Redaccion
The local government of the Benidorm City Council has denounced the new budget cut that the central government plans to execute at the Benidorm Courthouse, by eliminating an Investigation Court to convert it into a Women’s Violence Court instead of creating a new one without reducing the existing ones. Therefore, spokespersons Lourdes Caselles and Mónica Gómez have presented a motion at the plenary session to «demand from the Ministry of Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Courts, to reverse the initiative of eliminating an Investigation Court in Benidorm to convert it into a Women’s Violence Section and reinforce this section with the appointment of a new judge for Benidorm, without eliminating any positions.»
The proposal arises from the concern expressed by representatives of the judicial sphere in Benidorm after learning about the plans of the Pedro Sánchez government to implement the Organic Law 1/2025, of January 2, regarding measures for the efficiency of the Public Justice Service, recently approved, as a result of which it has been proposed to eliminate one of the four Investigation Courts in Benidorm to convert it into another Women’s Violence Court. This decision «has generated an absolute rejection by the Judiciary, the Court Clerks, the Prosecution, and the various legal operators’ groups, who warn of the collapse that would result from the elimination of an Investigation Court in a city like Benidorm,» said spokesperson Lourdes Caselles.
The measure is expected to be implemented next October, when the new Sections responsible for handling cases of violence against women will have to take on the investigation of all sexual offenses, thus significantly increasing their workload without receiving reinforcements. The councilor has emphasized that «we are definitely in favor of strengthening the Women’s Violence Courts, but this reinforcement cannot come at the expense of cutting back on other jurisdictional bodies, as they intend to do in our city despite the refusal and complaint from all the involved groups.»
The spokesperson has indicated that, «apparently, the reason for the elimination of an Investigation Court to convert it into a Women’s Violence Court would be related to the ‘workload’ data of the Investigation Courts as a whole, data that is not shared by the Judges and Court Clerks of Benidorm, as they do not take into account the reality of the work carried out by the Courts in the city or the specific circumstances present in this judicial district.»
In this regard, she has pointed out that Benidorm is a tourist city with a registered population of 74,573 inhabitants and that, according to INE data, it received 2,829,531 travelers in 2024, 2.9% more than the previous year, and recorded 15,460,265 overnight stays, 4.6% more than in 2023, so the workload in the Benidorm Courts has been constantly increasing in recent years. «In the face of this, the Ministry of Justice of the Government of Spain, instead of reinforcing justice in our city by creating new Courts, in this specific case a new Women’s Violence Court, and at the same time reinforcing the Investigation Courts, decides to implement cuts once again in an essential public service, by eliminating an Investigation Court,» emphasized Caselles.
The proposal to be debated in the plenary session recalls that in 2022, with the implementation of Royal Decree 954/2022, of November 15 by the Ministry of Justice, «the workload of the Benidorm Courts was significantly increased, with the grouping of the judicial districts of Benidorm and Villajoyosa, assuming Women’s Violence Court number 1 of Benidorm, the offenses that were previously under the jurisdiction of that judicial district.»
The councilor has stated that, as conveyed by both the Investigation Judges and the Court Clerks of Benidorm, «the elimination of an Investigation Court would be unfeasible, considering it impossible for only three courts to take on what has been done by four until now. All of this translates, as we are informed by the Judiciary, into a direct detriment to the litigant citizen and the crime victim, who will have a slower and consequently delayed justice.»
«For all the aforementioned reasons, and as also considered by the Investigation Judges and Court Clerks of Benidorm, what is necessary – continued Lourdes Caselles – would be the creation of a new Women’s Violence Court in the judicial district of Benidorm and not the transformation, and consequently elimination, of one of the four existing Investigation Courts.» The councilor has expressed confidence that «all the groups in the municipal Corporation will join this initiative, as the decision of the Pedro Sánchez government will imply a new reduction in public services and another setback for our citizens, once again showing that those who govern us in Madrid, care very little about Benidorm.»
