The Government decorates its own senior officials five days before the elections

An awards ceremony from the Government to the Government itself five days before a general election. The Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, presented this Tuesday decorations of the Order of San Raimundo de Peñafort to a whole string of senior officials, including former First Vice President and former Minister of the Presidency Carmen Calvo. Also to the Secretary of State for Security, Rafael Pérez Ruiz, and at least three of his subordinates in the ministry: the Secretary of State for Justice, Tontxu Rodríguez, the director of his cabinet and figure of his complete confidence, Rafael Pérez García, and the Secretary General for Innovation and Quality of the Public Justice Service, Manuel Olmedo. The event was held at the Parcent Palace and was attended by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.

The Cross of the Order of San Raimundo de Peñafort is a civil decoration that rewards “the relevant merits of those who intervene in the Administration of Justice and in the cultivation and application of the study of law in all its branches, as well as the services rendered in legal activities dependent on the Ministry of Justice”. The concession proposals depend on a government board chaired by Llop herself and the Council of Ministers must give its approval later. Despite being a decoration that is not pensioned, the sources consulted highlight its prestige and curricular value in the legal field.

As pointed out from the Interior, the Council of Ministers approved the delivery of the cross to the Secretary of State for Security on June 27 “in attention to the merits and circumstances that concur in his person”. They did so in the category of first class distinguished cross, which is the third highest in the order and “is attached to the title of lordship”.. Regarding Rodríguez, Pérez and Olmedo, El Confidencial contacted the Ministry of Justice to try to clarify the date on which the Council of Ministers approved the decorations and in what category they have been awarded, without obtaining a response..

This Tuesday, the president of the Court of Accounts, Enriqueta Chicano, who was elected in 2021 at the proposal of the PSOE, and the former president of the Constitutional Court Juan José González Rivas, among others, were also awarded.. The agreement of the Council of Ministers that agreed to deliver it to the latter has been in the BOE since June 28: “In attention to the merits and circumstances that concur in Mr. Juan José González Rivas, at the proposal of the Minister of Justice, and prior deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting on June 27, 2023, I come to grant you the Grand Cross of the Order of San Raimundo de Peñafort”.

The great cross is the highest ranking award within the Order of San Raimundo de Peñafort. Below are the cross of honor, the distinguished cross of first and second class, the simple cross and the medal of merit for Justice.. The Secretary of State for Security received the first distinction, which is with which “services related to any of the functions attributed to the Ministry of Justice are awarded, provided that they are deemed worthy of said reward”.

The Secretary of State for Security has received the Cross of San Raimundo de Peñafort from the minister of @justiciagob

➡️ This distinction is awarded to Rafael Pérez in the first class distinguished cross category pic.twitter.com/dTyK4Q4Dxd

– Ministry of the Interior (@interiorgob) July 18, 2023

The sources consulted stress that it is not a decoration designed for political positions and even less for subordinates of the minister herself, so this delivery has caused discomfort among part of the judiciary and the academic field.. Added to this is the fact that the event was held just five days before the elections and that the Ministry of the Interior itself celebrated the award to the Secretary of State for Security through social networks.. From the Ministry of Justice, they also explained at first that they would provide a press release with the “most notable” winners, but at the time of publication of this article, it has not yet been sent..