CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 22 juin 2023

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SPAIN (Applications nos. 53193/21 and 5 others – see appended table)     JUDGMENT   Art 6 § 1 (civil) • Access to court • Constitutional Court’s dismissal of amparo appeal, as out of time and without examining merits, against Parliament’s failure to pursue appointment process of a new General Council of the Judiciary (“GCJ”), by magistrates on final candidate list • Art 6 applicable • Mandatory and specific course of action of the Parliament within a specific timeframe • Genuine and serious dispute over arguable civil right under domestic law to participate in GCJ’s membership procedure and have a timely examination of their candidacies by Parliament • Applicants’ claim could have been adjudicated by the Constitutional Court • First condition of the Eskelinen test not met • Unforeseeable interpretation and application of relevant domestic law by the Constitutional Court • Very essence of right of access to a court impaired   STRASBOURG 22 June 2023   FINAL   22/09/2023   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Lorenzo Bragado and Others v. Spain, The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Carlo Ranzoni , President ,   Mārtiņš Mits,   Stéphanie Mourou-Vikström,   María Elósegui,   Mattias Guyomar,   Kateřina Šimáčková,   Mykola Gnatovskyy , judges , and Victor Soloveytchik, Section Registrar, Having regard to: the applications (nos.   53193/21, 53707/21, 53848/21, 54582/21, 54703/21 and 54731/21) against the Kingdom of Spain lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by six Spanish nationals (“the applicants”, see the appended table) on 22 October 2021; the decision to give notice to the Spanish Government (“the Government”) of the complaint under Article 6 concerning the applicants’ proceedings before the Constitutional Court and a related matter concerning their right to respect for their private life and to declare inadmissible the remainder of the applications; the parties’ observations; Having deliberated in private on 28 March and 16 May 2023, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on the last-mentioned date: INTRODUCTION 1.     The present case concerns the Constitutional Court’s rejection of the applicants’ amparo appeal, in which they complained about Parliament’s failure to pursue the appointment process for appointing a new General Council of the Judiciary from a list of candidates, which included their names. The applicants referred to Article 6 of the Convention. THE FACTS 2.     The applicants were represented by Mr V.J. Tovar Sabio, a lawyer practising in Granada. 3.     The Government were represented by their Agent,   Mr   A.   Brezmes Martínez de   Villareal. 4.     The facts of the case may be summarised as follows. I.         Renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary in 2018 5 .     The General Council of the Judiciary ( Consejo General del Poder Judicial – “the GCJ”) is the governing body of the judiciary; its functions include the appointment and promotion of judges and conducting disciplinary procedures in respect of judges (see paragraph 30 below). The GCJ shall be formed by the President of the Supreme Court (who shall preside over it) and by twenty members appointed for five years: twelve members shall be chosen from judges and magistrates of all judicial categories and eight members shall be chosen from advocates and other lawyers (see paragraph 30 below). The constitutive session of a new composition of the GCJ was held on 4 December 2013. Its five-year mandate was scheduled to expire on 4 December 2018. Under Law   no.   4/2013 (see paragraph 32 below), the procedure for appointing a new composition of a new GCJ consisted of two stages: (i)   drawing up a list of candidates, and (ii)   the selection by Parliament of the members of the GCJ from the final list of candidates (see paragraph 34 below). 6.     On 3 August 2018 the President of the GCJ initiated the procedure for the renewal of the GCJ and declared the start of the period for the presentation of candidacies for membership of the GCJ by serving judges and magistrates. 7 .     At the time in question the applicants were Spanish judges and members of the Francisco de Vitoria Judges Association ( Asociación Judicial Francisco de Vitoria ), one of the associations authorised under Spanish law to endorse candidates for membership of the GCJ (see paragraph 44 below). The applicants presented their respective candidacies for membership of the GCJ. On 4   September 2018 the Association submitted to the Supreme Court a list of candidates endorsed by it. Other associations submitted their own candidates. 8.     On 6 September 2018 a list of judges and magistrates (including the applicants) who fulfilled the statutory requirements for the GCJ membership was made public. On 27   September 2018 the President of the GCJ sent the list to the Presidents of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate (the two chambers of the Spanish Parliament). 9.     