Spain has threatened to block the Brexit deal if it does not get a veto over how any future trade deal applies to Gibraltar (pictured) 

AFP /Getty Images
 

DAILY MAIL
22-11-2018
 
By STEPHEN GLOVER
 
Theresa May already has enough problems on her hands with the Democratic Unionist Party and Tory Brexiteers proclaiming they will vote against her deal in the Commons next month.

Just when she least needed another set of anxieties, the Spanish government has tossed a potentially lethal grenade in her direction. It is threatening to scupper the Brexit agreement because it is unhappy with a section of the draft withdrawal agreement concerning Gibraltar.

At the same time, its foreign minister, Josep Borrell, has let fly by suggesting that Brexit could split apart the United Kingdom. He claims to be ‘very much more worried’ about the unity of the UK than of Spain.
 
And, in a move bound to cheer Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, he says Spain has dropped its historic opposition to Scotland joining the EU as an independent country. Madrid had hitherto tried to discourage nationalists in Catalonia by insisting that it would block Scottish membership of the Union.

I must say that, on the eve of Sunday’s planned EU summit, none of this is very friendly or helpful. By announcing that Scotland would be welcomed with open arms, Mr Borrell seems almost to be willing the disintegration of the United Kingdom.

What is the Spanish government playing at? Gibraltar has of course long been a bone of contention, with Madrid laying claim to the Rock, which was ceded to Britain in 1713.

Here one must say, with all possible courtesy, that Spain’s obsession with Gibraltar sometimes verges on the deranged. In a 1967 referendum, 99.6 per cent of Gibraltar’s citizens voted to remain British. In 2002, a proposal for joint sovereignty was rejected by 98 per cent of Gibraltarians.

Some people might have got the message by now that pretty well everyone in the tiny territory would prefer to stay British, thank you very much. But a succession of testosterone-driven Spanish politicians will not listen.
 
One of the ironies of this story, so grotesque that it is hard not to be amused, is that Madrid vehemently defends its right to retain two historic enclaves in Morocco, called Ceuta and Melilla. The Moroccan government periodically grumbles about this anomaly.

Spain’s sovereignty over Ceuta and Melilla is, to its way of thinking, beyond reproach, even though it’s not at all clear that all the inhabitants of the two enclaves are joyful subjects. But Gibraltar, whose people are thoroughly happy being British, should belong to Spain. Get it?

All this has blown up because Gibraltar will leave the EU on March 29 next year along with the UK, though it should be said that 96 per cent of its citizens voted Remain on an 82 per cent turnout. However, there’s no evidence that any of them are hankering after rule from Madrid.

Why is the Spanish government so upset? Because it believes that Article 184 of the draft withdrawal agreement implies that the future of the territory will be decided by the EU and the UK, without Spain necessarily being involved.

This is a case of paranoia. Spain is certain to be consulted by both parties, and is constantly talking about Gibraltar with the British Government. The truth is that politicians in Madrid are puffing out their chests with characteristic machismo.

I would be surprised if they do upset the deal, though one can’t be sure. In a narrow sense, this is a squabble about virtually nothing, since, as I have said, Spain will continue to be included in discussions.

But the outburst reminds us just how fixated all Spanish governments (the present one is Left-wing) are on Gibraltar, and how weak is their adherence to democratic principles.

So far as Madrid is concerned, Gibraltar should be Spanish because it is part of the Spanish mainland, and was inveigled by Perfidious Albion a very long time ago. It seems hardly to weigh with them that the vast majority of people in the territory understandably see themselves as British.
 
In this view of things, sovereignty has its roots in land, not in the hearts of citizens. This idea was perfectly demonstrated last autumn, when the Catalan government in Barcelona decided to call a referendum on independence, which resulted in a large Leave majority on a relatively small turnout.

Arguably, the Catalan nationalists overplayed their hand. But nothing can excuse the response of the Madrid Government. Its police bludgeoned and assaulted defenceless voters who were simply trying to exercise their democratic right. Some 900 people were said to be injured.

After the vote, the Spanish government summarily dissolved the Catalan Parliament and arrested leading Catalan politicians. President Puigdemont and others managed to escape to Belgium, but were forced to flee to Germany after Madrid issued European arrest warrants alleging crimes of rebellion and sedition.

