The Executive has indicated that the Council of Europe has given its approval to the mechanism designed by Spain to appoint the future permanent judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Sources from the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts explain that the Committee of Experts of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe examined this Monday the Spanish procedure for selecting the judge of the ECHR and concluded that "it fully complies" with European rules.
Following this opinion, the Assembly will proceed to interview the three candidates proposed by Spain —the judges Luis Jimena Quesada, Ana María Salinas de Frías, and Daniel Sarmiento Ramírez-Escudero— and, in the coming months, will choose one of them as the permanent judge of the Strasbourg court.
The department led by Félix Bolaños insists that the renewed model —approved by the Government of Pedro Sánchez in November 2020 through Royal Decree 972/2020— is "more independent," by incorporating into the selection committee a representative of the judicial career chosen by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and a jurist of recognized trajectory.
In addition to these two figures, the committee is made up of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, the Secretary of State for Justice, and the Undersecretary of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts.
Government's response to PP's criticisms
The Ministry has also responded to the accusations from the PP, which last April denounced that the Executive was "failing to comply" with the guidelines of the Council of Europe and applying a system contrary to the standards of judicial independence required in the EU.
For the Government, the support of the Council of Europe constitutes "a new failure of the PP in Europe" and "closes another of the false controversies" promoted by the 'populars'.
"There have already been several occasions when the PP has worked against Spain in Europe and has failed both in its intentions and in its predictions. We hope that this latest failure will lead them to a necessary reflection on the concept of institutional loyalty," the Executive has stated.
Profile of the three candidates for the ECHR
On the other hand, the Ministry of Justice has highlighted the trajectory of the three jurists who will be examined by the Parliamentary Assembly. The candidates were chosen by the selection committee and subsequently ratified by the Council of Ministers last May.
Regarding Luis Jimena, he is a professor of Constitutional Law at the Universitat de València and an honorary doctor from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina). He holds the position of Secretary General of the International Institute of Human Rights and has presided over the European Committee of Social Rights of the Council of Europe. He has also been a substitute magistrate of the High Court of Justice of the Comunitat Valenciana and, since 2019, acts as an ad hoc judge at the ECHR.
On her part, Ana María Salinas is a professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the Universidad de Málaga. She combines her academic activity with international legal consulting for the UN, the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE. She has advised various States on human rights legislation and, like Jimena, has served as an ad hoc judge of the ECHR since 2019.
Finally, Daniel Sarmiento is a professor of Administrative Law and European Union Law at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. A practicing lawyer, he has worked as a legal advisor at the Supreme Court and at the Court of Justice of the European Union.