A LOOK AT the Constitutional Court picture archives reveals that this institution does not exactly reflect the reality of Spanish society, more than half of it being women. Spanish Carta Magna declares all citizens equal, but the tribunal defending it seems to forget this basic right: only one of the nine magistrates in the Court is a woman, Encarnación Roca. If the vice-president (Adela Asua) is also included, there are two women. The president is a man, Francisco Pérez de los Cobos.
Source: Women's Institute
LIKE IN THE REST of the Judiciary, female members dominate in the lowest levels, but they don’t make it to the highest ranks. While becoming a judge or a prosecutor means going through a public competitive examination (and passing it), the nomination for the seats in the Supreme or the Constitutional Courts is earned via less transparent mechanisms.
Source: European Commission
"The Constitutional Court has only had a female president since it was created in 1977"
THE FIRST REQUIREMENT to get a position in the bench is to be an “acknowledged jurist with more than 15 years of experience or in active service”. The Parliament, the Government and the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ, the governing body for the Judiciary) propose the candidates’ names. These are therefore political appointments, and maintaining a gender balance is not a valid criterion. Moreover, the Constitutional Court has been turned into a last resource for both the government and the opposition to try to derail the legislation they cannot defeat in parliament. According to data gathered by the Woman’s Institute, women have never occupied more than two seats simultaneously in this High Court, and it has only once had a female president: María Emilia Casas (2004-2011).
SPAIN WAS AMONG the countries endorsing the European Constitution in 2005. The text bans “any discrimination based on any ground such as sex (…)”. Women have presided the Constitutional Court in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia or Turkey, but never in France, Germany or Italy.