"We have been warning for a long time that the Administration of Justice needs a reform, but a thorough reform with resources." This is how the dean judge of the Arrecife Courts, Aurora García, spoke in an interview on Radio Lanzarote, on the same day that the judges went on strike to demand an independent justice.
In Lanzarote, the participation has been around 70 percent and a concentration has also been held at 12:00 noon in front of the doors of the judicial building. Prosecutors and lawyers have also joined this protest. "We are asking for independence and resources. To make a good reform of Justice, laws and laws are not enough, but resources to be able to apply them," she insisted.
García recalled in an interview on Radio Lanzarote that the first judges' strike in Spain took place in 2009 and another was subsequently called in October of this year. "During these years we have not stopped fighting. It is not that the judges have suddenly decided to go on strike, but that we have carried out some negotiation guidelines not only with the current Ministry, but also with the previous one," she indicated.
The judges believe that the time has come for their "voice to be heard". "We have tried to negotiate, but there comes a time when we see that they do not listen to us. Reforms are being made and, in addition, a very serious one, which is that of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). Even, the motto of the call is 'Independent Justice'," Aurora García insisted.
"They have not been interested in judicial independence"
In this sense, García has insisted that the CGPJ is "a pillar of democracy", which "already suffered an attack in 1985". "If the executive, legislative and judicial powers are concentrated in one, democracy fails. And this has not only been attacked by the PP. The political forces have not been interested in judicial independence. It is not only against one party. It is important that we are independent," defended the dean judge of Arrecife.
And for Aurora García, what cannot happen is "the feeling that the citizen sometimes has, that someone calls us on the phone and we do what the government of the day tells us". "That is what is being attacked right now. The reform of the CGPJ consists of limiting so many functions that it will practically become an appendage of the Ministry of Justice, which entails a lot of danger," she warned.
Precisely, in this sense, the dean judge has mentioned the corruption cases "in all areas". "From the Urdangarín case to the Gürtel case and also from other political forces. If the judges do not have independence, we are in bad shape," she pointed out.
This, according to García, is the "feeling that must be transmitted to citizens". "We are going to defend the interests of citizens but we need resources," she asked, while giving as an example that the judicial building of Arrecife lacks even a scanner. And, she insisted, this lack of resources makes the processes longer. "All the Courts have an important case, but we do not only handle that case, but more. The judges of Lanzarote every three weeks are on duty for eight days and hold misdemeanor trials," she explained.
The lack of judges and the "slow" processes
Therefore, it may seem to the average citizen that a corruption case involving a city council takes a long time to be prosecuted and that the process "is very slow", but it is because "the judge has to attend to everything, not just one case". "A woman who has a non-payment of a pension will think why that corruption case has preference," Aurora García indicated.
García has also explained that "normally in a corruption case there are many documents and defendants". "It is a lot and suddenly we can have a homicide that is also important. But the judge is a person, who, no matter how much availability he has, is very complicated, even if we all collaborate. You are putting in hours from all sides," she pointed out.
In Spain, there are 10 judges per 100,000 inhabitants, "the lowest average in Europe, which stands at 20 judges per 100,000 inhabitants". "That makes us slower. This should be understood. I would invite a citizen to see the day-to-day of a court," she pointed out.
García has also recognized that "one of the failures of the judges is that we do not explain our work". "We have to go down a bit. The judge takes the work home, and we have children and family. We do not make bread. A person's life cannot be decided in 15 minutes," she defended.
Regarding the criticisms that the judges have received from the Ministry, that they are protesting for their salary and not for the reforms in this area, Aurora García believes that "demanding working conditions or even economic conditions does not distort the protest". "We are talking about groups that have had 15 percent of their salary taken away in recent years. Our pocket hurts us all, but the reason for the protest goes beyond that. We are not asking for a salary increase, it is not our main reason, although it is obvious that it bothers us all. The opposite would be lying," she stated.