These warrants have now been suspended but Puigdemont and his colleagues dare not return to Spain for fear that they will be arrested and thrown into jail.

None of this sounds very civilised, does it? And so when Josep Borrell says that he thinks Spain will remain a united state for longer than the United Kingdom, I can’t help shaking my head in disbelief.

Spain — which, let’s face it, is a very young democracy, though of course a great country — refused to allow a referendum on independence in Catalonia. When the Catalans went ahead and held one of their own, the Spanish state cracked down on them in a pretty brutal way.
 
By contrast, Westminster — a very much older democracy — acceded to the SNP’s request for a referendum on independence in 2014. No one can doubt that if a majority of the Scottish people had voted to leave the UK, their wish would have been honoured. The Spanish way, pretty openly endorsed by Brussels, was to rely on coercion. The British way, at any rate in the 21st century, was to rely on persuasion and open debate, and to accept the powerful democratic idea that people should be governed with their consent.

Only a fool would deny that the United Kingdom faces challenges to its survival as a unitary state. But I venture to suggest that consent is likely to keep it together longer than Spain will be held together by force.

What has happened in Catalonia is that a long-established longing for independence has been quelled, but it has not been extinguished. Sooner or later it will rise again. What will politicians in Madrid then do?

As for Gibraltar, in the unlikely event of a majority of its people ever wanting to exchange their British citizenship for Spanish, I have no doubt that their desire would be granted. It is partly the sure knowledge that it would be that makes them want to stay British.

How we flagellate ourselves at the moment during these wrangles over Brexit. We are said to be the laughing stock of Europe. Our democracy is spoken of as dysfunctional. Many of us feel a bit down in the dumps.

But when I look at Spain, and hear its foreign minister cheerfully prophesying the break-up of the United Kingdom; when I see Spanish politicians casting avaricious eyes on the Rock of Gibraltar — why, then I am still very glad to be British.

Zwei der inhaftierten Anführer der katalanischen Unabhängigkeitsbewegung sind am Wochenende in den Hungerstreik getreten. Der ehemalige Minister Jordi Turull und der Aktivist Jordi Sánchez wollten damit nicht nur auf ihr Schicksal aufmerksam machen.

Ein Foto der zum Teil seit mehr als einem Jahr inhaftierten Katalanen im Innenhof des Gefängnisses Lledoners. Der erste und dritte von links sind in einen Hungerstreik getreten: Jordi Sànchez, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Joaquim Forn, Jordi Cuixart, Josep Rull and Raul Romeva (v.l.n.r.).
©Maria Vernet / Omnium Cultural
AFP

STERN
 
2-12-2018
 
Wenige Wochen vor dem Beginn eines Prozesses gegen 18 führende Personen der katalanischen Unabhängigkeitsbewegung sind zwei der Angeklagten in einen unbefristeten Hungerstreik getreten. Die im katalanischen Gefängnis von Lledoners unweit von Barcelona einsitzenden Abgeordneten Jordi Sànchez und Jordi Turull gaben am Samstag den Beginn ihrer Aktion bekannt.

In einer Erklärung warfen der ehemalige Minister Jordi Turull, der im März 2018 verhaftet wurde, und Jordi Sànchez, der Ex-Vorsitzende der Assemblea Nacional Catalana, dem spanischen Verfassungsgericht vor, ihr Berufungsverfahren vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte (EGMR) zu blockieren. Außerdem verwehre die spanische Justiz mehrere Verfassungsbeschwerden, wie sie auf Twitter mitteilten.

Den Politikern drohen 25 Jahre Haft

Ende Oktober hatte das Oberste Gericht in Madrid nach einjährigen Ermittlungen die Eröffnung eines Verfahrens gegen den früheren katalanischen Vizepräsidenten Oriol Junqueras, Turull, Sànchez und 15 weitere Separatisten wegen Rebellion, Ungehorsams und Unterschlagung angeordnet. Ein Termin für die Prozesseröffnung wurde noch nicht genannt. Nach Medieneinschätzung werden die Katalanen erst Anfang 2019 erstmals auf der Anklagebank sitzen. Die Anklage fordert bis zu 25 Jahre Haft für die katalanischen Unabhängigkeitspolitiker.
 
