Spanish General Council of the Judiciary blockade

2018–2024 Spanish constitutional crisis
Headquarters of the General Council of the Judiciary
Date	4 December 2018 – 25 July 2024
Place	Spain
Cause	End of five year term of the General Council of the Judiciary in 2018 Lack of parliamentary will to appoint a new Council
Consequences	Resignation of the president of the Supreme Court Numerous vacancies on the Supreme Court Delay in the appointments to the Constitutional Court Limited capacity of the CGPJ to appointment lower court judges

The General Council of the Judiciary blockade was a constitutional crisis that has resulted in the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the governing body of the Judiciary in Spain not being able to fulfill its functions due to the inability of the Spanish Parliament (Cortes Generales) to agree on the appointment of a new council since the term of the last council expired in 2018. The most serious of these functions in abeyance are the selection of the President of the Supreme Court and the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

The Council has a term of five years, after which all 20 members of the council must be re-appointed. The law requires that a three fifths majority is required in the Congress for their appointment, which usually means that a consensus must be reached between the Government and the Opposition. The Opposition has refused to do so principally on the grounds that they want to change the method of appointment (to allow some members to be appointed by the judiciary themselves) but also as a bargaining chip in negotiations on other legislation. The Government has been able to pass legislation to allow some functions of the Council to be exercised without the Council but the Council remains in abeyance after five and a half years.

The same opposition party has blocked the reappointment of the Council twice before, in 1995 until they won government and in 2006 for two years until the following general election.

After an agreement between the two main political parties, on 25 July 2024 the new members of the Council assumed office, ending the crisis. Minor parties complained that they had not been consulted nor was the agreement debated in parliament.