Gallardón opens justice tenure with contentious reform list

In his first appearance in Congress as justice minister, former Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón laid out a series of legal reforms that, if passed, signify a significant shift toward conservatism for the ministry.

Among Gallardón's proposals are a modification of the abortion law that the previous Socialist government championed, the raising of charges for court appeals, a change in the system used to elect members of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), reforms to the Minors' Law and the introduction of a system of revisable detention that equates to a form of whole-life sentence.

Notably absent from the justice minister's list was the modification of the same-sex marriage law, leaving the question open of whether or not Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is opposed to single-sex unions, plans to revoke the law entirely, something the more hard-line conservatives in his party have been petitioning for.

Although Gallardón said he was seeking to reach consensus on the reforms, he will find it difficult to garner support from other parliamentary parties, which reject out of hand proposals such as the reforming of the election process for the CGPJ judicial watchdog whose make-up has been at the center of a bitter dispute between the two main parties over recent years.

With its absolute majority, the PP has sufficient numbers in Congress to approve reforms but in the case of changes to the justice model, moral authority will be harder to muster. Gallardón's proposed change to the system of court charges is similar to the idea of co-payment for public services such as healthcare. Under his plan, defendants would have to pay a form of deposit to appeal a decision, which would be returned in the case of a favorable ruling. Gallardón wishes to raise the levy, which at the moment stands at a symbolic 50 euros, to cover "irrational costs" incurred by appeals.

The tax would only be levied on those who can afford it, with free representation available for those who cannot. It would not affect legal protection rights as it would only apply to appeal cases.

All of the opposition parties firmly rejected the idea. Gaspar Llamazares of the United Left said it amounted to "two-speed justice."

The minister also encountered vehement opposition to his CGPJ reform plan. Both the Socialists and the Basque Nationalist Party argued that a system that limits parliamentary intervention would be unconstitutional. The PP previously blocked the renovation of the magistrates sitting on the Constitutional Court but now, with a Congressional majority, it is seeking to fast-track the appointments.

The judiciary is stocked with conservatives and under Gallardón's proposal to have judges and magistrates make appointments to the higher courts, the PP could be virtually assured that those officials would have a conservative bent.

In penal reform, the PP is pushing for a system of "permanent and revisable" detention, as announced at its national conference last October, before it swept to power in the general elections a month later. Under the system, the most serious cases would carry such a sentence, under which a prisoner would serve a minimum of 20 years before review. Sentences of up to 40 years exist under Spanish law, therefore the PP's proposal could, conversely, result in lighter sentences.

Gallardón also addressed the Abortion Law, a bone of contention between the conservative grouping and the previous Socialist government, which softened it considerably to exclude parental permission for children between 16 and 18 years of age if they could prove that informing a parent or guardian would put them in danger. The PP wants to reverse this decision and reform other aspects of the original 1985 legislation, which only allowed abortion in three cases: rape, severe malformation of the fetus and danger to the physical or mental health of the mother.

The changes pushed through by the Socialists allow women the free choice to terminate a pregnancy during the first 14 weeks, rising to 22 weeks in cases where severe fetal abnormalities are detected or when the mother's life or health is at serious risk.