Nach dem Unabhängigkeitsreferendum vom 1. Oktober 2017, das die Madrider Regierung für illegal erklärt hatte, und einem anschließenden Mehrheitsbeschluss des katalanischen Parlaments hatte die spanische Regierung unter dem damaligen Ministerpräsidenten Mariano Rajoy den Regionalpräsident Carles Puigdemont und sein Kabinett abgesetzt. Madrid stellte die autonome Region unter Zwangsverwaltung.

Seit mehr als einem Jahr sitzen zahlreiche Politiker der damaligen Regionalregierung und Aktivisten der Unabhängigkeitsbewegung in U-Haft. Mehrere katalanische Politiker, darunter der abgesetzte Regionalpräsident Carles Puigdemont, flohen ins Exil. Puigdemont war im März 2018 in Deutschland auf der Durchreise von Finnland nach Belgien festgenommen worden. Das Schleswig-Holsteinische Oberlandesgericht hielt den Auslieferungsantrag der Spanier wegen des Vorwurfs der Rebellion für unbegründet.

Bei den von Madrid kurzfristig einberufenen Neuwahlen im Dezember 2017 setzten sich aber erneut die Parteien durch, die eine Trennung von Spanien fordern. Turull und Sànchez wurden ungeachtet ihrer U-Haft ins Parlament von Barcelona gewählt.

NYT
By The Associated Press
Dec. 1, 2018
                 
 
BARCELONA, Spain — Two leaders of Catalonia's separatist movement who have spent the last year in prison started a hunger strike on Saturday to protest what they claim is the unfair treatment by Spanish courts.

Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull, regional lawmakers in northeastern Catalonia, said in a statement distributed by the Catalan government that "we will never give up on our right to a fair trial."

Spain's government responded by saying that they and other separatist leaders will be treated just like any other citizens brought before the law.

The government led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a statement that "like all citizens who are subject to and protected by the rule of law, the separatist leaders will receive a fair trial."
 
Sanchez and Turull are two of nine separatist leaders who are in pre-trial custody for their role in an illegal secession attempt by Catalonia's leaders last year. Spain's state prosecutors will pursue charges of rebellion against both, asking for sentences of 17 years for Sanchez and 16 years for Turull.

Sanchez and Turull are being held in a prison near Barcelona, the largest city in the Catalonia region.
 
They have been kept behind bars with authorities saying they pose a risk of continuing to push for secession and fleeing Spain like other separatist leaders, including former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.

The trial is expected to start in the coming months.

Catalonia's current separatist leaders insist they won't desist in their effort to break away from the rest of Spain.

Election results and polls show that the 7.5 million resident of the wealthy Catalonia region are roughly equally divided by the secession issue.

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) rejects and condemns the repressive action undertaken by the Spanish government against some pro-independence figures in Catalonia.
IADL calls for the immediate release of Catalan political prisoners, who have been held in pre-trial detention since October 2017 and demands the revocation of the arrest warrants issued against other personalities, who have at this time been forced into exile.
IADL requests both the Spanish government and the pro-independence parties to resume talks and revive a fruitful dialogue in order to achieve a peaceful solution of the Catalan issue, in the framework of existing current national, European and international law.

In this undated photo provided by Catalan language association Omnium Cultural, showing jailed Catalan separatist leaders posing for a photo inside Lledoners jail in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, 50 kms from Barcelona, Spain, with left to right; Jordi Sanchez, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Joaquim Forn, Jordi Cuixart, Josep Rull and Raul Romeva. Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull, have been in a medical ward since Friday Dec. 14, 2018, as the hunger strike by the group of Catalan politicians enters its third week and begins to take a toll on their health, but they say their upcoming treason trial will allow them to peacefully promote their cause for independence from Spain. (Maria Vernet/Omnium Cultural via AP)

APNews

By ARITZ PARRA
December 16, 2018
 

SANT JOAN DE VILATORRADA, Spain (AP) — As a hunger strike by jailed Catalan separatist politicians enters its third week and begins to take a toll on their health, they say their upcoming rebellion trial will allow them to peacefully promote their cause for independence from Spain.

In rare interviews in a prison north of Barcelona, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull, who has been in a medical ward since Friday, repeated calls for dialogue between Catalan’s regional government and Spain’s central authorities in Madrid. They also rejected any depiction of the secessionist movement in the prosperous northeastern region of Catalonia as violent.

