The Spanish constitutional court has finally agreed to admit the 4 judges nominated by the government of Pedro Sanhcez, thus ending a long stalemated constitutional crisis that polarized public opinion.
The crisis goes back to June 2022 when the mandate for 4 judges expired, which required their replacement. The government suggested 2 names while the other 2 needed to be appointed by the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ), the institution that governs the judicial system in Spain.
Spanish lawmakers approved a bill that would allow the government to change the composition of this governing body and thus force two judges into the constitutional court. The latter, dominated by conservatives, reacted under the influence of the Popular Front conservatives and vetoed the bill after a 6 to 5 vote.
Spain’s Prime Minister described the acquiescence of the Spanish Constitutional Court as a victory for democracy. This is the first time in years that Spain’s conservatives lost their dominance of the judicial system.
This has been the most serious constitutional crisis in Spain after the Catalan independence referendum in 2017. But it does not seem to be the last as Pere Aragonès, the President of the Catalan Generalitat announced in his Christmas address that another referendum lies ahead.