On 9 October 2018 the Bureau ( Mesa – the governing body) of the Congress [1] agreed to admit the matter for consideration, to indicate to the parliamentary groups the process to be followed for the renewal of the GCJ under section 567 of Law no.   6/1985 (see paragraph 34 below), and to publish the final list of fifty-one candidates. That list was published on 15 October 2018. 10.     In October and November 2018 the Bureau (of the Congress) agreed, at the request ­ of two parliamentary groups, to three separate extensions of the time-limit as regards the processing of the list of candidates who were lawyers. The Senate Bureau agreed to accept the agreement on the final announcement of the candidacies for membership of the GCJ from judges and magistrates and to open a period of presentation of the candidacies for the appointment of the members from lawyers until 31   October 2018. In November 2018 two parliamentary groups submitted nominations from lawyers, which were accepted for processing on 20   November 2018 by the Senate Bureau. Subsequently, both groups withdrew those proposals. 11 .     Parliament was dissolved on 4 March 2019. On 27 March 2019 an official announcement was made regarding parliamentary business that was considered to be redundant or was to be carried over to the new legislature (the 13th Legislature). The renewal of the composition of the GCJ was not listed among the redundant tasks and thus was deemed to have rolled over to the next Parliament for examination. 12 .     After the general elections on 28 April 2019, the Chambers gathered in a constitutive session on 21 May 2019. In respect of the renewal of the GCJ, the matter was transmitted to the parliamentary groups, “awaiting the Bureau’s agreement on the start of the renewal procedure for membership of the GCJ”. On 11 July 2019 the President of the Supreme Court (who also serves, ex officio , as the President of the GCJ) sent a communication to the Presidents of the Congress and the Senate, reiterating the need to proceed with the renewal of the composition of the GCJ. On 16   July 2019 the communication was forwarded to the parliamentary groups. On 24 July 2019 the Senate also took note of the communication. On 24 September 2019 Parliament was dissolved, and new elections were scheduled for 10   November 2019. On 23 October 2019 it was officially announced that the matter of the renewal of the composition of the GCJ had been rolled over to the next Parliament (the 14th Legislature). It appears that the Chambers gathered in a constitutive session on 3 or 4   December 2019. 13.     The Bureau of the Congress again decided to transmit the matter to the parliamentary groups. On 30 December 2019 the President of the GCJ again sent a communication, reiterating the need to renew the composition of the GCJ. 14.     On 30 November 2020 Vox, one of the parliamentary groups, submitted a proposal to put the matter on the renewal of the GCJ on the agenda of the meeting of the Board of Spokespersons. [2] The Bureau (of the Congress) replied that the matter was not within the purview of the Board. According to the Government, on 9 February 2021 the Bureau dismissed Vox’s appeal, stating that it was incumbent on the parliamentary groups to bring political impetus to the matter and that, given that the selection of GCJ members by a qualified majority corresponded to the plenary session, the parliamentary groups had to present “candidates for the jury” and had to reach preliminary agreement on the procedure to be followed. 15.     On some forty-five occasions, in particular at meetings of the Board of Spokespersons, the President of the Senate reiterated the need for the parliamentary groups to reach an agreement with a view to filling the vacant posts in various constitutional institutions – in particular, the GCJ. 16.     During that time, the previous composition of the GCJ (see paragraph   5 above) continued to exercise its function on an interim basis (see also paragraph 38 below). II.       Amparo appeal by the applicants 17.     On 14 October 2020 the applicants, together with the Francisco de Vitoria Judges Association, lodged an amparo appeal with the Constitutional Court (see paragraph 45 below). As to the subject of the appeal, it was stated as follows: “ Under sections 41(2) and 42 of Institutional Law no. 2/1979, inaction or an omission on the part of Parliament regarding its duty to renew the membership of the General Council of the Judiciary as to the judicial members, under sections 567, 568, 576 and 578 of Law no. 6/1985 Following receipt of the list of candidates, for more than two years no plenary sessions have been convened by the Congress and the Senate with a view to each Chamber voting on and appointing six members of the GCJ.” 18 .     