Sanchez told The Associated Press that their trial, set to begin early next year, will be “a unique moment to denounce the attitude of the Kingdom of Spain contrary to the political and democratic rights in Catalonia.”

“We are not going to let this opportunity go to waste,” he added.

Spain says the 22 defendants in the case are being prosecuted not for their ideas but for defying court orders by holding a banned independence referendum in Catalonia last year and making an illegal attempt to secede.

Some of them have been indicted on charges of rebellion or sedition and face decades in prison in what local media have dubbed “the trial of the century” in Spain’s Supreme Court. A preliminary hearing will be held Tuesday, although the defendants are not expected in court until weeks later.

Catalonia’s banned independence referendum in October 2017, Spain’s violent crackdown to stop it and a subsequent declaration of independence by Catalan authorities led to an unprecedented seven-month takeover by central authorities of the region of 7.4 million people.

More than a year later, the shockwaves from the Catalan independence movement are still being felt across Spain. A political divide is growing between Catalan and Spanish nationalism, a development that has fueled the momentum of a far-right populist party that recently won a dozen seats in Andalusia’s regional parliament.

Sanchez emerged clad in three layers of clothes despite normal heating in the modern prison managed by the Catalan government. His doctor says a permanent chill is the result of not ingesting calories and adds that the 54 year-old has lost more than 5 kilograms (11 pounds) since he began fasting on Dec. 1.

Turull, a former candidate to become the region’s chief, was sent to the Lledoners prison infirmary Friday because his kidneys have been affected after he shed over 13 pounds in two weeks. He tricks his body to ignore its hunger with nicotine.

Two more former Catalan cabinet members also joined the strike Dec. 3, but other inmates from a competing separatist political group, including former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, have chosen not to join, again exposing different approaches within the independence movement.

Turull said his protest comes with “a sense of responsibility” and he is not looking to starve to death.

“Its end depends on how far our strength takes us and on achieving our goal of calling attention to Spain’s judicial problem,” the 52-year-old lawyer said.

Their aim is to press Spain’s Constitutional Court to rule on appeals about their political rights and their prolonged pre-trial jailing. The strikers think the court is deliberately trying to block them from reaching the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where they hope to expose the judicial flaws they see at home.

The Spanish top court has recently begun to issue some rulings in a series of appeals and says that it’s working as fast as the judicial calendar allows it to in “dealing with the complexity of a case that affects fundamental rights and a careful analysis of criminal law.”

Central Spanish authorities see no reason for the hunger strike.

“Their arguments are false. They will have a fair trial because in Spain the judiciary is independent,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said recently, adding that his government rejects both taking politics to court and “politicizing justice.”

Although Spain’s system of appointing top justices and prosecutors has been questioned in and outside Spain, those who think it’s working list the numerous sentences against the country’s political and economic elite. One such ruling earlier this year led to Mariano Rajoy’s ousting as prime minister and brought Sanchez to power.

Sanchez, a Socialist, has tried a conciliatory tone, but his approach has not reduced tensions with the Catalan separatists. Hardening rhetoric against the nationalists has spread across Spain’s political spectrum and coincided with the ascent of Vox, a far-right party.

Turull, a longtime secessionist, says Spain’s far right is dragging other parties to its extremism and becoming “a machine of generating tensions” in Catalonia. He also says Sanchez should consider dialogue more than ever, including on the underlying issue of Catalan self-determination.

No prime minister in Spain has agreed to that in the past, arguing it goes against Spain’s constitution. With polls showing that Catalan society is evenly divided on the issue of independence, Sanchez instead defends more self-government in Catalonia as a solution, and says he would rather spend time talking about social and economic policies.

“There are ways to delve into the core issue without anyone having to give up their fundamental positions,” Turull said in the prison visiting room.
But he warned that talks are not going to yield progress if they are done for political gains.

“They should be in the realm of utmost discretion, away from the microphones,” he said.

The jailed politician rejects the idea that taking a weekly central government meeting to Barcelona amid extraordinary security measures next week is “a way of showing affection to Catalonia,” as Sanchez has put it.

