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The Socialist Parliamentary Group registered this morning in the Congress of Deputies a proposal for an organic law that aims to stop “abuses of judicial actions” such as those carried out by the government and the PSOE by far-right groups that use the figure of popular accusation and other mechanisms of the rule of law. for political purposes. The new law, if passed, would limit popular accusations and prevent criminal prosecution based on newspaper clippings, among other things.
A representative of the socialist group Patxy Lopez registered the PLO to guarantee and protect basic rights from persecution resulting from abusive legal actions, in order to prevent persecution by groups “whose sole purpose is to attack those who do not agree with their approaches. .”
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The PSOE brought the bill to Congress pending talks with the rest of the parties so it could move forward after popular accusations against political leaders and family members spread. In particular, associations such as Manos Cleans, Hazte Oir or parties such as Vox and Iustitia Europa are taking legal action against the PSOE, the government and in particular against Pedro Sánchez and his entourage, such as his wife Begoña Gómez or his David Sanchez’s brother, both are now under investigation for whistleblower complaints.
The rule, Lopez explained, would work on four fronts: reform the popular accusation, make complaints based solely on press clippings inadmissible, crack down on crimes against religious sentiments, and allow judges to be impeached or recused for political statements.
The explanatory note states that two circumstances have developed in recent years that have strained these social mechanisms of debate, bringing it into the judicial sphere.
According to the PSOE, the party presenting the proposal, there are sectors that use strategies that “openly harm” fundamental rights against their political opponents. In his opinion, therefore, situations of persecution become widespread against certain groups, such as artists, activists, creators, as well as political representatives, “who seek to limit their rights by abusing institutions and certain legal provisions.”
In its doctrine, the Supreme Court has for years asked to limit popular accusations against political parties to prevent the transfer of political contests to the courts, straining the judiciary and focusing on judges for political battles. Given the significant increase in court cases, the socialists intend to stop this reform.
In short, the modification limits the cases in which popular accusations can intervene, so that they can only be done by those who can demonstrate that they have a legitimate interest in the matter and limit their action to the filing of a complaint and the court. , separation of the training phase. In addition, it contains a unique transitional provision that, if approved, would apply to both pending and pending cases.
Stop interested leaks
In particular, if the proposal is approved, the participation of the prosecutor’s office will be limited to the oral trial phase and the initial drafting of the complaint. And, according to the PSOE, the investigation should be carried out by the prosecutor’s office and those directly affected by the crime. With this measure, the socialists intend to put an end to “permanent interested leaks” of the trials on those accusations that “have political goals.” It also plans to put an end to “abusive attempts to demand non-investigative hearings for the sole purpose of giving the trial a media profile.” However, the prosecutor’s office can appeal the dismissal order if it does not agree with it.
The text specifies that if it is finally approved by the courts, legal entities or public entities, as well as political parties and associations and foundations related to them, will be excluded from the right to act as a popular accusation “for reasons of minimal institutional coherence”, “prevent the risk of instrumentalization the process that arises as a result of their active intervention in the political discussion.”
As for the reasons why it can act, socialists explain that with this new proposal it will be limited to crimes that deserve special reprimand or that, because of their social impact, are suitable for citizens to defend a vision of criminal legality that is alternative. to the prosecutor’s office, as may be the case with violations protecting diffuse interests or crimes of political corruption, as more illustrative examples. The aim, therefore, is to ensure that the courts are not swamped with constant complaints about minor incidents.
In addition, those who intend to speak will have to demonstrate a sufficiently relevant connection to the public interest intended to be defended in the process, in addition to the fact that they will only be able to act in criminal cases.
Avoid cases initiated solely on the basis of journalistic information
To prevent judges from opening court cases based on these types of complaints, the proposal also prohibits a court from accepting a complaint based solely on press clippings without providing additional data. The draft law directly includes the doctrine of the Supreme Court on the impossibility of opening a criminal trial with the help of simple press clippings without the slightest signs of violations.
“From this point of view, the modern information society, where news or journalistic evaluation opinions are easily disseminated through digital channels and communication networks, generates a flow of messages, reports, testimonies, events and discoveries that are not always opposed or subordinated to false motives. In these cases, the initiation of a criminal case without a minimal evidentiary or indicative base may harm the reputation of the victim or persons, which necessitates the regulation of the investigative activity of judicial bodies in these cases, “the proposal warns. .
The proposal involves prolonged trials and media coverage as the allegations have access to summaries and eventually become public. Socialists are using the text to abolish the crime of insulting religious sentiments, which the proposal would cover as a hate crime.
Article 525 of the Criminal Code, a crime which, according to the PSOE representative, has almost no criminal record, but which is used by ultra- and fundamentalist organizations to persecute artists, activists and elected representatives, forcing them to go through very expensive criminal cases, is abolished. proceedings on an economic and personal level without any basis.”
Suspension of judges from public speaking
In addition, the reason for judicial abstention is extended so that those who have publicly spoken out against members of the government or political parties are barred from trials.
As Lopez explained, “all these mechanisms of persecution have a common denominator: judicial politics.” “And judicial politics risks leading to the politicization of justice,” the spokesman warned, noting that in order to further ensure neutrality and the right to an impartial judge and effective judicial protection, the law is being reformed. The judicial system must include a new reason for abstention or recusal: if a judge or magistrate publicly makes statements in favor of or against political parties, unions, associations or other public or private organizations, they will not be able to participate in the process of which these people or organizations are a part.
The Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, Félix Balaños, has already announced his intention to approve this year the new Criminal Procedure Law (Lecrim), a rule that will replace the current rule, which dates back to 1882, and which will limit the role of mass prosecutions, except that the investigation of criminal cases will be entrusted to the prosecutor’s office.
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“Not only in Spain, but throughout the world, we are witnessing the systematic persecution and defamation of artists, creators, scientists, journalists and political opponents by extremist and far-right sectors, which, twisting the tools of the rule of law, use legal actions as vehicles for his goals, “the representative of the socialists warned the court to justify this measure. “What these ultras are doing violates our fundamental rights, the right to freedom of expression, the right to creativity, the right to honor, the right to privacy or the right to effective judicial protection,” Lopez condemned, clarifying that the law seeks to prevent mechanisms of this harassment.
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