Lack of judicial resources in Barcelona
The city of Barcelona is experiencing a collapse in its judicial system, where quick criminal trials are being scheduled for 2026.
The law establishes that these trials must be held within a period of 15 days. However, the overwhelming number of cases received by the Barcelona justice system is causing severe delays in the system.
In a recent press conference, Cristina Ferrando, the senior judge of Barcelona, highlighted the urgent need to create new judicial bodies to manage this overflow.
Increase in cases and need for new courts
During 2023, Barcelona courts received 20,000 additional cases compared to the previous year, which has increased the waiting time for trials to be held. Ferrando stressed that this constant increase in cases has created a kind of ‘judicial tsunami’ that becomes more serious every year.
According to studies by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), Barcelona would need 60 new judicial units to provide an adequate response to cases. This would mean the creation of two new buildings in the City of Justice.
“We are realistic; it is impossible to count on this increase in the number of courts in the short term,” admitted Ferrando. However, he highlighted the urgency of expanding six priority courts.
Cases of multiple recidivism and quick trials
One of the issues that generate great concern is multiple recidivism. Recent reforms make it difficult to carry out quick trials, since they require prior investigations that consider the criminal record and the value of the stolen objects.
Ferrando suggested the creation of a support service for the processing of these cases and mentioned that they are working on an office that will filter these files.
Criminal courts and first instance
The situation in the criminal courts is critical. On average, there are 48 trials for minor crimes a day in Barcelona, of which eight cannot be considered immediate due to the need for preliminary investigations.
In terms of capacity, four support judges issue more than 2,000 quick rulings a year, but the constant increase in cases continues to maintain waiting times.
Ferrando highlighted that first instance courts receive a volume of cases that exceeds what they can rationally manage. He called for the creation of 23 new courts to maintain a reasonable resolution time.
“Although we have integrated five new judges as reinforcements, this measure is insufficient to cope with the workload,” he said.
Commercial and social courts
In commercial courts, bankruptcy cases occupy 80% of the workload and are saturating the system. Ferrando announced that the CGPJ is evaluating the creation of a special unit for bankruptcy processing and incorporating artificial intelligence to manage simple lawsuits.
In the social courts, trials are also being scheduled for 2026. Ferrando stated that the Generalitat’s ‘Paper Zero’ protocol is complicating procedures due to the lack of mechanisms for effective document transfer.
Finally, he mentioned that technical problems and incompatibility between videoconferencing systems in different territories are affecting all courts, making the Barcelona judicial system even more difficult.