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The promoter of the Disciplinary Action of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) Ricardo Conde has opened a disciplinary file to two of the magistrates who were part of the first court that sentenced the members of La Manada in the spring of 2018 for a crime of sexual abuse. These are the judges of the Provincial Court of Navarra Ricardo González, author of the controversial private vote where he assured that the rape took place in a "party atmosphere", and the magistrate Raquel Fernandino .

As recorded in the disciplinary file of the Council, to which EL MUNDO has had access, both face being sanctioned by the governing body of the judges for inattention in the exercise of judicial powers, repeated and unjustified delay and failure to meet deadlines. legally established procedures. The Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ) provides in its articles 417.9, 418.11 and 419.3 that said unjustified delays may constitute a very serious, serious or slight fault committed by judges and magistrates in the exercise of their positions.

For their part, the judges investigated alleged that, as a result of the notification of the La Manada sentence, they were immersed in a "very serious situation of continuous worry, stress and discomfort" that affected their "professional environment".

As explained by the promoter of the Disciplinary Action, the Inspection Service of the CGPJ traveled to the Audiencia of Navarra on January 23 and 24, 2019 to make an in-person visit to the Second Section of the aforementioned body. The analysis of that work of the Inspection, reflected in a report on the jurisdictional activity carried out by judges Fernandino and González, reflects "delays in the issuance of decisions in procedures that were within its competence." The governing body of the judges, which has been investigating the La Manada judges in secret for months, stresses that neither Ricardo González nor Raquel Fernandino achieved the "standard performance" that members of the Judiciary must comply with, pending resolution "quite old" procedures.

"Stress" and "discomfort" by La Manada

After the initiation of the information proceedings, now transformed into a disciplinary file , Judge Ricardo González sent a report to the CGPJ where he recorded "the delicate situation that the Second Section of the Audiencia of Navarra went through since the procedure was received in it Ordinary number 426/2016 and very especially since the sentence of the same was made public (in reference to the case of La Manada) .The social reaction that the aforementioned sentence caused determined an enormous and negative repercussion on the three magistrates who formed the Chamber and very especially on the person who reports, determining that we were hopelessly plunged into a very serious situation of continuous worry, stress and discomfort that affected both our personal and family and professional spheres. "

"Stress" ensued

The magistrate was the author of a controversial private vote in favor of the acquittal of El Prenda and his companions from La Manada when he realized that, in the Pamplona portal where the rape took place, what existed was "an atmosphere of revelry and rejoicing between all of them, "including the victim. Former Minister of Justice Rafael Catalá then maintained in a radio interview that González had a "singular problem"; declarations that provoked a hard confrontation between the CGPJ and the Executive of the Popular Party in full social outrage at the ruling adopted by the Audience of Navarra. In this sense, magistrate Ricardo González informed the Promoter of Disciplinary Action that he had to face multiple complaints made by individuals, as well as associations and entities of various kinds as a result of the publication of the controversial private vote. A situation that, he alleges, caused him an "stress" that occurred.

To this explanation is added the one offered by Judge Raquel Fernandino, who added the following assessment: "At the time this Second Section was inspected, we had just passed a particularly difficult year as a result of the sentence issued in summary 426 / 2016 and the situation to which we were facing the three members of the court unexpectedly and unheard of affected all areas of our lives, both personal and social and professional.It is clear that this had a negative impact on the number of resolutions in this Section "

From the Disciplinary Action of the CGPJ, the delays of both magistrates in passing sentence have been described as "very relevant" and "lacking due justification" as these are matters of criminal jurisdiction of "special relevance" for the rights and freedoms that were in game.

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  • Rafael Catalá
  • PP
  • Juan Carlos Campo
  • Justice
  • La Manada Trial
  • Sexual abuse

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