Spain is at the bottom of the EU when it comes to the independence of its courts, according to a report published by Brussels on Monday. The “perceived independence of Spanish courts and judges” is the sixth lowest in the Union and more than half of the companies and individuals surveyed (56%) consider it to be “quite bad” (38%) or “very bad” (18%). Only Slovakia, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia got worse results. The EU’s Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova, insisted that the Spanish judicial system has “room for improvement”, especially “the rate of civil and commercial cases and the number of pending administrative cases and the use and tracking of satisfaction surveys.”
“Interference or pressure from government and politicians” is the main reason for this low perception of judicial independence. Some 41% of those surveyed by the Eurobarometer consider the independence of Spain’s courts and judges to be “quite bad” or “very bad” and denounce the political pressure on judges and courts. Some 38% also complain of the “the economic pressures” and the “special interests” of judges. And 28% lament that “the status and situation of judges does not sufficiently guarantee their independence.”
Denmark, Finland and Sweden have more highly valued judicial systems (only 7%,12% and 14% of those surveyed, respectively, consider their independence “quite bad” or “very bad”). At the bottom of the ranking, and even worse than Spain, is Bulgaria (70%), Croatia (66%), Slovakia (61%) and Italy (61%).
“The perception of judicial independence continues to be a challenge for Spain and I think that it is not only a problem of individual private cases but also well-known public cases,” said Jourova, when asked about the latest corruption scandals in Spain. “People expect judges to make fair rulings,” said the Czech EU Commissioner, without wanting to involve herself in “internal” problems. Jourova celebrated the fact that “unlike last year, this time Spain cooperated fully” with the European Commission in drawing up the report, “providing information on efficiency indicators.”
The Spanish judicial system is one of the slowest in the EU and also near the bottom, in sixth lowest place: on average in Spain, 318 days are required to resolve civil and commercial cases (according to 2014 figures). Only Greece (330 dies), France (348), Croatia (380), Slovakia (524) and Italy (532) come off worse in the ranking, which Brussels has presented for the fourth consecutive year. Moreover, Spain is the third EU partner with the most administrative cases pending (0.4 for each inhabitant), behind only Germany and Cyprus (0.9%). “This comparison serves as tool for mutual learning and to achieve more efficient European judicial systems,” said Jourova.
