On the appointment of the President and Members of the Spanish General Council of the Judiciary. A reflection from common sense

Abstract

Judicial independence is a key subjective principle of the democratic judiciary. Citizens expect, first and foremost, that whoever holds the State’s power to resolve their conflict is unrelated to it, objective and impartial. Danger lurks when the system of appointment of judges, at least of the most important ones (the so-called high courts), depends directly on the political power and is not left to the judicial power itself, or depending only on the judiciary, the composition of the corresponding commission is clearly influenced by the political power. There is no perfect system for appointing high judges, nor is the Spanish system due to the political control of the General Council of the Judiciary. The causes, effects and possibilities of improvement are analysed in this paper, in order to better guarantee judicial independence.