Photographers protest in Congress, he 9 April 2003, in the presence of Aznar,
for the death in Iraq of Julio Anguita Parrado and José Couso. / SERGIO PEREZ (REUTERS)
The PP has decided to impose ultra-fast processing to his bill that almost completely eliminates the so-called universal justice. With its absolute majority it will ensure that at the end of March a dozen summaries that are processed in the National Court will be archived, among them that of the genocide in Tibet and the death in Iraq of the television cameraman José Couso.
The popular parties have presented this Monday a document in Congress to accelerate to the legal limit the processing deadlines for their proposal to reform the Organic Law of the Judiciary, that suppresses the ability of justice to act outside of Spain.
The Ministry of Justice decided to use the route of the Popular Group's bill, to avoid the processing of reports from the General Council of the Judiciary, the Fiscal Council and the Council of State, inter alia. If I had used the Government bill route, The reform would not have come into force before summer and, besides, would have had to be subject to public controversy. The Government's intention, as admitted by the spokesperson for the Popular Group, Alfonso Alonso, is to avoid diplomatic conflicts, especially the open with China for the persecution of several former leaders accused of genocide in Tibet.
Once the amendment period has ended, the reform will be included directly in a plenary session for approval in a single reading and referral to the Senate. That is to say, the commission process is avoided, with debate and voting on amendments, to go directly to the plenary session.
The article of the Congressional Regulations invoked by the PP ensures that “when the nature of the project or bill taken into consideration makes it advisable or its simplicity of formulation allows it.”, the plenary session of the House, at the proposal of the Board, hearing the Board of Spokespersons, may agree that it be processed directly and in a single reading.".
Add that, “adopted such agreement, There will be a debate subject to the rules established for the entire, "The entire text is then submitted to a single vote.". And “if the result of the vote is favorable, The text will be approved and will be sent to the Senate. Otherwise, will be rejected". The upper house, instead of two months, will have 20 days to amend or definitively approve it.
If the PP does the same in the Senate (single reading), the text cannot be amended, but only veto with an absolute majority, and amendment deadlines will be halved: eight days for the first and four for the extensions that are agreed, although it is likely that the deadline will not be extended too much.
The calculation of the PSOE, that with the rest of the groups rejects the bill, is that the PP will want to approve it in the plenary session of the 13 March, so that the Senate can approve it before the end of the month.
According to said reform, Spanish judges will only be competent to investigate crimes of genocide, against humanity or against the laws of war when “the procedure is directed against a Spaniard or against a foreign citizen who habitually resides in Spain or who was in Spain and whose extradition has been denied by the Spanish authorities”.
Only the PP voted on Tuesday in the plenary session of Congress to admit the bill for processing. The PSOE announced its intention to appeal to the Constitutional Court, considering it contrary to international treaties, that have the same force as the Constitution. It has also caused discomfort among prosecutors and judges of the National Court, that may present issues of unconstitutionality when forced to archive the affected cases.
A dozen summaries with an expiration date
The entry into force of the reform of the Organic Law of the Judiciary will mean the immediate filing of a dozen summaries and, according to prosecutors from the National Court, will make it difficult to act in cases of interception of ships with drugs in international waters, international terrorism and fight against pedophilia, inter alia.
In the Central Court of Instruction 1, by Santiago Pedraz, will be archived Couso case and that of the genocide in Guatemala. In it 2, by Ismael Moreno, those of the Tibet genocide, Falung Gong, CIA flights and Nazi concentration camps. In it 3, by Javier Gómez Bermúdez, that of the Vielman case. In it 4, by Fernando Andreu, those of war crimes in Iraq and the Rwandan genocide. In it 5, by Pablo Ruz, those of torture in Guantánamo, the genocide of the Sahrawi people and the murder of Carmelo Soria. And in the 6 Eloy Velasco will close the murder of Ignacio Ellacuria and seven other people in El Salvador.
