The Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ) called on 25 August for the immediate convening of the Comisión Mixta with the Ministerio de Justicia to “finalise and swiftly ratify” the protocol for activating judicial reinforcements, which has not been updated since 2019. The Council’s Comisión Permanente justified the move by the need to provide additional resources quickly in urgent cases – currently, above all, for the courts in Ceuta.
The trigger was a letter from the ministry dated 24 August, in which the executive said that the budgetary conditions for two additional judges in Ceuta had been met. According to the ministry, the funds can be released once the formal request and the inspection service’s report have been received. Minister Félix Bolaños is responsible for the portfolio of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes. The ministry also points to forensic and administrative reinforcements in Ceuta that have already been authorised.
The CGPJ’s Comisión Permanente took note of measures by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía – responsible for the city’s judicial bodies – but reaffirmed the “urgent need” to convene the Comisión Mixta, finalise the text of the protocol and then ratify it. According to the Council, the protocol is supposed to be valid for one year; the latest version dates from 2019. In the institution’s assessment, this could impair the ability to respond in highly urgent situations.
In practice, two levels are at issue: the administrative and financial readiness of the Ministerio de Justicia and the procedural responsibilities of the judiciary’s self-governing body. In Ceuta, where the justice system has been under severe pressure following the high number of border crossings in recent weeks, the formal appointment of the two reinforcement judges still depends on further steps. The CGPJ decision distinguishes between verifiable facts (measures already taken or initiated) and demands (convening the Comisión Mixta and ratifying the protocol); it gives no specific date for implementation.
Assessment of possible effects: Without a prompt meeting of the Comisión Mixta followed by ratification, the activation of the reinforcements already envisaged could be further delayed. The immediate practical impact would be on the courts in Ceuta, which are currently dealing with proceedings subject to immediate deadlines under a persistently heavy workload.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).