Judge Baltasar Garzon has been cleared the Supreme Court of overstepping his authority when he ordered an investigation into crimes committed during the Franco era.
Garzon barred from office for 11 years
The Supreme Court has found judge Baltasar Garzon guilty of authorising illegal recordings of lawyers’ conversations and he has been banned from the legal profession for 11 years with no appeal possible against the ruling.
Judge Baltasar Garzón withdraws from Civil War investigations
National Court Judge Baltasar Garzón has announced that he will no longer be investigating the Civil War and Franco era ‘disappearances’, adding that any further searches for the burial sites of victims will be in the hands of the local and regional courts. On October 16th, Judge Garzón declared himself competent to launch an investigation after receiving complaints from family …
Conservatives against ‘the reopening of old wounds’
As was to be expected, Spanish conservatives are not happy with the decision of judge Baltasar Garzón to investigate the disappearance of over 100,000 people during and after the Civil War. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is also against the idea and intend to appeal the decision. Fellow judges also believe the move to be a mistake. Many question the judge’s …