarte’s proposal to appoint the judges, but he did not specify the formula
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Unlike in Spain, the Danish Domstolsstyrelsen, the equivalent of our General Council of the Judiciary, cannot make appointments. The Queen undertakes this based on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice based on the proposal previously submitted to her by the caller. Judicial Appointments Board. This body, which was established at the end of the 1990s to try to provide greater transparency in the provision of positions in the judiciary, has the ability to do the following: Providing recommendations regarding filling all judicial positionsThe only exception is the presidency of the Supreme Court.
This council consists of six people, Three of them are judicial members and three are from outside the courts: A judge of the Supreme Court, a regional judge, a district judge nominated by the Danish Judges’ Association, a lawyer nominated by the Danish Bar Association, and two public representatives appointed by the Danish Association of Local Authorities and the Danish Public Information Board.
Again, in this case Selection process It begins with a call and application, accompanied by a qualification sheet, a CV, and statements from previous and current employers… After which a list of candidates is prepared and an opinion is sought from the president of the court where this position falls vacant. After obtaining the opinion of the aforementioned body, The Board begins its evaluation, which may include interviewing applicantsIt is part of the study conducted by the Authority regarding the “candidate’s qualifications” to fill the vacant position. After that, he decides by simple majority and nominates a candidate. The said recommendation must be justified and indicate whether there is “disagreement” and the positions of each member.
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