Judicial dispute in Spain: Surprisingly clear words from the king

An Christmas Eve, King Felipe spoke more clearly than ever before. Felipe VI went only briefly. in his Christmas speech on the Ukraine war. Then the monarch called Spanish politicians to account. He warned of an “erosion of institutions”. Without naming specific parties, the monarch warned to consider the serious consequences of a further “deterioration of coexistence”, which could lead to increasing social divisions.

Traditionally, the Spanish king prefers to stay out of politics unless he feels compelled to defend the “unity of Spain”; this task is given to him by the constitution. In 2017, for example, he intervened when the dispute with the separatists escalated dangerously after the illegal referendum on Catalan independence.

Now the bitter confrontation between socialists and conservatives in Madrid has plunged the country into a serious internal political crisis. Both sides are preparing for a “coup d’etat”. The focus is on the head of the judiciary, whose replacement has been blocked for four years by the dispute between the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the socialist PSOE party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

An ongoing legislative process stopped

Shortly before Christmas, following an emergency motion by the PP, the constitutional court stopped an ongoing legislative process for the first time in the history of Spanish democracy: the court, which is dominated by conservative judges, prohibited the Senate from passing parts of a law that the House of Representatives had already approved. So far, the constitutional court had only ruled on passed laws and had not previously interfered with the powers of parliament.

With the reform, the left-wing minority government wanted to change the procedure for appointing members of the Constitutional Court and the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). The mandate of this body expired in 2018, as did that of four constitutional judges since last summer. The General Council ensures the independence of the courts and fills the most important judicial posts, including two constitutional judges.

PP leader and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo defended his party’s latest urgent motion, saying that one must “protect the institutions from the politicians”. However, he is prepared to “depoliticize” the judiciary in a major reform with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The left accuses the PP of trying to defend its dominance of the judiciary by all means. Despite the change of government four years ago, conservative lawyers still have the majority in both the General Council and the Constitutional Court, thanks to Mariano Rajoy, the last PP head of government to date.

The left coalition is being welded together

Initially, the PP used its veto because it wanted to prevent Sánchez’s coalition partner Podemos from influencing the judiciary. A few weeks ago, the PP then let the negotiated replacement of the most important posts fail because, in their opinion, the government had accommodated Catalan and Basque separatists. Sánchez’s minority cabinet depends on their votes – and can rely on them.

A criminal law reform passed parliament without any problems, with which the government abolished the criminal offense of “inciting a riot” (sedición). It also significantly lowered the penalties for misappropriating public funds when it is not a matter of personal enrichment. On their basis, leading Catalan separatists had been charged and convicted for organizing the 2017 referendum. Some of them could now benefit from the reform. The right therefore accused the government of “rewarding” the separatists for their support in important votes.

The recent escalation in the dispute with the PP has helped to weld the left-wing coalition back together, in which tensions had recently increased. With the help of her parliamentary partners, she punctually and smoothly passed the minority government’s third state budget and the “ley trans”: the “act for the actual and effective equality of transgender people” gives everyone the right to determine their gender themselves – including minors . Only two declarations in front of the registry office are required for a gender change. Medical diagnosis and hormone treatment are no longer necessary.

Another law, which is particularly close to the heart of the left-wing coalition, turned out to be in need of reform after just a few months. The new sex criminal law should better protect women. However, due to a loophole in the law, the prison sentences of more than a hundred perpetrators have already been reduced; nearly twenty have since been released.

The left-wing minority government remains combative, although time is running out. Local, regional and parliamentary elections are coming up in 2023. The coalition wants to make another attempt to reform the election of judges in such a way that the constitutional court can no longer stop them.