The growing backlog of cases in the Canaries has prompted the region’s most senior judges to make a plea to Spain’s judicial authorities to create up to 18 more courthouses across the islands.
The governing body of the region’s High Court has sent a detailed report setting out how the Canaries meet all the requirements set out by the Ministry of Justice for new courts and judge appointments, based on the number of cases per judge over the past five years.
Although the report speaks of a “general overload” throughout the islands, with all courts being forced to handle workloads above the recommended levels (three times the number in some cases), specific needs have been identified in the cases of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and La Laguna, with a request also for an additional court in each of Güímar, Icod de los Vinos and Granadilla de Abona.
Among other recommendations, the report calls on the Council for the Judiciary to appoint more specialist judges to hear cases of domestic violence and violence against children, given the steep rise in such matters coming before the courts.
Officials here have decided to step up the demands for additional resources following the latest statistics that show that, for the sixth year in a row, the Canaries head the national table of civil and criminal cases per head of population, with the growing numbers causing serious backlogs in the justice system.
It is hoped the latest plea will have more success than previous calls for proper resourcing of the justice system in the Canaries, which judges and lawyers repeatedly warn is “in danger of total collapse” if remedial action is not taken quickly.