Separatists are supporting protests against the cabinet’s presence in the Catalan capital while jockeying for a meeting between the prime minister and Catalonia’s regional chief, Quim Torra, whose cabinet has been criticized for not responding effectively to violent protesters.

Turull said those favoring secession “should be stricter than ever against those who make us look bad.”

“We have a red line, which is achieving our goals peacefully, using mediation and dialogue. We are never going to put anybody at risk,” he declared.
 

NZZ

Ute Müller
13.12.2018.
 

Dass die spanische Justiz langsam arbeitet und völlig überlastet ist, ist allseits bekannt. Dass aber die politischen Parteien Einfluss bis in die obersten Richtergremien haben, war den Bürgern lange Zeit nur wenig bewusst. Doch das änderte sich jüngst mit der Ernennung des Vorsitzenden des Generalrats der Justiz (Consejo General del Poder Judicial). Das Gremium entscheidet über die Besetzung der wichtigsten Richterposten im Land.

Kaum war bekanntgeworden, dass Manuel Marchena, ein konservativer Richter an Spaniens oberstem Gerichtshof, zum Vorsitzenden dieses Rats gekürt werden sollte, drang Jubel aus dem Senat. Ignacio Cosido, der Sprecher der konservativen Fraktion in der kleinen Parlamentskammer, liess seine 146 Amtskollegen per Whatsapp wissen, dass man mit Marchenas Ernennung Einfluss auf die Prozesse gegen korrupte Politiker in den eigenen Reihen erlangen werde, denn man könne jetzt die Strafkammer des obersten Gerichts «von hinten kontrollieren». Die Textnachricht wurde der Zeitung «El Español» zugespielt, ein Aufschrei ging durch die gesamte Medienlandschaft.
 
Kuhhandel zwischen Parteien

Auch aus den Reihen der Richter wurde Kritik laut. Ramón Trillo, ehemaliger Vorsitzender einer der Kammern des obersten Gerichtshofs, rügte, dass die Richter immer mehr am Gängelband der Politik geführt würden. Die Verflechtung zwischen Richtern und Parteien beeinträchtige das Ansehen der Justiz. In der Tat ist die Auswahl der 20 Richter des Generalrats der Justiz eine Art Kuhhandel zwischen den führenden Parteien. Wenn das rechte Lager den Präsidenten stellen darf, dann dürfen die Linken die Mehrheit, nämlich 11 der Richter, ernennen und umgekehrt. So stand es klipp und klar in der Textnachricht von Cosido.

Marchena blieb nichts anderes übrig, als seine Ernennung zum Präsidenten des Generalrats der Justiz abzulehnen. Dafür will er nun an seinem brisantesten Fall weiterarbeiten, nämlich am Prozess gegen den ehemaligen katalanischen Vizeregierungschef Oriol Junqueras und 17 weitere katalanische Separatisten. Der Prozess soll im Januar beginnen.

Junqueras, der seit über einem Jahr in Untersuchungshaft sitzt, liess bereits über seinen Anwalt mitteilen, dass er Marchena wegen Befangenheit ablehnen werde. Eine Gruppe von vier Mitangeklagten folgte diesem Schritt. Marchena sei der Protagonist eines Paktes, der darauf abziele, die spanische Justiz zu kontrollieren, hiess es zur Begründung. Die offenkundige Nähe zu einer bestimmten politischen Gruppierung lasse Zweifel an seiner Neutralität bei diesem Prozess aufkommen. Die Angeklagten stützten ihren Befangenheitsantrag unter anderem auf die Textnachricht von Cosido.
 
Umstrittener Vorwurf der Rebellion

Für die inhaftierten Katalanen sieht es nicht günstig aus. In der Anklageschrift von Pablo Llarena, ebenfalls einem konservativen Magistraten des obersten Gerichtshofs, wird der Vorwurf erhoben, die katalanischen Politiker hätten eine «Rebellion» angezettelt, um die Unabhängigkeit ihrer Region zu erreichen. Llarena wirft ihnen im Weiteren zivilen Ungehorsam und die Veruntreuung öffentlicher Mittel bei der Durchführung der illegalen Volksabstimmung für die Loslösung Kataloniens von Spanien vor. Im Ausland hat man keine «Rebellion» erkannt. Die Behörden in vier europäischen Ländern haben Auslieferungsgesuche der spanischen Justiz gegen den ehemaligen katalanischen Regierungschef Carles Puigdemont und einige seiner Getreuen deshalb abgelehnt.
 
