Long overdue reform finally comes to Spanish Military Justice

The Partido Popular, the ruling party in Spain, has presented a set of amendments to the current Military Penal Code. The amendments bring about a profound reform of the military justice, often questioned in Spain for being under the executive power.

The Spanish Minister of Defense will no longer have the power of designating military judges. Until now, article 25 of the Organic Law 4/1987, of 15 July, on the Military Jurisdiction, established that the Minister of Defense presented a shortlist of three candidates to the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ, for its acronym in Spanish).  They were chosen to become judges of the military division of the Supreme Court. Now, the CGPJ will freely choose the designations.

Most importantly, the Minister of Defense will no longer designate the president of the Central Military Court. Instead, the Minister of Defense will simply countersign her or his designation, as proposed by the CGPJ. More details on the reform can be found here.

The amendments presented were long overdue. This reform is more attuned to the democratic and social values enshrined in the Spanish Constitution, and more importantly, to the separation of powers.