I have google-translated ( I wish I could translate at that speed), this interview I received in an online Law Journal. Bolds and underlines are made by me.
Interviews
April 18, 2011 NUNO MIGUEL COLLADO, MEMBER OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE JUDICIARY
"The Spanish judges are not the problem"
Miguel Collado is a very active voice in the Supreme Judicial Council. It belongs to the Judicial School Committees on Relations with the Autonomous Communities and Social Communication, precisely establishing the communication policy of the judiciary.About the image that has the Justice and that we should have spoken with the voice Collado, who offers a dynamic, rather than a snapshot.
Legal Today
How, people taking justice as prepared for communication like you, our citizens have the image of a slow and antiquated justice? The latest CIS survey says that 70 percent of the Spanish think that justice is malfunctioning or medium.
You yourself have put your finger on the pulse. We move through prints. Justice does not have a single image, a single face. It has many different faces. Is multifaceted. In sociological studies being done, since 1984, Professor Jose Juan Toharia, has determined that only 25 percent of citizens had any direct contact with the Administration of Justice. That is, one in four.
Where did the rest forge their opinions?
From what they tell other people and, of course, the media. Things are not black nor white but gray. Look, if we do a bit of memory and we go back to 2007, the trial of 11-M, and remember the image being projected through television for four months and a half that the hearing lasted, the public thought we had just the opposite. A modern justice and updated.And so Metroscopia reflected in a survey conducted for the National Council of Notaries then, on the level of public confidence in institutions, and published in September 2007.Spanish court received a note from a 5.9, the highest in five decades, on a scale of 0 to 10. The highest note was received by the Crown, with a 7.1.
There was public praise by the U.S. and European judges, and as he had conducted the trial and spoke of the "Spanish way" of doing things in Justice. Months later, a few other cases occurred blew that image into the air. What was the true image of Justice? "The trial of 11-M or later surfaced?
Perhaps the answer lies in the middle, do not you think?
I agree. The answer is usually always in the middle of things. And I want to clarify two things: first, the Spanish courts are not the problem, and second: we need more modern media.
Some critics to the work of the media coverage of court cases hold that the problem is more bad press than bad image. What do you think?
Justice that works well is not a new, it has to work well. For that we are paid and so it should be. Good news is often viewed as advertising or publicity for the institution.Therefore, always have more bad news than good output. Bad news is "news" par excellence. In part what you say is true, but I think you have to kill the messenger.
The problem of justice is, in part, ignorance that the public has of it. Love what is known and what is neglected is unknown. The Court has recognized that the communication and, special education are important assets that must be given special attention.
You mentioned education. Have you started the CGPJ a program dedicated to young people, citizens of the future?
Of course, called "Education in Justice" and is designed for students of ESO and Baccalaureate. We have implemented most of Spain and the results are very satisfactory. "Education in Justice, in a nutshell is an introduction to the world of Justice through a tool that the Council of Europe has been praised and identified as the best: simulation, role-playing game. They mock trials in which students they stage an actual case, which has been previously scripted. Each one of the boys assume the roles of defense attorneys, prosecutors, defendants and expert witnesses. The only truth in the representations that are made in schools and colleges is the judge, a judge of truth, which is then subjected to questions from the students. I have had the experience of "Education in Justice" and is one of the most rewarding of my career. We are currently preparing to relaunch for next year, with new scripts, attached to the present. One of the challenges of justice through education of the young.
Worried about the illness and some media sensationalism? Do not believe could help the judiciary know better?
The role of the media is not to educate the public but to inform or entertain, using headlines and original as possible approaches to get their attention. So run, that is their nature. We can not fool us. It would be desirable that the reporters who are dedicated to cover the justice sector have a thorough knowledge of laws, the functioning of the courts.Since the Council we have made great efforts in recent years organizing workshops christened the "Report on Justice" for journalists covering courts in different regions.Free workshops are taught by experienced faculty judges. These experiences have paid off. Have high levels of quality of information, but things can change suddenly. Take your time. Although it should be noted that there are great journalists in Justice to do a great job.
What they have done something to raise awareness among judges about the media?
Judges have to learn to deal with the media, with journalists. There are two institutions that are essential for democracy, justice and the press. There can be no democracy without an independent judiciary and a free press, without their roles as counterweights to the executive. This will have very clear, therefore, for two years we have been working with our judges in the different regions, in what we called "Media Training Workshops."Through these workshops will introduce the knowledge of the media, their functioning and their nature. We teach them to communicate as effectively as possible. Judges can not turn its back on society. We can not afford that luxury.
To you, members of the CGPJ, they are perceived as politicized and this affects the image that society has of judges. Can we end this very negative?
There is a confusion that needs to be clarified and that is the essence of the problem.The judiciary is the Supreme Judicial Council. The Council is the governing body, whose main mission is to ensure the independence of judges and manage Spanish judiciary.
The Council does not make judgments. Does not do justice. The Council can not give any indication of any judge to put a sentence in one way or another, or to open an investigation or so and so Somebody's niece or for the closing. Spanish judges have a high degree of independence and impartiality, similar to that of the world's most advanced countries, among which, undoubtedly, we are. That is reality.
Our main function is to provide the public justice to the citizens, which is where our legitimacy emanates. That judges and magistrates have all the necessary means to carry out their work. And this sense, as a Council, we participate in a direct and decisive management of the Spanish Justice Administration, ensuring, above all, judicial independence. That is our beacon, our North and our essence of being.