Spain's PSOE and PP end two-year judicial council deadlock

PSOE and PP agree on CGPJ renewal: ten members for each party

What is the institutional cost of leaving the body that governs judges in limbo for five years? The answer arrived this Tuesday: a negotiated distribution, ten members for the PSOE and ten for the PP, and a future promise whose implementation remains uncertain. The agreement was signed by Minister of Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, and PP Deputy Secretary for Institutional Action, Esteban González Pons, with European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourová as an exceptional witness. This ends a blockage of more than 2,000 days at the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the body responsible for appointing, promoting, and disciplining judges in Spain.

The distribution is symmetrical in form but asymmetrical in substance. The twenty members come from the list of candidates approved by the Central Electoral Board in 2018, with six designated by the Congress of Deputies and six by the Senate. Regarding the presidency, the PSOE wanted a woman — she would be the first female president of the CGPJ and the Supreme Court — but the PP insisted that the members themselves choose her. The fine print includes legal reforms to ban access to membership or the role of Prosecutor General for anyone who held political office in the previous five years, extending the required seniority to become a Supreme Court judge to 20 years (currently 15), and requiring 13 members for discretionary appointments.

What does "direct participation" of judges in their election miccionan?

This is the point that blocked renewal for years and is now deferred. The law will include an additional provision giving members six months to submit a reform proposal establishing direct participation of judges and magistrates in the election of the 12 members of judicial origin. This proposal must be approved by three-fifths of the Council and sent to the Government, the Congress, and the Senate, which will decide whether to process it. The stated goal is for the system to receive a positive evaluation in the European Commission's Rule of Law report.

The trap lies in the timeline. The CGPJ must first study European systems for electing members in analogous bodies, and only then propose its formula. There is no deadline for this reform to reach the Official Gazette (BOE). In practice, it is a promise with an indefinite expiration date.

Judicial power distribution that angers part of the electorate

Reaction on the right flank of the political board has been furious. Some argue that the PP has handed control of the Supreme Court to the Government without real concessions, gaining only an opposition ministry they already exercised de facto. The criticism rests on objective data: the next Council will appoint two-thirds of the Supreme Court judges, which currently has 25 vacancies. Whoever distributes the members controls the judicial leadership for years.

On the left flank, the interpretation is opposite. It is argued that the alternative was worse: without an agreement, the Government could have reformed the law to appoint all twenty members with its parliamentary allies, leaving the PP without influence. The law requires a qualified majority, forcing negotiation. Realism, they say, looks like this.

Measures taking immediate effect

The legislative package includes concrete changes not dependent on future reform. Amendments to the Organic Law of the Judiciary and the Statute of the Public Prosecutor's Office tighten revolving doors: those who held political office in the last five years cannot become members or Prosecutor General. Seniority requirements for the Supreme Court rise from 15 to 20 years. Discretionary appointments by the Council will require a reinforced majority of 13 members, preventing a single faction from imposing candidates.

Additionally, the Senate will designate the fifth conservative judge to the Constitutional Court, a seat vacant since Alfredo Montoya resigned due to illness. The PP will place magistrate and CGPJ member José María Macías there. This is the other major prize of the agreement: the Constitutional Court becomes fully staffed.

The CGPJ in figures

• 20 members make up the General Council of the Judiciary
• 10 and 10: split between PSOE and PP
• 12 members of judicial origin, whom judges would elect in the future system
• 13 members needed for discretionary appointments
• 25 vacancies in the Supreme Court
• 6 months deadline for the CGPJ to propose electoral system reform

Why the PSOE contradicts the PP on judge elections

Hours after the announcement, the PSOE moved to correct the PP's interpretation of the text. Socialist sources denied that judges will elect judges: "The agreement does not say that, under any circumstances," they stated, adding that only objective conditions for accessing the Council are incorporated. The discrepancy over what was exactly signed proves the pact rests on calculated ambiguity.

Sumar, for its part, questioned its vote one day after blessing the agreement. The coalition said "this is not how things are done" and left its parliamentary support in the air. The text still needs to pass through the Cortes.

What remains to be seen

The agreement ends the longest blockade in democracy for the body governing judges, but leaves open the two crucial questions: who will preside over the CGPJ, and whether direct participation of judges in their election will become reality or remain a campaign promise. The ball is in the members' court. And the calendar, as always, favors those who can afford to wait.

Let no one be deceived: the distribution is done, the photo is taken, and holidays continue. Spanish justice has new governance. How the next selection occurs remains to be seen.