The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) appoints Martínez Arrieta as president of the Supreme Court's Criminal Division.

The General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) on Wednesday ratified judges Andrés Martínez Arrieta and Pablo Lucas, candidates supported by the conservative sector, as presidents of the Criminal and Administrative Litigation Chambers of the Supreme Court (TS). These positions were already held on an interim basis, following the withdrawal of their only rivals, Ana Ferrer and Pilar Teso, in order to unblock both appointments to key positions.

This has been confirmed to Europa Press by legal sources, who specify that, on the one hand, Martínez Arrieta has received 15 votes from the Plenary Session of the governing body of the judges to preside over the Second Chamber and, on the other, Lucas has obtained 16 for the Third Chamber .

Sources indicate that there has been broad support for the candidacies of both judges, although they point out that not all progressive members have endorsed them and that some have announced dissenting votes.

It was last October that the CGPJ (General Council of the Judiciary) announced these and the other two vacant Supreme Court presidencies : those of the Civil and Social Chambers. Months later, in February, the Council decided to separate those two positions in order to move forward with the appointment policy, placing the conservative Ignacio Sancho —the sole candidate—in the First Chamber and the progressive Concepción Ureste in the Fourth Chamber, thus ruling out her conservative rival, Juan Molins.

Since then, the CGPJ has made several attempts to push through the other two appointments . The importance of this appointment lies in the fact that the Criminal Chamber is responsible for investigating and judging those with immunity, which includes members of the government, senators and deputies— such as José Luis Ábalos —among other high-ranking officials, such as the Attorney General . The Administrative Litigation Chamber oversees the legality of the executive branch's decisions through the appeals filed.

Back in May, the president of the TS and the CGPJ , Isabel Perelló , being the third time that it went to Plenary and the first time that a vote was taken - with a result of ten to ten, with the entire progressive bloc supporting Ferrer and Teso, and the entire conservative bloc supporting Martínez Arrieta and Lucas, plus the blank vote of Perelló herself - decided to return the matter to the Qualification Commission, to allow time for negotiation, according to sources from the governing body of the judges.

Ferrer and Teso withdrew their candidacies to prevent the lack of agreement from leading to a new failure that would declare the call void.

Sources consulted had already warned that the president's intention was to make these appointments before the end of the judicial term , although the positions of the conservative and progressive sectors of the CGPJ have barely budged in recent weeks. Once the deadlock was evident , it was the candidates themselves who made their move last Thursday.

Ferrer and Teso withdrew their candidacies to prevent the lack of agreement from leading to a new failure that, in turn, could lead to the call being declared void , opening the list to other candidates and, thus, delaying the interim presidency of the two key chambers of the high court, according to legal sources.

"Public service interest"

"Given the Council's inability to achieve the necessary consensus in favor of either of the two candidates in the running, the same public service interest that motivated me to apply now motivates me to resign," Ferrer said in a letter to Perelló .

In the letter, he explained that "none of the chambers" of the Supreme Court, "but even less so the Second Chamber, given the nature of the cases it handles, deserves to continue operating with an acting president ."

In this regard, she warned that " citizens' confidence in their institutions, and particularly in the functioning of the courts, is weakened by the appearance that ideological vetoes prevail over criteria of merit, ability , and a balanced presence of men and women in public institutions."

Teso, along the same lines, stated in his own letter to Perelló that he was withdrawing, given "the impossibility of reaching a consensus within the CGPJ, and the lack of prospects for an agreement," to "prevent the interim situation in the Presidency of the Third Chamber from becoming chronic , which would erode its institutional function and prevent it from facing the challenges that the future holds."

The progressive bloc argued that Ferrer and Teso were the candidates with the best government program for their wards, and that they were in a position to execute it because they could complete the five-year term associated with the position—renewable for another five years—unlike Lucas and Martínez Arrieta, whose retirement is scheduled for July 2026 and April 2027 , respectively.

In contrast, the conservative members—who described them as "the government's candidates "—highlight the experience of Martínez Arrieta (number one in the judicial hierarchy) and Lucas (number three); their legal excellence; and the fact that they have already held the position: since last December in the case of the former, after Manuel Marchena 's term expired, and since December 2022 in the case of the latter, following the departure of César Tolosa from the Constitutional Court (TC).

Without rivals

Sources from the judges' governing body claim that both have acted on their own initiative , making a personal decision, after realizing they would not obtain the 13 votes necessary to obtain the position.

Some voices point to "pressure" on Ferrer and Teso in their respective chambers to prevent them from competing with Martínez Arrieta and Lucas

However, some voices also point to the "pressure " suffered by Ferrer and Teso within their respective rooms so that they would not compete with Martínez Arrieta and Lucas, seen as veterans who deserve this culmination of their professional careers .

Added to this is Perelló's "covert veto" of Teso due to "a widely known personal animosity ," as well as the fear that reopening the list would result in candidates less suitable—from a progressive perspective—than Martínez Arrieta and Lucas, perceived as moderates.

This perfect storm cleared the way for the two male candidates, who received the endorsement of their former opponents. Ferrer singled out Martínez Arrieta as "a candidate of unquestionable prestige" to whom she offered her "loyal collaboration" to improve the functioning of the Second Chamber. And Teso expressed confidence that Lucas " will perfectly fulfill the duties of the position ."