Army military base El Copero (Seville), in a file image.Jose Manuel Vidal (EFE)
The political deadlock on the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) is causing a progressive paralysis of the functioning of various areas of the judiciary. Hardest hit is the Supreme Court, where several of its chambers are already on the verge of collapse due to the inability to fill vacancies for judges who die, retire or change destinations. But the looming paralysis has now reached the military judiciary, which is responsible for applying the Military Penal Code to 120,000 members of the armed forces and 70,000 of the Guardia Civil; as well as any civilians involved in military crimes such as B. those pertaining to the military treasury.
The Central Military Tribunal (TMC), the highest instance in that jurisdiction after the Military Chamber of the Supreme Court, is “on the brink of collapse,” warns retired audit colonel Santiago Casajús in his blog La toga castrense. That court currently has only one robed general – it should have five, with at least three active – and it will go on reserve in December, so it has not been able to train further, according to military justice sources.
Already in October last year, the previous President of the TMC, the General Counselor (equivalent to Division General) Carlos Melón, was transferred to the reserve. The President of this Court is appointed by the CGPJ from among the robed Auditor Generals (equivalent to a Brigadier General) and Counselors General, but as the CGPJ is in office he has been unable to make this appointment due to a 2021 law that has resulted in there is only one active-duty member of the TMC, an Auditor General, who has assumed his presidency on an interim basis. And now it should also go into the reserve.
The governing body of the TMC is currently unable to exercise the disciplinary, governmental and inspection functions of the military courts, which the CGPJ itself has been forced to assume; except for the disciplinary powers, where the last word was reserved, but always on the proposal of the interim president of the TMC.
This was just the first step in an accelerated process of deterioration that has only worsened since the two robed generals in the reserve retired this year, forcing them to leave the court without the CGPJ identifying their successors could appoint . Since last day 8, the Interim President of the Court, General Francisco Luis Pascual Sarría, has become the sole auditor member of TMC.
Faced with this unusual situation, the President of the Court was forced to take an unprecedented measure. First, the presentations of all proceedings have been attributed, whether verdicts or appeals, since it cannot be otherwise, since the law requires that the presentations take turns between the active members in robes and he is the only one. To complete the space, he established a shift between the colonels who preside over the five territorial military courts. The action may have undesirable consequences, since General Pascual’s interference in the decision of appeals can be contaminated and challenged when sentencing.
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The deterioration of the TMC extends to the rest of the military judiciary, as the CGPJ cannot appoint presidents and elected members of territorial military tribunals, or heads of military tribunals. The most serious situation is that of this court, however, as its interim president will go on reserve in December unless he is promoted to robed general counselor. In the first case, because he was not active, he could not even hold the presidency temporarily. In the second, according to some experts, he should finally compete with other robed generals for the position of President of the Court, but that is not possible if the CGPJ has not been renewed by then.
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