CONCLUSIONS OF THE APRIL 6, 2018 EVENT ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE JUDICIALIZATION OF POLITICS, ADOPTED BY THE DEFENCE COMMISSION OF THE ICAB (Barcelona Bar Association) AND THE "COL·LECTIU PRAGA"[1]
***To read the whole text, in English, and in its
original Catalan, click below on "Més informació" ***
1.- The judicialization of the policy by the Spanish State is part of a strategy to annul the possibility of effective implementation of the political program favorable to the independence of Catalonia that has the support of the absolute majority of the Parliament of Catalonia.
Respect for the rule of law yields to the defense of the State, in its national-territorial expression, understood as the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation (article 2 of the Spanish Constitution - SC), in a general context of undemocratic involution against the rights to the freedom of speech, of meeting and of demonstration, of participation and political representation, of political dissidence, and also with a strong decline in labor and social rights.
In this context, the actions and decisions of the Criminal Chambers of the National Court (AN) and the Supreme Court (SC) amount to the breaking of the basic democratic principle of the separation of powers and also the flagrant violation of citizens' fundamental rights laid down in the Spanish Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and other international treaties ratified by Spain, and constitute a perverse use of the criminal process, and an application of the Criminal Code that violates its own basic principles and guarantees. These circumstanceshave already been reported before the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe.
2.- This strategy of judicializing politics is possible thanks to some features of the Spanish judiciary: the existence, still today, of judges and magistrates - especially at the highest levels of the judicature - who are largely impervious to the ideas of democratic culture; and the lack of judicial independence derived from the fact that the appointment of judges and magistrates at the highest levels of the judicature are authorized exclusively and "politically" by the General Council of the Judiciary, also political appointees.
3.- The strategy of the Spanish State of judicializing politics became the answer to the effective, massive and peaceful holding of the Referendum on October 1.
The charging, through the General State Prosecutor's Office, of the crimes of rebellion and sedition - non-existent crimes, built round a report by the Spanish police, to allow pre-trial detention, and that with regard to the offence of rebellion has come to nothing with the decision of the German court, entail the "provisional" detentions decided by the AN and the SC. These are justified on the basis that the persistence of the prisoners in their pro-independence political ideas makes it possible, if they are released, for them to repeat their criminal behaviour; for the SC itself, the basis for the pre-trial detention and the fact of maintaining it is the "politically dangerous" nature of the person being held, although it is clear that the pro-independence political intentions have been expressed in a peaceful manner and have exclusively used the democratic tools of political participation.
4.- In response to the new absolute majority achieved in the elections to the Parliament of Catalonia held on December 21, 2017, the TC and the Criminal Court of the SC have returned to the issue and have deepened the breaking of the basic democratic principle of the separation of powers. They have adopted court resolutions of a strongly political nature and content; in fact, they decide which elected Members of Parliament, fully holding their political rights, can attend the investiture session, which can be proposed - in fact, the Judge of the criminal chamber of the TS went so far as to give the Parliament his advice in this regard - to be invested President or President of the Generalitat, and which can vote in this investiture session, and he coincides in his court resolutions, with the political wishes of the Spanish Government.
5.- The latest decisions of the investigating judgeof the Criminal Chamber of the SC ignore the very Spanish Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia; they violate the principle of normative hierarchy (article 9 SC), they also violate the fundamental right to political participation (article 23 SC), as regards both passive and active suffrage, and some of them might even be considered to be a crime of prevarication*, insofar as they deny the exercise of political rights to those who have not been legally deprived of them.
6.- The strategy of the State, in judicializing politics, despite attempting to lop off the political leadership of the pro-independence movement, will not resolve the national-territorial question; the solution can and will only be of a political nature, but this must also be accompanied by the legal responses and claims that civil society organizations can make before all international bodies, notwithstanding the legal actions that may arise from the legal defence of the defendants. These necessary legal actions, though they will not resolve the political question, may contribute to it.
Barcelona, April 6, 2018
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[1] = A slightly rewritten version (not completely faithful to the original but hopefully more clearly stated) follows.
1.- Spanish State policy has been
judicialized to render the effective implementation of the Catalan
independence political program impossible, even though it has
absolute majority support in the Catalan Parliament.
