The Spanish justice system is still undergoing some important developments. The situation of the Council for the Judiciary raises serious concerns as, firstly, the Council has not been renewed in spite of the urgency and, secondly, no steps have been taken to adapt the appointment procedure for its judges-members.
The lack of renewal is having an impact on the work of the Supreme Court and the justice system as a whole, raising concerns in relation to the number of cases adjudicated by the Supreme Court and its length of proceedings. No measures have been taken to further strengthen the statute of the Prosecutor General. An Ethics Commission for prosecutors was established. The Council for the Judiciary appointed two members of the Constitutional Court after some delay. The incompatibilities regime for judges with other professions such as political appointments continues to raise concerns. Measures were taken to further enhance the quality of justice, including legal aid, digitalisation and a draft law on the right of defence. The number of judges increased, and measures are being taken to address challenges regarding the resources of the justice system. The efficiency of justice generally improved and laws are under preparation aiming to further enhance it.
A reform on criminal procedure to address the length of investigations and prosecutions, and a draft law on lobbying are pending. The reform of corruption-related offences introduced the offence of illicit enrichment and revised the offence of misappropriation, including by lowering penalties in some instances, which was criticised by stakeholders. The Government received a mandate to adopt an anti-corruption strategy, which will have to be finalised by summer 2024. The efficiency of the Council of Transparency and Good Governance has improved. Rules on conflicts of interest of top executive officials are not sufficiently implemented. The Integrity System of the General Administration to improve the integrity of the public sector has been approved and the systems of incompatibilities of the National Police and Civil Guard are still under revision. Despite a formal request by the Court of Auditors, the Law governing financing of political parties remains unchanged. Parliament approved legislation aimed at transposing the Whistleblower Directive.
The National Commission for Markets and Competition, appointed as media regulator, has been allocated additional resources. Further to the adoption of the audiovisual law in 2022, the national registry of providers of audiovisual services has still to include providers of video sharing platforms and providers of services of special relevance. The Government has worked on a draft law on access to classified information that has not been submitted to the Parliament yet. There have been no new developments regarding the legal framework for institutional advertising and demands for increased transparency in the distribution of institutional advertising remain. Journalists continue to face challenges in the performance of their professional activities.
Concerns have been raised regarding certain procedural practices in Parliament. The Government continued to implement initiatives to increase public participation in policy making, and Parliament passed a Public Policy Evaluation Act. The Parliament adopted a new law establishing an Equality Body. The appointment of members of certain independent authorities continues to suffer delays. The Constitutional Court published an action plan to accelerate proceedings. Negotiations in the Parliament on a reform on the Citizen Security Law, aiming to address the concerns from civil society, did not succeed.
2023 Rule of Law Report Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Spain |
Recommendations
Overall, concerning the recommendations in the 2022 Rule of Law Report, Spain has (made):
- No further progress on strengthening the statute of the Prosecutor General, in particular regarding the separation of the terms of office of the Prosecutor General from that of the Government, taking into account European standards on independence and autonomy of the prosecution.
- No progress on proceeding with the renewal of the Council for the Judiciary as a matter of priority and initiating, immediately after the renewal, a process in view of adapting the appointment of its judges-members, taking into account European standards.
- Significant progress on continuing efforts to table legislation on lobbying, including the establishment of a mandatory public register of lobbyists.
- No progress on addressing the challenges related to the length of investigations and prosecutions to increase the efficiency in handling high-level corruption cases.
- Fully implemented the recommendation on ensuring adequate resources for the national audiovisual media regulatory authority to strengthen its operations, taking into account the European standards on the independence of media regulators in particular as regards resource adequacy.
- Some progress on pursuing work to strengthen access to information, in particular via revision of the Law on Official Secrets.
On this basis, and considering other developments that took place in the period of reference, and in addition to recalling the commitments made under the national Recovery and Resilience Plan relating to certain aspects of the justice system, it is recommended to Spain to:
- Strengthen the statute of the Prosecutor General, in particular regarding the separation of the terms of office of the Prosecutor General from that of the Government, taking into account European standards on independence and autonomy of the prosecution.
- Proceed with the renewal of the Council for the Judiciary as a matter of priority and initiate, immediately after the renewal, a process in view of adapting the appointment of its judges-members, taking into account European standards on Councils for the Judiciary.
- Proceed to adopt legislation on lobbying, including the establishment of a mandatory public register of lobbyists.
- Step up efforts to address the challenges related to the length of investigations and prosecutions to increase the efficiency in handling high-level corruption cases, including by finalising the reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
- Strengthen the rules on conflicts of interest and asset declarations of persons with top executive functions by reinforcing the sanctioning power of the Office for Conflicts of Interest.
- Advance with strengthening access to information, in particular via revision of the Law on Official Secrets, taking into account European standards on access to official documents.
More information: Rule of Law Report 2023
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