The migration pressure recorded in Ceuta has led this Tuesday the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) to reinforce the courts of the autonomous city: one judge will join the on-call service and another the Gender Violence service. This was agreed this Tuesday by the Permanent Commission of the CGPJ after analyzing the report commissioned on the 5th by the Inspection Service.
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The document warns that what happened those days “has extraordinarily affected the development of the public Justice service,” due to “the increase in the workload received as a consequence of the migration crisis, especially cases related to alleged sexual assaults.”
The data reflect the magnitude of the increase: between July 30 – the first day of massive migrant arrivals – and August 5, the Ceuta courts initiated 96 preliminary proceedings for deaths and another 23 related to detained persons. The flow remained constant in the following days: between the 5th and 11th, 72 new police reports with arrested or summoned persons before the judge were received.
The report highlights the situation of the Ceuta Court of First Instance, which has jurisdiction over matters of violence against women. In addition to the reinforcement that the Andalusian High Court of Justice will now have to process, it has also been agreed to extend the stay of the judge who was already providing support in gender violence matters. The end of that reinforcement was near, and both the judges of Ceuta and the affected judge himself had requested its continuation, given the circumstances.
The Council recalls that the TSJ had already adopted effective measures, such as incorporating magistrates and officials from other bodies of the same class and population into the on-call service. However, the Inspection report considers that “the prolongation of the migration crisis situation requires the adoption of longer-lasting and more stable measures.”
The requested reinforcement is not limited to the judiciary. The magistrates of Ceuta have conveyed a series of needs that the CGPJ has already communicated to the Ministry of Justice. The requests to expedite processing include a Justice Administration lawyer and four officials, as well as the incorporation of two interpreters, and an urgent expert appraisal service for the on-call service.
The Council has also agreed that the member José Antonio Montero will visit the city in the coming days to supervise the functioning of the judicial bodies.
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