Respect for the rule of law has been
sacrificed to the defense of the national and territorial State; the
'indissoluble unity' of the Spanish nation under article 2 of the
Spanish Constitution (SC). This has entailed an undemocratic
degradation of the rights of the freedom of speech, assembly,
demonstration, participation, political representation, and political
dissidence, accompanied by a sharp decline in labor and social
rights.
The actions and decisions of the
Criminal Chambers of the National Court (AN) and the Supreme Court
(SC) thereby constitute a violation of the basic democratic principle
of the separation of powers, as well as a flagrant violation of
citizens' fundamental rights laid down in the Spanish Constitution,
the European Convention on Human Rights, and other international
treaties ratified by Spain. They also constitute a perversion of the
criminal justice process, as well as an enforcement of the Criminal
Code that violates its own basic principles and guarantees, which
have been reported to the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of
Europe.
2.- This strategy of judicializing
politics is inherent in certain features of the Spanish judiciary.
Notably, the continued presence of judges and magistrates at the
highest levels of the judiciary who are largely oblivious to
democratic culture, and lack judicial independence because their
appointments are made exclusively and "politically" by the
General Council of the Judiciary, who are also political appointees.
3.- The judicialization of Spanish
State politics was in response to the effective, massive and peaceful
holding of the October 1 Referendum.
Based on a report by the Spanish
police, unfounded charges by the General State Prosecutor's Office
for crimes of rebellion and sedition allow for pre-trial detention,
yet the charge of rebellion leading to the "provisional"
detentions ordered by the AN and the SC has been rendered moot by the
decision of the German court. This pre-trial detention has been
justified on the basis that if they are released, the accused will
maintain their pro-independence political ideas making it possible
for them to repeat their 'criminal behaviour'. For the SC, the
'politically dangerous' nature of the accused justifies maintaining
pre-trial detention, although clearly pro-independence political
actions have been peaceful and limited to democratic political
participation.
4.- Responding to the renewed
pro-independence majority won in the December 21, 2017 Catalan
Parliamentary elections, the TC and the Criminal Court of the SC have
continued their efforts and further violated the basic democratic
principle of the separation of powers.
They have adopted court
rulings which are highly political in nature and content. Even though
elected Members of Parliament fully retain their political rights,
these courts have sought to effectively decide who can attend the
investiture session, who can be nominated as President of the
Generalitat, (a TS Judge even advised the Parliament over this), and
who can vote in this investiture session. The court resolutions
invariably coincide with the political wishes of the Spanish
Government.
5.- The latest rulings by the
investigating judge of the Criminal Chamber of the SC violate the
Spanish Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, in
that they violate the principle of normative hierarchy (article 9
SC), and the fundamental right to political participation (article 23
SC) through direct and indirect voting. Some rulings could be held to
be abuses of authority, insofar as they deny the exercise of
political rights to those who have not been legally deprived of them.
6.- Despite attemps to eliminate the
political leadership of the pro-independence movement, the State
strategy of judicializing politics will not resolve the
national-territorial question. The solution can only be of a
political nature. However, this must be supplemented by judicial
responses and suits filed before international bodies by civil
society organizations, leaving aside the legal actions that may arise
from the legal defence of the defendants. These legal actions are
necesary but not sufficient to solve the political question.
Barcelona, April 6, 2018
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CONCLUSIONS DE L'ACTE DEL 6 D'ABRIL DE 2018 SOBRE CONSEQÜÈNClES DE LA
JUDICIALITZACIÓ DE LA política aprovades per la COMISSIÓ DE DEFENSA DE L'ICAB i pel COL·LECTIU PRAGA
1.- La judicialització de la política per part de l'Estat espanyol forma part d'una estratègia per anorrear la possibilitat de materialització efectiva del programa polític favorable a la independència de Catalunya que compta amb el suport de la majoria absoluta del Parlament de Catalunya.
El respecte a l'Estat de dret cedeix front a la defensa de l'Estat, en la seva expressió nacional-territorial, entès com la indissoluble unitat de la nació espanyola (article 2 de la Constitució Espanyola -CE-), en un context general d'involució antidemocràtica contra els drets a la llibertat d'expressió, de reunió i de manifestació, de participació i representació política, de dissidència política, i també amb un fort retrocés dels drets laborals i socials.
