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Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Spanish Supreme Court Declares Lack of Jurisdiction in Honor Protection Case Involving Former Judge and Podemos Leader

The Supreme Court rules it is not competent to hear a case from Manuel García-Castellón against Ione Belarra over social media comments.
The Civil Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court has issued a ruling declaring that it lacks jurisdiction over the honor protection claim filed by retired National Court judge Manuel García-Castellón against Ione Belarra, the secretary general of Podemos and a member of parliament.

García-Castellón's claim stemmed from two tweets posted by Belarra on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), in which she referred to him as one of several 'corrupt judges' who have misused their positions in favor of political opponents.

The comments were made in response to García-Castellón's retirement, with Belarra stating that the judicial system is engaged in a 'dirty war' against Podemos.

She also accused the judge of participating in corrupt practices, regardless of any formal convictions.

The case was presented to the Supreme Court under Article 56(2) of the Organic Law of the Judiciary, which grants it authority to address civil responsibility claims that arise from actions taken in the exercise of public office against officials such as deputies and senators.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court referenced its own jurisprudence as well as that of the Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The court concluded that Belarra's statements are related to her role as a political leader and member of parliament but did not occur in the exercise of her parliamentary duties.

Factors such as the nature of the statements, the medium used, their timing, and the context were considered.

The court noted that the comments were disparaging remarks published at the time of García-Castellón's retirement and disseminated via social media, which do not equate to statements made during a parliamentary session or linked to an official legislative process.

The Supreme Court highlighted that in previous rulings regarding honor protection claims against government ministers, the circumstances were different.

Those cases typically involved statements made in the context of public duties that justified the court's jurisdiction, given that the defendants were still active in their roles as public officials at the time of the statements in question.

As a result, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court has determined that it does not possess objective jurisdiction to assess the claim, stating that such matters fall under the jurisdiction of First Instance Courts.
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