With the majority of the prosecutorial race against it, the Council of Ministers yesterday appointed the former State Attorney General and former Justice Minister of Pedro Sánchez, Dolores Delgado, prosecutor of the Democratic Memory and Human Rights Chamber. The Executive thus ignored the Association of Prosecutors (AF) and the Professional and Independent Association of Prosecutors (APIF) who had warned the Government that the appointment is “null and void” after the Fiscal Council was robbed of the possibility of pronounce on Delgado's incompatibility with his partner, former judge Baltasar Garzón.
According to tax sources reported to EL MUNDO, in all likelihood the last word on this appointment will be held by the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court. Once the designation has been published in the BOE, the anti-drug prosecutor Luis Ibáñez will challenge the royal decree of the appointment before the High Court.
Ibáñez was one of the togados who requested the position of prosecutor of the Democratic Memory Room. In his interview with the State Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, he proposed that this newly created position serve to investigate unsolved ETA crimes.
Meanwhile, in the absence of addressing the issue with the Executive, AF sources describe it as “highly probable” that they will also appeal the appointment of Delgado. On the other hand, from the APIF they also value filing a lawsuit before the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court.
“Diversion of power”
Some of the tax sources consulted by this newspaper consider that, with the appointment of Dolores Delgado as prosecutor of Democratic Memory, there has been a “deviation of power”, since the prosecutor herself, when she was part of the Government, promoted the creation of this square. In fact, most members of the prosecutorial profession believe that this specialized Chamber Prosecutor's Office had first and last names since its creation.
For their part, the prosecutors groups have also emphasized that Garzón was also one of the ideologues of the same. Currently, the former judge is the sole administrator of the Ilocad office and head of the FIBGAR foundation, both entities specialized in the matter that Delgado will control as Human Rights and Democratic Memory prosecutor.
In an unusual event, and as a sign of protest, the majority of the Fiscal Council refused last Thursday to rule on the appointment of the former Minister of Justice of Pedro Sánchez. The members of this body described Delgado's unsuitability for the position as “blatant”, as his impartiality was “seriously affected” by being a partner of Garzón, “the promoter” of the Democratic Memory Law, “being its content what he does, and what the prosecutor is going to do now, which could lead to a clear conflict of interest.
At this time, the promotion and appointment of Delgado as prosecutor of the Military Chamber is also being appealed in the Third Chamber of the Supreme. The lawsuit was filed by the former prosecutor lieutenant of the Court of Accounts, Luis Rueda, whom García Ortiz did not propose despite having proven experience in military jurisdiction for three decades.