National
Spain opens a new judicial year with a new President of the General Council for Judicial Power
By h.b.
Sep 30, 2008 - 7:45 AM

A new judicial year has just got underway in Spain with the new President of the General Council for Judicial Power, the body which oversees the judiciary, Carlos Dívar, admitting that improving the Spanish justice system is the most difficult challenge facing him.

Dívar is also President of the Supreme Court and explained yesterday that his role was not political but of the state, and his intention was to modernise and open up the justice system in Spain. During the ceremony to open the judicial year, and in the presence of King Juan Carlos, he said the judiciary needed to be more alert to the needs of citizens and better protect the weak.

The new head of the General Council also commented that the personal criteria of a judge cannot emerge in the public domain.