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Sunday, June 27, 2010

Pioneering Spanish Judge Garzon Comes Under Serious Legal Fire because He Intended to Try Franco-era Crimes



Judge Baltasar Garzon


On May 14, 2010 the Spanish General Council of the Judiciary suspended Judge Baltasar Garzon from his functions following his indictment on charges of abuse of authority.

Writing in the New York Times and International Herald Tribune, Guénaël Mettraux,who is an attorney who appears before International Tribunals, said of Garzon: "Garzon had become a living symbol of international justice as he pursued the likes of Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden in the name of universal principles of human dignity, human rights and the international fight against impunity.

The reaction to Garzon's latest investigative efforts and the Brazilian Supreme Court's recent upholding of a law of amnesty that applies to the crimes of Brazil's military dictatorship are powerful reminders that states can still decide what to do with their past, even when that past involves mass atrocities."

For years Baltasar Garzon has been Spain's most controversial crusader, a judge on a mission to fight gross abuse of power He has used his courtroom in Madrid to investigate allegations of torture at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to indict Osama bin Laden and, most famously, to go after former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Now Judge Garzon, 54, is involved in yet another trial involving an alleged abuse of power, but is about his own use of power as a judge.

In February 2010, a Supreme Court investigating magistrate ruled that Judge Garzon had ignored the 1977 amnesty by launching an investigation into atrocities committed during the four-decade rule of Gen Franco. Tens of thousands of people disappeared during Spain's Civil War and under the Franco regime that followed.


Spanish citizens protesting Garzon's suspension. The photograph held by a demonstrator is obviously a member of his family - perhaps his parents - who were killed by Franco.

The Spanish legal system gives national criminal magistrates such as Garzon wide latitude not just to adjudicate cases but to initiate investigations if they see fit. Garzon has used that platform to embrace the concept of "universal jurisdiction," which holds that certain crimes against humanity; such as torture and genocide, are not limited by geography when it comes to pressing charges in a court of law.

The case follows a complaint by far-right groups that the probe ignored an amnesty law passed in 1977, two years after Franco's death, for crimes committed under Franco's rule.

According to one report, Garzon's fate now lies in the hands of a court led by a justice who is one of his critics. If Garzon is found guilty and receives the customary sentence of 20 years' suspension from the bench, his judicial career would in effect be over. One of his lawyers worries that it already is. In May 2010, the high court decided that there was enough evidence for the case to be brought to trial and ordered Garzon suspended in the interim. Gonzalo Martinez-Fresneda, an attorney for Garzon, said even the temporary suspension would have a "devastating symbolic effect."

According to the Los Angeles Times, thousands of supporters have mounted protests on his behalf, including such well-known figures as filmmaker Pedro Almodovar.

Judge Baltasar Garzon has asked to take a leave of absence to work for the International Criminal Court (ICC). Judicial sources at Spain's National Court say Mr. Garzon wants to work as an advisor for the ICC for seven months.

Spanish judicial sources say that Mr. Garzon has received a job offer by the ICC chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo. They say Spain's judicial oversight board has to decide whether to grant Mr. Garzon the leave of absence. Mr. Garzon has not publicly commented on the issue.

In his first newspaper interview in a year, Garzon said, "The principle of universal jurisdiction has in fact germinated and is a conquest that cannot be lost and will not be lost. However, as always happens with international justice, it's about two steps forward, then one step back, then one forward and then two back - so we advance with a lot of difficulties. Why? Because there are a lot of interests at play - judicial as well as political and diplomatic."

Sources:
Chu, Henry (May 23, 2010). Crusading Spain judge Garzon himself a defendant. Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/23/world/la-fg-spain-judge-20100523

UN group voices 'concern' at Spanish judge Garzon's suspension. http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/un-group-voices-concern--at-spanish-judge-garzon-s-suspension_70834.html#

Ahrens, Lula (May 13, 2010). Judge Garzon's verdict expected on Friday. Radio Nederland Wereldomroep. http://www.rnw.nl/international-justice/article/judge-garz%C3%B3ns-verdict-expected-friday

BBC News (May 11, 2010). Spain judge Garzon 'seeks leave.' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8675548.stm

Minder, Raphael (June 9, 2010). Spanish judge says fight for rights will outlast trial. International Herald Tribune.

Mettrauz, Guénaël (June 1, 2010). International justice - for others. International Herald Tribune.