Spain ends 5 years of judicial deadlock as government strikes deal with opposition

Five years of judicial deadlock is finally coming to an end in Spain as the government signed a deal with the main opposition party late Tuesday.

“With this deal, we put an end to a democratic anomaly,” said Justice Minister Felix Bolanos, explaining that it will allow for the “immediate renovation” of the members of the General Council for the Judiciary (CGPJ).

The CGPJ is Spain's most senior judicial body, governing all courts and judges. But its mandate expired in 2018, leaving it with only caretaker powers because the country's politicians have not been able to agree on renewing the body.

For appointments to pass, three-fifths of lawmakers in both chambers of government must agree. But the conservative Popular Party, which has ideological control over the Council, had been refusing to back the government's list without reform on how judges are elected.

In January, a UN expert warned that the deadlock has translated into a significant delay in appointing judges and hindered the functioning of the Spanish judiciary as a whole.

“Parliamentary delay has ironically led to the inability of an independent body to play its non-partisan role in ensuring the rule of law in Spain,” Margaret Satterthwaite, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said in a statement.

“The right to a fair trial requires an impartial judge. In Spain, this impartiality is closely linked to the free and independent functioning of the General Council of the Judiciary,” she added.

But finally, the two parties agreed to appoint new judges -- with each party proposing 10.

They also negotiated to pass a law to reinforce the “independence of Spain's judicial power,” putting limits on judges and prosecutors who go into politics and then return to careers in law.

In a separate news conference, Esteban González Pons, the Popular Party negotiator, said the deal guarantees “more independence” amongst judges and begins "a path away from politics and politicians.”

The agreement was signed in Brussels and mediated by Věra Jourová, vice president of the European Commission for Values and Transparency.

The EU has been involved in negotiations since earlier this year and has been urging Spain to urgently end the deadlock.