National judges' strike stopped 52 court proceedings

PALMA WEDNESDAY'S strike across Spain by the judiciary, ground 52 cases to a halt in the Balearics reported the Supreme Court in Palma yesterday. Some 38 percent of judges in the Islands supported the industrial action with 70 taking part in the protest held at midday on Wednesday outside the Supreme Court. Following the demonstration, the legal profession's most senior figure in the Balearics, Dean Francisco Martinez Espinosa said that the strike was convened by two judiciary associations one of which doesn't have any representation in the Balearics, but that the only objective of the action was to ensure that the rights of citizens are upheld. He rejected the assertion that judges don't have the right to strike and said that it was of the utmost importance that judiciary were given the optimum conditions to ensure a quality service to the public. He said that there weren't sufficient staff and facilities to cope in the Balearics with the “rapid” court hearings specially set up to deal with people who are caught driving under the influence of alcohol. The Dean was not ruling out further industrial action and said there will be another protest on 26th June if the Central Government Minister for Justice does not respond to the needs of the judiciary.