The association sends the proposal to the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders
MADRID, 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association (AJFV) has proposed to the Commissioner for Justice of the European Union, Didier Reynders, the creation of a Statute for EU judges that advocates “putting an end to revolving doors” and establishing that those Judges who go into political activity may not return to judicial activity.
Although the association has not made express mention of any specific case, in Spain there are several cases, recently the former Minister of Justice Juan Carlos Campo, who after being dismissed returned to exercise his functions as a judge in the National High Court. There are also cases in the prosecutor’s career, such as that of the former PSOE deputy and former Minister of Justice Dolores Delgado, who after resigning from the position of State Attorney General returned to her position as prosecutor in the National Court and later rose to the Togada Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court.
In a statement issued this Monday, the association has defended that the European Commission should have “a more relevant role” when it comes to states guaranteeing the independence of EU judges from the Legislative and Executive powers. Thus, it has proposed that the body may “require” compliance with the Statute when the independence of the judges is not complied with.
In this sense, the AJFV has stressed that the Statute should have measures to “guarantee judicial independence”, since “the preservation and effectiveness of the area of ??freedom, security and justice without internal borders that the European Union offers its citizens” requires “independent judges in its member states”.
For the association, it would also be pertinent that the European Commission also had “power” to carry out a “monitoring” and “verify” that the member states of the EU provide the “necessary means” so that their judges can resolve the issues in “a reasonable time”.
The AJFV has also indicated that in the event of non-compliance, the European Commission should be able to require the affected State “to urgently adopt the necessary measures” in order to correct this situation.
The AJFV, the second majority among the judges and magistrates, has recalled that at present, and unlike the judges who are part of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), the judges of the Union “lack a common statute that guarantees the application of Union law to all citizens”.
For this reason, it has considered it pertinent to commit to a proposal that addresses issues relating to judicial independence, the role of national judges as guarantors of the application of Union law, the selection and appointment of Union judges, as well as aspects related to remuneration and disciplinary regimes, and civil liability.
Thus, he has also proposed that the Statute include a section related to the social protection of judges, since, in his opinion, it is another aspect linked to judicial independence.
In this section, the association has advocated that a “study of the maximum load that can be assumed” be carried out by the judges in each State, “effective measures must be adopted to solve the overload” and the occupational health of workers is not endangered. magistrates.
As for the resolutions related to the selection, hiring, appointment, career development or dismissal of the position of the judges of the European Union, the AJFV has proposed that they be carried out by –or at the proposal of– an independent body of the power executive and legislative, which should be “made up, at least half, of judges preferably elected by themselves, following a procedure that guarantees their broadest representation”.
