Judge Manuel Marchena will not continue to exercise the functions of president of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court from next December 5, the date on which his second term at the head of the most delicate chamber of the Supreme Court, the one that judges competent people and through which are the major cases of corruption. This was transmitted on Tuesday to the Permanent Commission of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), whose members must soon elect their successor in a designation that is expected to be complicated by the opposing positions between the conservative and progressive blocs.
In the event of a vacancy, the Judicial Power law provides that the presidents of the Chambers will be replaced by the magistrate occupying the best position in the hierarchy of the Chamber or section in question. In this case, it is Judge Andrés Martínez Arrieta, of the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association (AJFV), who defines himself as independent. Martínez Arrieta happens to be the preferred candidate of the conservative sector of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) to replace Marchena.
The confirmation that Marchena is resigning from his interim post comes amid growing tension over his succession. For this position, two candidates were presented: Martínez Arrieta and Ana Ferrer, affiliated with the progressive party Juezas y Jueces para la Democracia (JJpD), and who is the favorite candidate of the progressive group of the CGPJ, where they exercise, in addition to their course, that this position be occupied by a woman to respect the parity criterion established by the new regulations approved by the Government.
The Equality Commission of the Superior Council of Judges approved a report last week in which it explains that, to comply with this standard, at least two of the four chamber presidencies of the Supreme Court awaiting renewal must be assigned to women, so that, for example, the first time, the composition of one of the highest levels of the judicial pyramid is equal.
The gap between conservatives and progressives suggests a situation of blockade like that already experienced during the election of the presidency of the organization last summer. These appointments require 13 votes, which means adding the support of the two wings of the CGPJ, which is completely divided in two, with 10 appointed on the proposal of the PSOE and Sumar and 10 others on the initiative of the PP plus the president, Isabel Perelló. .
