Judge Isabel Perelló named first female head of Spain's top judicial body

Spain's top judicial body has a new head after more than five years of a deadlock between magistrates. Catalan judge Isabel Perelló has been voted as the new leader with the support of 16 out of the 20 body members.

A progressive judge will now lead the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) and Spain's Supreme Court. She needed three-fifths of the members to be named the new head.

Her appointment took more than two months of failed negotiations after Spain's major political parties, the Socialists and the People's Party, agreed on renewing the judicial body back in June.

Perelló is the first female head of the top judicial body and the Supreme Court and has been a member of the Judges for Democracy association.

Born in the Catalan municipality of Sabadell in 1958, Perelló speaks Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, and English.

During her career, she has been a judge in the Balearic Islands, Barcelona's Court, and the Catalan High Court (TSJC). She has also been part of Andalusia's High Court, Spain's National Court, and the Constitutional Court, all with different roles in the judicial system.

How appointment of judges' governing body works in Spain

The CGPJ is in charge of appointments, promotions, and transfers of judges, as well as inspecting how courts work and "staunchly safeguarding the independence of the judiciary," protecting it from the other powers. 

Yet, it is the Congress and the Senate, the legislative power, that appoints the members of the CGPJ leadership. Both chambers require three-fifths majorities to appoint a new team when the five-year mandates in CGPJ expire. 

In December 2018, the former members of the governing body reached the end of their terms, but continued since then to hold their posts since the Socialists and the People's Party – essential for the three-fifths majority – were unable to agree on successors. The deadlock pushed the former head of the body to resign to pressure political parties.