Council of Ministers

Government speeds up criminal justice, strengthens procedural guarantees and extends concept of 'proceeds from crime'

2015.3.13

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Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Council of Ministers approved the reform of the Criminal Procedure Act with the aim of speeding up trials, particularly those relating to corruption, announced the Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

The Minister for Justice, Rafael Catalá, recalled that the draft bill was presented on 5 December 2014 and that this document was submitted to a report from the General Council of the Judiciary. The two draft laws (one is a Constitutional Law and the other an Act of Parliament) submitted on Friday to Parliament include certain new recommendations.

Rafael Catalá highlighted that the new legislation has three aims: speeding up criminal justice, strengthening procedural guarantees and legal certainty, along with democratic regeneration and the fight against corruption.

Speeding up criminal justice

Pool MoncloaThe minister stated that the main new feature is the establishment, for the first time, of maximum deadlines for the investigatory phase of criminal offences. "Simple cases will have a maximum investigatory phase of 6 months and complex cases of 18 months. Hese deadlines may be extended when the public prosecutor or judge sees fit and when the case so justifies and this is substantiated".

Rafael Catalá also underlined that first instance cases will be carried out more quickly because "each criminal offence will lead to a trial and each trial will have a ruling". Hence, the rules on related actions that lead to a series of processes for various offences ('macro-cases') which result in extremely long investigatory stages and a social perception of impunity will be amended. The aim is for legal responses to be more closely related to the commission of offences", he stated.

With the aim of speeding up justice, the minister pointed out that anonymous police reports will not be passed on to the courts but retained by the judicial police. "Many issues that do not lead to a trial will thus be kept out of the courts".

Certain other aspects are also improved such as removing criminal investigations from fast-track cases, which "constitute 54% of the cases ruled on each year", pointed out Rafael Catalá.

Strengthening procedural guarantees

Rafael Catalá explained that the concept of "imputado" (suspect) is currently associated with guilt, and hence the reform intends to replace this expression with the term "investigado" (person under investigation).

"In the investigatory stage those people that take part in the process will be known as 'persons under investigation' while identifying whether there is any form of participation of criminal liability. In the event that an oral proceeding is scheduled, the status of 'person under investigation' will be modified to 'accused', in other words a party to the trial, and in the event that a sentence is handed down, to 'offender'", he added.

Furthermore, he informed that, as takes place at present, the general rule is that in order to agree on a measure to intervene or record communications of any type, a court order is necessary. "Temporary investigations without a court order can only take place when dealing with cases of terrorism offences", he said.

On another note, the rulings handed down by provincial courts will be revised on appeal by the higher courts of justice and those of the national high court by the appropriate appeal court.

Democratic regeneration and the fight against corruption

Pool MoncloaAccording to the Vice-President of the Government, a very important aspect of the reform is that "it thoroughly and swiftly regulates the concept of 'proceeds from crime' and the capacity to apprehend, investigate and confiscate all the assets of offenders" to recover everything they have obtained as a result of crime or defrauded from the authorities.

In this regard, the Minister for Justice specified that the new procedural framework provides for "the seizure of goods not only from the strict commission of offences but also from the overall assets of the offender". It also increases the capacity to investigate with a view to lifting the veil of secrecy on 'straw men', those under investigation and companies outside of Spain.

These measures will be complemented through the future creation of the Office to Recover and Manage Assets. Goods seized may be allocated to "social ends or to improving the capacity of the law enforcement agencies to investigate", concluded the minister.

Employment and Social Security Inspections

The Council of Ministers analysed the Draft Bill on the Organisation of the Employment and Social Security Inspection System. The future legislation is one of the reforms announced by the President of the Government in the Debate on the State of the Nation and is included in the "Agreement on proposals for tripartite negotiation to enhance growth and job creation", signed by the government and social stakeholders on 29 July 2014.

The Vice-President of the Government declared that this is a structural reform that seeks to "modernise the labour market, guarantee the present and future sustainability of the Social Security system and, moreover, generate new dynamics in the fight against workplace accidents and to guarantee job security".

Pool MoncloaThe future legislation, pointed out Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, shapes the Employment Inspectorate as an independent body that will provide better collaboration between the State and the autonomous regions and will enable "employment inspections to be strengthened without increasing expenditure". She added that this seeks to ensure a new model that "is much better coordinated and more efficient in order to serve workers and companies".

The Vice-President of the Government explained that the text also provides for the creation of an Anti-fraud Ombudsman with the aim of strengthening collaboration between the different public administration services, and the creation of a new body of public servants - the Sub-inspectorate for Health and Safety at Work.

New Railway Sector Act

In respect of structural reforms, the Council of Ministers approved the Draft Bill on the Railway Sector, "the first step" in new legislation that seeks "to develop a top quality railway model", according to the Vice-President of the Government. The government's intention for the text, after being opened up for public consultation and its submission to the Council of State, is that it returns to the Council of Ministers in April for its approval as a draft law and its subsequent submission to Parliament.