As to the statutory time-limit for lodging their amparo appeal under section 42 (see paragraph 46 below), the applicants stated: “The omission constituting an infringement of fundamental rights has continued to occur on a permanent basis, and the three-month period ... for the lodging of an amparo appeal has therefore not yet expired.” Before the Constitutional Court the applicants sought relief as follows: “to declare that the right of access to public functions (Article 23 § 2 of the Constitution) and [the applicants’] right of association ... were violated on account of the failure to respect the legally established procedures for the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary ..., to afford a remedy to the applicants for the violation of the rights and, by consequence, to issue a resolution [urging] Parliament to implement without delay the legally established procedures provided [to ensure] the immediate renewal of the Council.” 19.     The applicants argued that the situation described above constituted a violation of their right under Article 23 § 2 of the Spanish Constitution (see paragraph 26 below) on account of Parliament’s failure to convene (a/the) plenary session(s) for two years in order to proceed to vote and appoint six members for each Chamber. The applicants alleged a violation of section 568 of Law no.   6/1985 on the procedure for the renewal of the GCJ and of the candidates’ right of access to the GCJ, according to section 573 of that Law (see paragraph 35 above). The applicants stated that a new composition had to be approved by three-fifths of the members of each Chamber of Parliament (thus guaranteeing the stability of that institution and the independence of its members), and that the failure to renew had constituted a political anomaly adversely affecting the institution and the public’s perception of it. The candidates were directly affected by the Congress’s inaction, given that they had to maintain their professional status in order to continue to be able to meet the conditions required for their appointment which prevented them from taking up other public offices proposed by the associations. 20.     Relying on Article 22 of the Constitution, essentially the Francisco de Vitoria Judges Association alleged a violation of sections 401 and 568 of Law   no.   6/1985 (see paragraphs   34 and 44 below) because of the inactivity on the part of the Congress in respect of the appointment of candidates proposed by the judges’ associations (see paragraph 7 above). The possibility for them to endorse candidates for appointment as members of the GCJ was an important participatory function, which was frustrated by the lack of any vote in the Congress. It harmed the associations’ right by rendering the elections inoperative, rendering their own functions and their aims ineffective. 21.     The applicants stated that their amparo appeal was of special constitutional significance and thus required, under section 50 of Law no.   2/1979, a decision on the merits by the Constitutional Court. The applicants referred to a European Commission report of September 2020 on the rule of law in Spain (see also paragraph 63 below) and argued that appointments by the previous composition of the GCJ did not (or would not) reflect the present composition of the Congress and Senate or the current parliamentary majority. 22 .     On 28 April 2021 the Constitutional Court ruled the amparo appeal inadmissible as having been lodged out of time (see paragraph 47 below). On   4 May 2021 the Registry of the Constitutional Court notified the applicants as follows: “[The panel] has examined the application and has decided to not transmit for processing, in accordance with [section 50 of Institutional Law no. 2/1979], in relation to section 42, because the application was submitted out of time.” On 3 June 2021 the Registry of the Constitutional Court also notified the applicants as follows: “ ... even if it is considered that the alleged violations had arisen from the omission in the convocation of the plenary sessions of the Congress and the Senate to proceed with the vote and appointment of ten members for each Chamber, the [three-month] period would begin on 4 December 2018, the date of the end of the mandate of the [GCJ]; if it is understood that this is a consequence of the renewal of the Chambers through elections, a new term would run from the constitution of the [new] legislature, on 4   December 2019. The application was submitted to the Registry of the Court on 14   October 2020, and it was thus belated.” III.     further developments 23 .     In late 2018 the fifth applicant took up a post in a court other than the one in which he was serving. Following a proposal by the GCJ, in March   2021 the first applicant was appointed as President of the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands. 24.     In December 2022 the parliamentary group of the Popular Party tabled a bill in the Congress that would change the appointment system in respect of GCJ members. It suggested that the judges and magistrates themselves designate the twelve members of judicial extraction. 25.     The next elections to Parliament are expected to be held in late 2023. RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND PRACTICE I.         Spanish law and practice A.    The 1978 Spanish Constitution 26 .     