Lesmes Leaves the CGPJ, Now What?

The resignation of Carlos Lesmes as president of the CGPJ opens an unprecedented institutional crisis in the judiciary, with an open battle for his presidency, a broken and acting Council, with the Constitutional Court not renewed and with doubts about whether some will now resign vowels.

Lesmes has heeded his threat to resign “within weeks” if socialists and the people do not resume negotiations on the renewal of the General Judicial Council, whose mandate has expired more than 1,400 days. After this decision, a state power has been beheaded and with its governing body still in function, casting an uncertain panorama with multiple crises on the table awaiting resolution, beyond a renewal still in the hands of Moncloa and Genoa.

Here are the key ambiguities to be resolved after Lesmes’ resignation:

Is there a battle for the presidency of the CGPJ and the Supreme Court?

The most immediate issue is who will replace Lesmes in both bodies and in fact this is the top priority among the members of the Council, who will deal with Thursday’s extraordinary plenary session, which would be a monograph on the renewal of the constitution, an issue that, according to several members, is now fading into the background.

Lesmes ordered a report from the Supreme Court’s Technical Cabinet, which concluded that, automatically the day after the BOE published his resignation, his deputy in both institutions, the president of the court’s senior chamber, Fernando Marín Castán, would will be near. to his figure and who was unanimously supported by the ruling chamber of the Supreme Court.

But that is not the case in the Council. Hardly any member accepts what everyone sees as Lesmes’ latest presidential maneuver. Everyone wants to have a voice. The conservatives don’t want a president imposed on them, while the progressives want Rafael Mozo, one of their own and oldest member, to chair the Council.

What will happen to the Constitution now?

Which is no longer a priority. Lesmes’ resignation further complicates the appointments of the two constitutional magistrates for the CGPJ to make, an issue in which it had been particularly involved. The immobility of the conservative bloc has prevented any agreement with the progressives, but the issue is in danger of becoming entrenched.

How is the CGPJ doing now?

It is precisely the latest events in which the Council has been involved that have severed the relationship between the progressive and conservative blocs, the latter with harsh accusations of acting as a redoubt of opposition to the government, especially because of its role in the negotiations on the renewal of the constitution, which now they are considered broken.

The tension is palpable in public, but in private the criticism rages. A Progressive member’s recent support for the pardon of former Junta de Andalucía President José Antonio Griñán has not gone down well, nor has the statement later made public by the conservatives. Even less so that the progressives try to find an insurgent member who breaks the cohesion of the conservatives to vote for the appointments to the TC. This last step has pushed them further apart.

Will there be more layoffs in the CGPJ?

No one rules out that in the coming hours or days, other members may join the president and resign. However, the sources indicate that it is necessary to see what comes out of the meeting in Moncloa, which could change everything.

All in all, Lesmes has already made it clear that a resignation from the blockade would make little sense, as the institution can function without him, but not without all of its members. In addition, they could commit a crime of cessation of public service, but as long as the decision was collective. At present, many members stay with the Council all morning without leaving the phone.