Briefing
The Comisión Permanente of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (Council of Judges) will meet on Friday in an extraordinary session to adopt a measure providing temporary support for the six posts in the Sección Civil and the Sección de Instrucción on Tribunal de Instancia de Ceuta for a limited period. The measure follows a report by the Servicio de Inspección, which describes the courts in Ceuta as “exceptionally overloaded” following the mass arrivals on 30 and 31 July.
The plan is to provide additional judicial and administrative capacity, primarily to stabilise the Turnos de Guardia and ensure that particularly sensitive cases are handled, including those involving jurisdiction over violence against women and alleged sexual offences. In its statement, the Council refers to an allocation for the six posts in question; specific appointments and start dates, however, depend on recruitment and administrative procedures.
According to reports, the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes has offered the Council short-term funding, but its release requires a formal application and the usual administrative steps. The Minister of Justice Félix Bolaños also reported to Parliament an increase in cases received in Ceuta since the wave of arrivals, and cited a percentage figure attributed to the Council.
At the same time, the Fiscalía General announced that it would advertise temporary reinforcement posts with additional pay to ease the workload of investigators. Legal representatives are also calling for more binding protocols between the Ministry and the Consejo General del Poder Judicial so that support can be activated more quickly in future exceptional circumstances.
According to the Consejo, the expected decision explicitly concerns Ceuta; it is not linked to nationwide measures. Before the meeting, it remained unclear whether the additional judges and administrative staff would be able to take up their posts in September. The measure is intended to ease acute staffing shortages in the short term, but does not replace structural reforms to the administration of justice.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).