En aquest marc, les actuacions i decisions de les Sales penals de l'Audiència Nacional (AN) i del Tribunal Suprem (TS) comporten el trencament del principi democràtic bàsic de la separació de poders i també la vulneració flagrant de drets fonamentals dels ciutadans i ciutadanes regulats a la Constitució espanyola, al Conveni Europeu de Dret Humans i a altres tractats internacionals ratificats per Espanya, i suposen una utilització perversa del procés penal, i una aplicació del Codi Penal que vulnera els seus propis principis i garanties bàsiques, circumstancies que ja han estat denunciades davant el Comissionat de DDHH del Consell d'Europa.
2.- Aquesta estratègia de judicialització de la política és possible per algunes característiques del poder judicial espanyol: l'existència, encara avui, de jutges i magistrats -sobretot als més alts nivells de la jurisdicció- poc permeables a les idees de cultura democràtica; la manca d'independència judicial derivada del fet que la designació de jutges i magistrats als nivells més alts de la jurisdicció siguin facultat exclusiva i "política" del Consejo General del Poder Judicial -de designació també política-.
3.- L'estratègia de l' Estat espanyol de judicialització de la política es converteix en la resposta a la celebració efectiva, massiva i pacifica del Referèndum de l'1 d'octubre.
La imputació, a traves de la Fiscalia General de l'Estat, dels delictes de rebel·lió i sedició -delictes inexistents, construïts sobre un informe de la Guàrdia Civil, per permetre l'empresonament provisional-, i que pel que fa al delicte de rebel·lió ha quedat en res amb la decisió de la justícia alemanya, comporten els empresonaments "provisionals" acordats per l'AN I pel TS que es justifiquen en base a que la persistència dels presos en les seves idees polítiques independentistes fa que puguin, si són deixats en llibertat, reiterar la seva actitud delictiva; pel propi TS la base de l'empresonament provisional i el fet de mantenir-lo és el caràcter "políticament perillós" de la persona presa, malgrat és evident que les pretensions polítiques independentistes s'han expressat de forma pacifica i s'han servit exclusivament dels instruments democràtics de participació política.
4.- Com a resposta a la nova majoria absoluta a les eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya celebrades el 21 de desembre de 2017, el TC i la Sala penal del TS reincideixen i aprofundeixen en el trencament del principi democràtic bàsic de la separació de poders i adopten resolucions judicials de caràcter i contingut fortament polític; de fet decideixen quins diputats i diputades electes, i en ple ús dels seus drets polítics, poden assistir a la sessió d'investidura, quins poden ser proposats -de fet, el Jutge instructor de la sala penal del TS inclòs es permet aconsellar en aquest sentit al Parlament- per a ésser investit President o Presidenta de la Generalitat, i quins poden votar en aquesta sessió d'investidura, coincidint, en les seves resolucions judicials, amb els desitjos polítics del Govern de l'Estat.
5.- Aquestes darreres decisions del Jutge instructor de la Sala penal del TS desconeixen la pròpia Constitució espanyola I l'Estatut d'autonomia de Catalunya, vulneren el principi de jerarquia normativa (article 9 CE), també vulneren el dret fonamental a la participació política (article 23 CE), tant pel que fa al sufragi passiu com actiu, i, fins i tot, potser algunes d'elles podrien ser considerades un delicte de prevaricació, en la mesura que deneguen l'exercici de drets polítics a qui no ha estat legalment privat d'ells.
6.- L'estratègia de l'Estat al judicialitzar la política, malgrat pretengui escapçar el lideratge polític del moviment independentista, no resoldrà la qüestió nacional-territorial; la solució només pot ser i serà de caràcter polític, però això ha d'anar acompanyat també de les respostes i denúncies jurídiques que les entitats de la societat civil facin davant de totes les instàncies internacionals, sens perjudici de les accions jurídiques que es puguin produir des de les defenses jurídiques de les persones imputades. Aquestes necessàries accions jurídiques, encara que no resoldran la qüestió política, poden contribuir-hi.
Barcelona, 6 d'abril de 2018
Font : https://twitter.com/CollectiuPraga/status/982974844538114048?s=19
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