Spain has appointed Isabel Perello as the country’s top judge, marking a historic first as she becomes the first woman to lead both the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ). This appointment, announced on Tuesday, ends a protracted deadlock that has plagued the Spanish judiciary for years.
Judge Perello, 66, was elected president of the Supreme Court and the CGPJ, a key legal body responsible for appointing judges and safeguarding judicial independence. According to a statement from the council, Perello secured the support of 16 out of the 20 council members.
Perello’s election is a landmark moment as she is the first woman to head Spain’s Supreme Court since its establishment in 1812 and also the first to preside over the CGPJ. The council’s mandate had expired in December 2018, and it had been functioning on an interim basis ever since due to an impasse between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s ruling Socialists and the main opposition Popular Party (PP) over its composition.
The deadlock had increasingly hampered the Spanish court system, resulting in over 100 judicial vacancies and drawing criticism from Brussels. A recent agreement between the Socialists and the PP on renewing the 20 members of the CGPJ paved the way for Perello’s nomination.
Prime Minister Sanchez extended his “sincere congratulations” to Perello in a message on X (formerly Twitter), celebrating her historic appointment. “Equality is a backbone of democracy. Today Spain recovers institutional normality,” Sanchez stated.
Perello, a judge since 1985 from Catalonia, is set to be sworn in on Wednesday, ushering in a new era for Spain’s judiciary.