Article 22 of the Constitution protects the right of association. Article   23 protects the right to participation and provides: “1.     Citizens have the right to participate in public affairs, directly or through representatives freely elected in periodic elections by universal suffrage. 2.     They likewise have the right of access on equal terms to public functions and positions [ derecho a acceder en condiciones de igualdad a las funciones y cargos públicos ], in accordance with the requirements determined by law.” 27 .     According to the Constitutional Court (judgment no.   50/1986), Article 23 § 2 of the Constitution guarantees the right of access on equal terms to public functions and positions, subject to the requirements established by law, and does not give rise to the right to hold a specific position or to perform a specific function, or the right to propose oneself as a candidate for such a position or function. The right to take part in a selective or elective procedure that must lead to appointment to a position or function and, a fortiori , the right to take up such a position or function, only arises from the legal or regulatory rules that govern, in each case, access to the position or function in question. As a manifestation of the general principle of equality, Article   23   § 2 provides the right to challenge, before ordinary courts and ultimately before the Constitutional Court, any rule or any specific application of a rule that violates the principle of equality. The reference in Article 23 § 2 to the laws means that equality is predicated on the conditions established for access to a specific position or function, and that, therefore, the requirements or conditions that citizens must meet in order to be able to aspire to various positions or functions may be different, without such differences being considered harmful to equality. There is a close relationship between the rights set out by Article 23 § 2 and Article 103 of the Constitution (see paragraph 55 below) and each should be interpreted in the light of the other. 28 .     The elements of the right set out by Article 23 § 2 include (i) access to and the exercise of a public function or position in conditions of equality and in accordance with the requirements established by law, and (ii) the right to remain, in conditions of equality and within the requirements established by law, in the public position or function to which one has been appointed and from which one cannot be removed, otherwise than in accordance with legally established procedures ( de acuerdo con procedimientos legalmente establecidos ). All the elements of the right under Article 23 § 2 – access, permanence and exercise – are subject to the need to be carried out “in conditions of equality” and in accordance “with the requirements established by law” (see, inter alia , the Constitutional Court’s judgment   no.   298/2006). 29 .     Article 66 provides that Parliament (the Cortes Generales ) consists of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, and exercises legislative power and other powers vested in it by the Constitution. 30 .     Article 122 provides: “1.     The Institutional Law on the Judiciary shall determine the constitution, functioning and organisation of the courts, as well as the legal status of judges and magistrates ... 2.     The General Council of the Judiciary is the governing body of the judiciary. The Institutional Law shall define its status [and] the regime [in respect of the incompatibility between their official functions and other activities conducted while in office] that applies to its members and their functions ... 3.     The General Council of the Judiciary shall be formed by the President of the Supreme Court (who shall preside over it) and by twenty members appointed by the King for five years: twelve members [shall be chosen] from judges and magistrates of all judicial categories, pursuant to the requirements of the Institutional Law; four members [shall be chosen according to] a proposal made by the Congress and four members [shall be chosen according to] a proposal made by the Senate. They shall be elected by a three-fifths majority of the members ...” 31 .     Under Article 127 of the Constitution, judges and magistrates, while actively serving in office, may not hold another public office nor belong to political parties or trade unions. The law shall lay down the system and methods of forming professional associations for judges and magistrates. B.    Institutional Law no. 4/2013 32 .     Under the Preamble to the Law, members of the General Council of the Judiciary (GCJ) were to be appointed exclusively according to merit and capacity.   The previous regulation governing appointment to the GCJ had allowed for the non-renewal of the GCJ membership when its mandate ended; this had on occasion given rise to its mandate being extended – often for a long time.   That situation was to be avoided as much as possible.   