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The magistrate of the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court, Pablo Llarena, investigator of the case of the Catalan independence bid, has stated that "a democratic society cannot assume that its members are not equal before the law". The judge made these statements after receiving the Golden Balance Award awarded to him by the Illustrious College of Solicitors of Madrid (ICPM) "for his extraordinary contribution to the world of Justice and the rule of law", at an event held at the Real Casa de Correos in Madrid.

Llarena has defined the role of the "jurisdictional function" in a democratic society and has concluded that the distinction he has received "is an incentive for judges and prosecutors" to continue working "with responsibility and independence".

This twenty-ninth edition of the awards was attended by representatives of the General Council of Procurators of Spain and the Madrid Bar Association, members of the General Council of the Judiciary and magistrates of the Supreme Court.

In addition to the award to Pablo Llarena, the ICPM has also given an honorable mention posthumously to the relatives of Ramón Rodríguez Arribas, vice president emeritus of the Constitutional Court and magistrate of the Supreme Court, who died last month at the age of 89.

The son of this magistrate thanked the recognition, which is "a great satisfaction for his children and wife", and added that it is important to pay tribute to someone who was a "faithful defender of the separation of powers".

For her part, the Deputy Minister of Justice and Victims of the Community of Madrid, María del Carmen Martín García-Matos, spoke during the event to highlight the importance of awarding the two magistrates "precisely now" and that "it is legitimate to ask whether the events we are experiencing represent an attack on our rule of law".

The president of the General Council of Prosecutors of Spain, Juan Carlos Estévez, thanked Llarena "for defending democracy and the Constitution" and the dean of the college of these professionals in the judicial world, Alberto García, in the same vein, said that they will continue to stand by "the people who fight for the independence of the judiciary".

  • Supreme Court
  • Pablo Llarena Conde
  • Sentence of the Catalan independence process