The president of the Supreme Court, Isabel Perelló, has defended “firmly” the independence of the Judiciary in her speech to open courts, but with important nuances, adding that “independence does not equals free will.” “The characteristic of judicial independence is precisely,” he said, “that our only frame of reference is the legal system. That is the source of our legitimacy and the guarantee that justice is administered without further guide than the right,” he said in a speech in which he has made an veiled reference on the “judges that make politics.” The president of the Supreme Court considered “totally inconvenient and rejectable the insistent disqualifications to justice, from public authorities.”
Perelló stressed in various passages that it is necessary to have the confidence of citizens in the proper functioning of the institutions, and that this in turn claims that they respect each other. “The field of judicial independence- he said- is absolute. This is proclaimed by the Organic Law of the Judiciary, when it provides that everyone is obliged to respect the independence of judges and magistrates. That respect is not a rhetorical formula, it requires that we are not pressed, that we are not conditioned, that the credibility of the courts with judgments of political opportunity or of any other type They do not know the principles and times of the process. ”
The president of the Supreme criticized what she considered. He explained that “such a way of proceeding, in addition to contradicting the European recommendation, directly undermines confidence in justice by trying to negatively influence the citizen consideration of the judges.” In the same vein, Perelló claimed the importance of “constitutional loyalty”, based on “mutual respect.”
Also at this point he introduced nuances by adding that “the disagreement and criticism are acceptable, both being legitimate”, although “it is not to discredit the judiciary, attributing intentions or objectives that are openly contrary to the principles that must preside over the jurisdictional action.” The president of the Supreme Court stressed that in the rule of law any actions of the judges develop “in the channel of a process”, which runs “with all the guarantees of hearing and defense.” The important thing- he continued- is that every decision is “likely to be reviewed by other impartial and independent judges”, so that “possible errors are corrected within the Judicial Power itself, which is extremely guarantee.”
