Congress begins the first phase of the reform that has sparked controversy among judges and prosecutors.

Today, Congress will begin processing one of the judicial reforms that has upended the judicial and prosecutorial professions and that yesterday led a large number of judges and prosecutors to go on a 10-minute strike to demand the text's withdrawal.

The lower house will decide today whether to move forward with the text on access to the judiciary and prosecutorial professions. This bill includes, among other controversial points, a new written exam for public examinations, the creation of a "fourth shift" for prosecutors, which until now only existed for judges, and an "extraordinary regularization process for substitute judges." The PP and Vox have submitted amendments to the entire text, which will be voted on today.

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While this initiative continues its path through parliament, tension between judges and the government continues to rise, with strikes seen yesterday in Spain's main courts, including the National Court and the Supreme Court (SC). The reforms promoted by the government and criticism from members of the government against judges and court rulings, such as the recent case involving the prosecution of the Attorney General, are the reason judges are speaking out. Even the president of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Isabel Perelló, demanded an end to the "constant disparagement" and "insults" directed at members of the judiciary.

During the opening of a conference of Spain's leading judges, he called on authorities and individuals to restore the respect that the courts and those who serve them deserve. "I regret that the loss of respect that people and institutions deserve, and especially the courts of justice and those who serve them, has reached levels it should never have reached."

Bolaños downplays it

Perelló's words came after government spokesperson Pilar Alegría said that some judges are doing things that are "difficult to understand" in relation to the indictment against the Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, issued by the Supreme Court's investigating judge, Ángel Hurtado.

The Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Parliamentary Relations, Félix Bolaños, did not take any offense yesterday to Perelló's remarks or the strike. Regarding the Supreme Court president's remarks, he reiterated that "the respect" she is demanding "is not at odds with a system that guarantees appeals, where one can challenge judicial rulings one does not agree with," or with "the right to freedom of expression," given that one can publicly disagree with a judicial ruling.

Bolaños said this as judges and prosecutors across Spain held a ten-minute strike at the headquarters of the main judicial bodies, including the Supreme Court and the National Court, called by five associations. During the event, a manifesto was read, demanding that the justice reforms proposed by the government be withdrawn from parliamentary debate or threaten to go on strike.

Regarding the reform of access to the judicial career, the manifesto states that the academic excellence requirements for access to judicial and prosecutorial careers will be lowered. It also maintains that the creation of a center for preparing candidates directly dependent on the government poses a risk of "ideological selection" of future judges and prosecutors.

The second draft bill under protest is the reform of the Statute of the Public Prosecutor's Office. These associations believe the government intends to increase the powers of the Attorney General, while he will continue to be appointed by the government.