Thus, it was established that the extension of the GCJ’s mandate was not possible, except in the very exceptional case where neither of the Chambers of Parliament had fulfilled its duty to renew the GCJ. Under the Preamble to the Law, the Chambers could “at all times avoid” a situation that was manifestly inadequate for the proper functioning of institutions such as the GCJ. 33.     This Law provided a new version of the parts of Institutional Law no.   6/1985 (see below) that concerned the GCJ. C.    Institutional Law no. 6/1985 as amended 1.      General Council of the Judiciary (GCJ) (a)    Appointment ( designación ) procedure 34 .     Institutional Law no.   6/1985, as amended by Institutional Law no.   4/2013, provides the procedure for designating/appointing new members of the GCJ. The GCJ consists of the President of the Supreme Court, who presides over the GCJ, and twenty members: twelve of whom shall be serving judges and magistrates and eight lawyers (section 566). Section 567 provides that twenty members of the GCJ shall be designated ( designados ) by Parliament, pursuant to the procedure established by the Constitution and the Institutional Law; each Chamber of Parliament shall elect, by a three-fifths majority of its members, ten members of the GCJ: four lawyers and six judges or magistrates. Under section 568, each composition of the GCJ should be fully renewed every five years from the date of its constitution; the Presidents of the Congress and the Senate shall take the necessary measures ( deberán   adoptar las medidas necesarias ) with a view to renewing the Council in due time; for this purpose and to enable the Chambers to proceed with the renewal of the GCJ, four months before the expiry of the above-mentioned time-limit, the President of the Supreme Court and the GCJ shall open the period for presenting candidacies for nomination to the GCJ as regards the judiciary part in the composition of the GCJ. 35 .     Under section 573, any judge or magistrate in active service in the judicial career may present his or her candidacy to be elected a judicial member of the GCJ ( Vocal por el turno judicial ), unless s/he is in any of the situations that, in accordance with the provisions of the Law, prevents him/her from doing so. A judge or magistrate who wishes to present his or her candidacy may choose between securing the endorsement of twenty-five serving members of the judiciary or the endorsement of a legally constituted judges’ association (section 574). An electoral board shall resolve any questions that arise in the process of presenting candidacies for membership of the GCJ and shall then proceed with the announcement of the candidacies and the publication of the list of candidates who have met the statutory requirements (section 576). A contentious administrative appeal may be lodged against the final announcement of candidacies before the Supreme Court (section 577). Under section 578, the President of the Supreme Court and the GCJ shall forward the list of admissible candidates ( las candidaturas definitivamente admitidas ) to the Presidents of the Congress and the Senate, so that the two Chambers may proceed with the designation of the GCJ members, in accordance with the requirements of section 567 (see   paragraph   34 above). 36 .     Under section 569, the members of the GCJ shall be appointed by the King by Royal Decree; the new GCJ’s constitutive session shall take place within five days of the expiration of the previous GCJ’s term, except in the case provided by section 570 (2). 37.     Under section 570, if on the day of the constitutive session of the new GCJ one Chamber has not elected the members, the GCJ shall be constituted with the ten members designated by the other Chamber and with the outgoing Council’s members appointed by the Chamber that has failed to elect the number of members that it was supposed to elect (namely, ten members – paragraph 1). If neither Chamber has appointed the number of members allotted to it within the legally established period ( en el plazo legalmente previsto ), the outgoing Council shall continue in office until the new Council takes office (paragraph   2). 38 .     Following a reform providing for the ad interim regime for the GCJ (Institutional Law no.   4/2021), the acting GCJ could not proceed with the process of making appointments in respect of top judicial positions. The law prevented the acting Council from appointing the president of the Supreme Court, the presidents of Provincial Courts and High Courts of Justice, president of the National High Court, presidents of Chambers, and Supreme Court judges. Under section 570 bis, in the event that its membership has not been renewed within the period provided by law, the GCJ shall take up its duties in accordance with section 570 (2), but its activities shall be limited to the performance of certain functions, such as proposing the appointment of two judges to membership of the Constitutional Court. Under Institutional   Law no.   8/2022, the GCJ was enabled to proceed in December   2022 with the appointment of two members of the Constitutional Court. 39 .     