In order to illustrate the importance of the future law, the Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, pointed out that the railway network of general State interest has a total length in excess of 15,000 kilometres (more than 3,000 kilometres of which are high speed), and that between 2012 and 2015 almost 22.4 billion euros in State budgetary resources have been allocated to the railway system and that the sector has generated 50,000 direct jobs and almost 400,000 indirect jobs. She also highlighted the increase recorded in the last three years in the number of long-distance high-speed railway users, and in goods transported by Renfe.

The Minister for Public Works remarked that the sector regulation, which dates back to 2003, "is now completely outdated in many respects". Moreover, it was necessary to transpose Spanish Law in line with the European Union Directive that establishes a single railway area.

Strict infrastructure planning

The new law, explained Ana Pastor, seeks to establish a new legal framework that allows for the development of a railway model that is "a benchmark in our country and throughout the world". The aims include achieving an increase in railway travel supply, "which, in turn, will translate into better quality and greater accessibility to the services", as well as stepping up security.

Pool MoncloaAmong the new features, the minister stressed that mechanisms to make the planning of infrastructures "stricter" will be strengthened. In this regard, the new legislation establishes three levels: the "Indicative Strategy", which corresponds to the Ministry of Public Works and which is the planning instrument for all infrastructures; the "Activity Programme", which depends on ADIF (Railway Infrastructure Administrator) and sets out the plan for the next five years; and an agreement between ADIF and the ministerial department, which sets out the targets for ADIF and the State's economic contributions.

The draft law creates a new system of royalties with the aim of "increasing the use of the excellent Spanish infrastructures", stressed Ana Pastor. In this regard, "the obstacles to gaining access to the system are, in our opinion, eliminated, including an access fee which had to be paid out, whether more or less trains were operated", she stated. Moreover, it introduces discounts for those that carry on greater activity.

In terms of goods transport, measures to liberalise the services offered at public railway terminals are introduced and the tariff and authorisation system is simplified. In terms of passenger transport, operators will have to provide the ministerial department with information on accounting and activity, in the same way as air transport companies. In addition, operators must have a victim assistance plan in place.

Ana Pastor highlighted that security plays a "key role" in the new legislation. The new Railway Security Agency which will open on 1 April 2015, will be independent from the infrastructure administrators, the railway companies and the tender award body. Moreover, sanctions will be stepped up to punish aspects related to security and passenger rights.

High speed railway in Region of Madrid

Pool MoncloaOn another note, the Council of Ministers authorised a contract to improve the system of High-speed travel in the Region of Madrid. The Minister for Public Works asserted that it is working on the Atocha-Chamartín tunnel and on laying new track on the section between Puerta de Atocha and Torrejón de Velasco, the point of departure of many trains leaving Madrid.

She stated that this will enable the infrastructure pending in the tunnel to be put out to tender, "which is very important, above all now that we are extending the high-speed railway in many towns and cities in Spain". The establishment of a direct connection between Atocha and Chamartín will allow lines that go to different areas of Spain to be joined up, "to allow people to travel from Leon to Catalonia, for example".

Other agreements

The government also regulated a homogeneous list of professional categories of State healthcare service personnel, which will be reduced from 351 to 131.

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría announced that "under this new legislation, State workers (doctors, nurses, non-healthcare personnel, etc.) will be able to opt for vacant places in other autonomous regions, improving the quality of healthcare and thus guaranteeing their freedom of movement, as provided for in the 2003 Quality and Cohesion Act.

The government also authorised the signing of a Council of Europe agreement to combat organ trafficking, which Spain will sign on 25 March in Santiago de Compostela.

Current affairs

The Vice-President of the Government, when asked about the government's opinion on the upcoming trip by the former President of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to the Sahara, responded that until not long ago he was the President of the Government, and hence it is "supposed" that he is aware of the situation in the region and "this should lead him to tackle these issues with due care".

Pool MoncloaAs regards the latest polls in Catalonia that show a reduction in the percentage of pro-independence voters, the Government Spokesperson stressed that the "trend is significant" and "citizens as a whole" will be able to "increasingly assess stability", compliance with legislation and the efforts made by the government to ensure that public services continue to be provided.

In regard to the collaboration between the State Tax Agency and the administration of justice, Rafael Catalá asserted that "thousands of public servants collaborate in providing judicial aid to the courts and tribunals throughout Spain", and pointed out that 72 reports are passed on daily from the Tax Agency to judicial bodies.

In response to journalists, Minister Catalá explained that the extradition application lodged by an Argentinean judge in respect of various ministers and other Spanish citizens under the Franco regime has been denied; the facts on which the application is based date back to the 70s - far beyond the prescription term established by law at 15 years - and the signing of death sentences on which the claim is based was not a criminal offence in Spain at that time.