Friday 15 August 2008
Time to call it a day
I thought I could keep commenting on UK legal matters from here in Spain, but I've realised that I am already so far out of touch that I don't really have anything other than nostalgia and prejudice to base my views on, so it's time to let this blog be. If any of you found what I said of sufficient interest to want more, I've just started a new blog you might like to visit.
Sunday 6 July 2008
Spanish courts backlog
Figures have just been published for performance by the courts in 2007. 8.3 million new cases were opened during the year and just over 8.2 million were concluded, leaving a carry-over of 91,000 cases. Of course, court cases don't fit neatly into accounting periods and so on the face of it this looks a pretty good performance. However, the consequence of adding this carry-over to the existing backlog is that the courts started the year 2008 with a total of of just over 2.4 million cases.
Court performance in terms of throughput has been improved, but the official projection for the year is that new cases will grow by 2.6% in 2008, whilst the number of cases concluded will rise by only 0.6%, with a predicted growth in the number of outstanding cases of 55,000, so that 2009 is likely to open with more than 2.5 million unresolved cases.
The 8.2 million cases concluded in 2007 comprised 6.3 million criminal cases, 1.5 million civil and 0.4 million 'others'.
In human terms what these problems mean is illustrated by a case reported recently in "Sur" the Andalucia daily; in December 2005, shortly before Christmas a youth was stabbed to death outside a disco in Ronda. The two suspects subsequently charged with the murder were arrested at the scene minutes after the attack. Tomorrow (7th July 2008) their trial will open - a delay of two and a half years in the victim's family's wait for justice, nd in the suspects' time on remand awaiting trial.
Court performance in terms of throughput has been improved, but the official projection for the year is that new cases will grow by 2.6% in 2008, whilst the number of cases concluded will rise by only 0.6%, with a predicted growth in the number of outstanding cases of 55,000, so that 2009 is likely to open with more than 2.5 million unresolved cases.
The 8.2 million cases concluded in 2007 comprised 6.3 million criminal cases, 1.5 million civil and 0.4 million 'others'.
In human terms what these problems mean is illustrated by a case reported recently in "Sur" the Andalucia daily; in December 2005, shortly before Christmas a youth was stabbed to death outside a disco in Ronda. The two suspects subsequently charged with the murder were arrested at the scene minutes after the attack. Tomorrow (7th July 2008) their trial will open - a delay of two and a half years in the victim's family's wait for justice, nd in the suspects' time on remand awaiting trial.
Saturday 21 June 2008
Another local authority in trouble!
This week the mayor of Estepona, along with a large number of councillors, local businessmen and property developers, found themselves in jail pending further investigations into corruption, illegal building, money laundering and such things. Estepona is the latest in a growing list which includes Marbella, Mijas and Viñuela.
You may not have a very high opinion of your local council in the UK, but you have to admit they´re not usually the subject of police raids.
You may not have a very high opinion of your local council in the UK, but you have to admit they´re not usually the subject of police raids.
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