THE Navarrese magistrate Esther Ericenew vowel of General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) After the last renewal of this body, he assured that the five years of its blockage have damaged the image of Justice and its link with society.
Society “needs the fnormal functioning of the judiciary to be able to function” and that five years of blockade “have not been our best moment”, he declared in an interview with EFE, in which he chose to develop work based on consensus, “at- beyond the names they want to give us.” “to magistrates as progressive or conservative.
Erice, who was proposed by the PSOE as a memberrecalled that within the CGPJ, a team of four members has already been constituted, which has a timetable and will present in the plenary session of the Council alternatives for the appointment of its members according to European standards, but the election, has- he underlined, in the end It belongs to the Cortes, “who are those who legislate”.
THE The magistrate does not share this rigid division which is made by judges between progressives and conservatives: “I believe that in the Council, what we must do is work, and a lot.”
“All the judges have ideologieslike everyone else, but when they work, you have to leave that aside,” he said.
Erice pointed out that It bothers him that it is considered that a judge with a specific ideology will be “absolutely” conditioned by it.because “there is a lot of room for work” and ultimately “this ideological difference is not fundamental”.
First president of the CGPJ
The judge, who was the first woman to become president of the Provincial Court of Navarre (2010-2021), was satisfied with the election of the first woman president of the CGPJ, Isabel Perelló.
“For me, it was also important. In 44 years of life of this institution there had been no female president and those who make themselves heard were only 17%”, declared Erice, a magistrate specializing in violence against women who participated in the Expert Group of the Observatory of Gender Violence and Domestic Violence of the CGPJ .
“I believe that in Congress, in the Senate, in the Constitutional Court, in many bodies, there have been women presidents, and not only because they are women, but because we now have people who have merit, abilities and who are women.. And there was no reason for one of the people with this brilliant resume to be president,” he said.
A gender-sensitive justice system
Erice, who does not consider herself a reference for feminism in Navarre Despite the voices that affirm it, he alluded to the proposals aimed at achieving parity between men and women in bodies like the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court, a parity which, in his opinion, more than recommended, is “obligatory “.
THE Justicecommented, more than feminist, it must have a gender and equality perspective: “Equality between men and women is necessary in many things, here too. And there is not yet one for women despite incorporation into all areas of society, they cannot reach certain places.
The vowel of CGPJ It was she who issued a dissenting vote in which she rejected the reduction of the sentence from 15 to 14 years in prison for La Manada deputy Ángel Boza, which the other two members of the House supported.
“We all have a different way of interpreting things,” said Erice, who recognizes that through training and “breeding ground” in Pamplona after the La Manada affairhas a particular sensitivity towards gender violence.
The law of “only yes is yes”
Regarding the controversy over reduction of sentences in application of the so-called “only yes means yes” lawstressed that the criminal repercussions are always “the most striking thing”, but that this law, like the 2004 comprehensive law against gender violence, “has other things that are very important for us”.
“These are comprehensive laws, that is to say that not only does the law act, but it in no way succeeds in solving this problem alone.” problematicbut also integrates other aspects such as education, housing or health, because these are two problems,” he stressed.
