The Andalusian Government (PP) will reverse and enlarge. After the criticism received, especially harsh from the four associations of magistrates who called them “small cell-type cubicles”, the regional Executive will double – from the current scarce 12 square meters to 24 – the work spaces designed for magistrates and lawyers of the administration of justice, which 34 of them have already occupied for a year.
The move of 1,754 judicial officials to the seven Palmas Altas buildings acquired by the Ministry of Justice in the extreme south of the Andalusian capital is being tortuous. The objective is to bring together its five current judicial headquarters into one, and in the process stop paying the current rent, of 1.8 million a year. At the moment, only one has been occupied for a year with 17 commercial and contentious courts, but criticism from the judges for the narrowness they suffer has forced the Executive to back down, as confirmed by a Justice spokesperson. “All buildings will have 24-meter offices,” he confirms.
The current rooms, before the planned renovation, have 11.67 square meters, with a width of two and a half meters. The magistrates denounce that so much narrowness prevents them from working with minimum working conditions to offer quality justice. The senior judge from Seville, Francisco Guerrero, is cautious about the Board’s plan: “I have nothing in writing, but neither in words. They said they would try [duplicar los despachos]but nothing firm.” Aside from the limited space, the magistrates complain of a hasty and poorly thought out reform to house courts. “The soundproofing is unfortunate, I hear not only the secretary in the adjacent office, but even her interlocutors. And of course, anyone passing by in the hallway overhears my conversations about any confidential or sensitive topic I may have in my office. Furthermore, the mobile coverage is painful,” complains a judge who requests anonymity.
Pending the architectural adjustments that the building adapts, the general feeling among the 150 officials already transferred is satisfaction with the leap in quality: the majority of courts in the center of Seville were dark and old, and the new headquarters exudes luminosity and large views through the enormous windows of the first building already in use.
Although the move will be very staggered and the next 31 First Instance Courts will not arrive until next summer. Then there will be fifty transferred courts, of the total of 107 courts that Seville has, without counting the Provincial Court and the headquarters of the Superior Court of Andalusia (TSJA).
The gradual move will imply a small revolution in the Sevillian judicial world due to its concentration in a single complex, very far from the current central headquarters. Starting in 2025 and until the end of 2028, judges, prosecutors, managers, processors, assistants, lawyers, attorneys, but also citizens who use the justice service will cross the S-30, with nine busy lanes, to be able to access the new City of Justice, almost where Seville dies in the south.
“The place and the atmosphere are wonderful, but we leave and enter during rush hour and this is a funnel. Arriving today and tomorrow, with a bus strike, is a problem,” explained last Thursday José Antonio Rodríguez, manager of Contentious Court 2. Light enters the building in abundance except in certain offices, the climate is silent and the decoration white and minimalist.
Mobility is today the main problem of the new City of Justice. “If this is an oasis, to get there you have to cross the desert. It is difficult with only one bus line, no bike rack or public bike service stop, or outside security for motorcycles. We are all stuck in cars because Seville is a mobility disaster,” complains Miguel Millán, Justice delegate of the CSIF union in Seville.
In general, the visits received by commercial and contentious courts have been reduced due to the progressive digitalization of processes with the @Adriano program and the remoteness of the location. “It takes me an hour from home and my partner takes 45 minutes, although this month the first houses in the Isla Natura development will be delivered. [enfrente] and the accesses remain the same,” comments an official from a contentious court who asks not to be identified. The Board plans to coordinate with the City Council to increase buses as more courts are incorporated into Palmas Altas.
Salvador Cuadrado, CC OO Justice union delegate, elaborates: “There are two problems for now: mobility, since from neighborhoods like Macarena or Triana it takes more than an hour, until one day the metro arrives. And the transfer schedule, because the schedule is constantly broken as a result of delays. We don’t know anything and people need to know where they will work in a few years to organize their lives.” The Andalusian Government is not aware of any coverage problems for mobile phones in the new buildings.
Millán warns that starting next summer the influx of citizens will greatly increase: “The Courts of First Instance are the life of Seville. “Everyone has or has had some family matter, minors or debts.” The inconveniences of the move a year ago have obvious effects on today’s justice: last week the trial in one of the two commercial courtrooms had to be interrupted because the videoconference in the adjacent room, separated by a thin panel, It prevented the judge from hearing the witness who testified at the same time.
The Board trusts that the 1,754 officials will be able to provide citizens with more agile justice after implementing the new judicial office, whose negotiation with the unions has just begun. This will mean a reorganization to process case files, with common procedural services, a change with respect to how courts operate today.
Some officials regret that the bar that serves them in Palmas Altas, the only nearby establishment, does not sell wine or beer. “For now alcohol is not prohibited in Spain. But what Abengoa says [cuyo contrato de alquiler finaliza el próximo junio] He goes to mass and there is no beer. Furthermore, the cafeteria closes in August,” laments Millán.
