Famous Spanish Human Rights Judge, Baltasar Garzón, Convicted for Gross Judicial Misconduct (“Trespass Prevarication”)
| Author | Gustavo Lopez-Muñoz, Larraz |
| Date | 01 March 2012 |
| DOI | 10.1177/203228441200300104 |
| Published date | 01 March 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Analysis and Opinions |
14 Intersentia
FAMOUS SPANISH HUMAN RIGHTS JUDGE,
BALTASAR GARZÓN, CONVICTED
FOR GROSS JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT
(“TRESPASS PREVARICATION”)
G L-M L*
ABSTRACT
Judge Baltasar Garzón Real has been the Investigating Judge of the Central Criminal
Court of Instruction numbe r 5 of the Spanish National Court (Audiencia Nacional) for
ov er 2 1 ye ar s. e Audiencia Nacional is the only trial C ourt in Spain, with the exception
of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, that has jurisdiction in all the regions of
Spain and the only one with powers to deal with terrorism, major drug cases and
international extraditions.
Keywords: judicial m isconduct; prevarication
Judge Garzón has been an outspoken pillar of the so-called “Universal Justice”
movement, whose aim has been to take up a ny case against breaches of Human Rights
wherever they happened. Garzón gained international attention in October 1998,
when he issued an international a rrest warrant and subsequent request for extr adition
to Spain of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, for the deaths and torture of
Spanish citizens in Chile. Pinochet was visiting London at the time. His request was
rejected and Pinochet returned to Chile. In April 2009 he also opened a criminal
investigation into the al leged “systematic programme of torture” in USA’s Guantánamo
prison (Cuba). He considered that Spain, following the “Universal Justice doctrine”
should le charges against six high-ranking former government o cials of President
Bush. Included in the list were the Attorney general Alberto Gonzalez and Vice
President Cheney’s Chief of Sta .
* Member of the Madr id and Spanish Bars (1965), Spanish Roya l Academy of Jurisprudence (1977),
International Ac ademy of Trial Lawyers, Nat ional Ass. of Crim inal Defence Law yers and European
Crimina l Bar Ass.
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