Spanish court blocks vote that could swing the court to the left

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Spain’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday blocked the Senate from voting on a bill that would change the way its judges are chosen, raising political tensions as Spain heads into an election year.

The Chamber of Deputies had already approved the project last week, which was expected to be voted in the Senate this Thursday (22). Six of the 11 judges of the Constitutional Court voted to block the vote.

The court, with a conservative majority, accepted a request by the center-right opposition People’s Party (PP) to suspend a vote on a statutory reform that would reduce the majority needed to choose judges. This could result in the removal of some conservative justices and a shift to the left in the balance of power in the court.

The court argued that these norms, included in the form of amendments in an extensive reform of the Penal Code, had no bearing on the text as a whole. The rest of the reform can still be voted on Thursday.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, leader of the Socialist Workers Party, said the government would comply with the ruling but would appeal. “There is no precedent for this. It is the first time this has happened in Europe,” he said, adding that it was a “serious event.” The intervention, which prevents senators from voting on legislation, raises fears about democratic institutions in Spain, 44 years after the end of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

Until now, a three-fifths parliamentary majority was needed to choose judges, which proved impossible without PP support. A third of the judges’ terms have expired and the political parties have not reached an agreement on replacements for the next four years.

PP representatives welcomed the court’s decision, with one saying “the rule of law won”. “We all know what is behind these changes”, criticized the number two of the acronym, Cuca Gamarra. “It is clear the intention of the President of the Government, through the back door and regardless of the procedure, to change the rules of the game to adapt them to what suits him.”

Pablo Simon, professor of political science at the Universidad Carlos 3rd of Madrid, said that in its attempt to speed up the appointment of judges, the government “ended up generating a far-reaching constitutional and institutional crisis.”

The reform was bundled with other amendments, such as abolishing the crime of sedition and reducing penalties for embezzling public money when there is no personal gain – measures the opposition has said the government is using to court votes it needs separatists. Catalans to pass laws.

This has led opposition parties to accuse the government of taking shortcuts to modify a constitutional law and take the case to court.

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