King Felipe keeps watchful eye over Spain’s justice system

King Felipe VI held a high-profile meeting on Wednesday with Spain’s Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, as preparations continue for the release of the 2024 Annual Report of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. 

Due to be presented at the official opening of the judicial year next month, the report will provide a comprehensive overview of the justice system over the past year tracking court performance, crime trends, and prosecutorial activity across the country.

This gathering comes amid mounting scrutiny of García Ortiz. 

In June, Spain’s Supreme Court moved to put the Attorney General on trial over allegations that he leaked sensitive information from a tax fraud case involving a prominent political figure’s partner an unprecedented step in Spain’s modern judicial history

While the government continues to back him, major prosecutor associations have called for his resignation

Notably, García Ortiz's appointment in August 2022 was mired in controversy, as Spain’s General Council of the Judiciary had previously raised doubts over his suitability the first such formal objection in democratic Spain’s history. Nonetheless, the government re-appointed him in December 2023.

The upcoming report and the King’s involvement in its preview may offer a moment to reaffirm the judiciary’s independence and reassure the public about the stability of Spain’s legal institutions.