Auch in Spanien regt sich Unmut über die Art, wie die Justiz den Katalonien-Konflikt behandelt. Vor einigen Tagen unterzeichneten 300 namhafte spanische Juristen und Verfassungsrechtler ein Manifest, in dem sie einen Prozess wegen «Rebellion» gegen die katalanischen Unabhängigkeitsbefürworter als «Irrtum» bezeichneten und die Freilassung der katalanischen Politiker verlangten. Der Untersuchungsrichter und die Staatsanwaltschaft hätten sich bei ihren Anschuldigungen auf den Artikel 472 des Strafgesetzbuchs gestützt, der die Anwendung von Gewalt mit Einsatz von Feuerwaffen oder Sprengstoff voraussetze. Dies sei aber mitnichten der Fall gewesen.
 
«In dubio pro banco»

Für grösste Empörung sorgte kürzlich auch ein umstrittenes Urteil beziehungsweise eine abrupte Kehrtwende des obersten Gerichtshofs. Ein Entscheid zu den Grundbuchgebühren bei Hypothekarverträgen fiel zuerst zugunsten der Bankkunden aus, kurz darauf wurde er ins Gegenteil korrigiert. Den Banken wurden damit Rückzahlungen an die Kunden in Höhe von mehreren Milliarden Euro erspart. «In dubio pro banco» (im Zweifel für die Bank), höhnten die Medien. «Mit diesem Urteil stehen wir da, als ob wir nach der Pfeife der Banken tanzen würden», räumte Nicolás Maurandi ein, einer der 28 Richter am obersten Gerichtshof.
 
Blamiert hat sich Spaniens Rechtsprechung auch im Ausland. So urteilte der Europäische Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte in Strassburg im November, dass der baskische Politiker Arnaldo Otegi, der einst als Anwalt für Mitglieder der baskischen Terrororganisation ETA arbeitete, keinen fairen Prozess erhalten habe. Die spanische Justiz muss nun ein gegen ihn verhängtes Berufsverbot überprüfen. Spanien ist allerdings nicht das einzige Land, dessen Urteile von europäischen Gerichten kassiert werden.

Das gleiche Gericht verhängte eine Geldbusse von 14 400 Euro gegen Spanien, weil spanische Richter zwei jugendliche Katalanen zu einer Gefängnisstrafe verurteilt hatten; die beiden hatten bei einer Demonstration ein Bild des früheren Königs Juan Carlos verbrannt. Die belgischen Behörden wiederum nahmen einen mallorquinischen Rapper namens Josep Miquel Arenas in Schutz, weil er wegen Majestätsbeleidigung sowie der «Verherrlichung» von ETA-Verbrechen für drei Jahre hinter Gitter gehen sollte. Der unter dem Künstlernamen Valtonyc bekannte 25-Jährige kann weiterhin nicht nach Spanien reisen, ohne festgenommen zu werden.
 
Unabhängigkeit nicht gewährleistet

Die Staatengruppe gegen Korruption (Greco), eine Unterorganisation des Europarats, monierte in ihrem letzten Bericht die undurchsichtigen politischen Geschäfte bei der Ernennung von Richtern. Sie empfahl, mindestens die Hälfte der Richter sollte von den Kollegen ernannt werden und nicht vom Parlament oder vom Senat. Die unselige Praxis reiche bis in die Provinzen Spaniens und müsse dringend korrigiert werden.

Die Greco vermisst auch objektive Kriterien bei der Kandidatenauswahl. Die zwölf Mitglieder des spanischen Verfassungsgerichts müssen nicht einmal Richter sein, es genügt, dass sie eine juristische Laufbahn eingeschlagen haben. Vier der Mitglieder des Verfassungsgerichts, das sich mit den heikelsten gesellschaftlichen Themen befasst, werden vom Parlament ernannt, vier vom Senat, zwei von der Regierung und nur zwei vom obersten Richtergremium. Es verwundert nicht, dass Spanien bei den jährlichen Umfragen über die Unabhängigkeit der Justiz immer einen der hintersten Ränge belegt.