As regards the manner of the election of GCJ members by Parliament, in Judgment no.   108/1986 the Constitutional Court stated that the composition of the GCJ had to reflect the pluralism existing within society – and especially within the judiciary. That purpose was not undermined by vesting in Parliament the power to propose members of the GCJ, given that Institutional Law no. 6/1985 provided for certain safeguards (such as the requirement that appointments be made on the basis of a three-fifths qualified majority vote in each Chamber). Certainly, there was a risk of frustrating the above-mentioned purpose if the Chambers, when making their proposals, only paid attention to the existing division of forces within their own midst and distributed the positions to be filled among the different parties in a manner that proportionately reflected their parliamentary strength. However, while the logic of the party system increased the likelihood of actions of that kind occurring, it also ensured that certain spheres of power would be kept out of the party struggle – including (and especially) judicial power. (b)    Competence of the GCJ 40 .     Under section 560, the GCJ has, inter alia , the following powers: to propose the appointment of the President of the Supreme Court and the GCJ; to propose the appointment of judges, magistrates and judges of the Supreme Court; to propose the appointment of two judges of the Constitutional Court; to participate, in the manner provided by law, in the selection of judges and magistrates; to resolve what is appropriate in matters of training, promotions, administrative situations and the disciplinary regime of judges and magistrates; and to appoint the Vice-President of the Supreme Court. 41 .     Under section 599, the competence of the plenary composition of the GCJ concerns: hearing a proposal for the appointment of the two judges of the Constitutional Court (whose appointment is entrusted to the GCJ) and a proposal for the appointment of the President of the Supreme Court and the GCJ; appointment of the Vice-President of the Supreme Court; all appointments or proposals for appointment and promotion involving any margin of discretion or appreciation of candidates’ qualities; and resolution of the disciplinary proceedings in which the proposed sanction consisted of the termination of the judicial career of the person in question. (c)    Status of GCJ members 42 .     Under section 579, members of the GCJ shall carry out their activities with exclusive dedication ( con dedicación exclusiva ), their position being incompatible with any other position, profession or activity – public or private. In addition, the specific incompatible activities in which judges and magistrates may not engage, as listed under section 389, apply to them. The position of a GCJ member is incompatible with the simultaneous performance of other governmental responsibilities in the judicial field. In the event that such incompatibility is found in respect of a serving GCJ member, such responsibilities shall be assumed by whomever must replace the interested party under the relevant legislation. 43 .     Under section 584 bis , members of the GCJ shall receive such remuneration as is set by General State Budget Law as sole and exclusive in view of the importance of their function. 2.      Professional association of judges and magistrates 44 .     Under section 401 of the Institutional Law, in accordance with Article   127 of the Constitution (see paragraph 31 above), the right of free professional association of judges and magistrates is recognised. Associations of judges and magistrates may have as lawful purposes the defence of the professional interests of their members in all aspects and the performance of activities aimed at the service of justice in general. Judges and magistrates may freely associate or not within professional associations. D.    Institutional Law no. 2/1979 45 .     Under section 41 of Institutional Law no. 2/1979, as amended by Institutional Law no.   6/2007, amparo appeals lodged with the Constitutional Court concern rights and freedoms safeguarded by Articles 14 to 29 of the Constitution, in such cases and forms as Institutional Law no.   2/1979 provides (paragraph 1). The amparo remedy protects against violations of those rights and freedoms that arise from, inter alia , legal instruments ( actos   jurídicos ) or omissions ( omisiones ) on the part of public authorities, or their officials or agents (paragraph 2). 46 .     Section 42 reads: “Decisions and [legal] instruments which are not statutes [ las decisiones o actos sin valor de Ley ] and which emanate from [Parliament] or one of [its] organs, ... and [which] violate the rights and freedoms that are the subject of an amparo appeal, may be contested within three months from the time when, under the internal rules of the chambers or assemblies, they become final”. 47 .     Under section 50, an amparo appeal is subject to an admissibility decision. A panel of three judges, acting unanimously, decides to admit (by means of issuing an order) an amparo appeal, in whole or in part, only where it complies with sections 41-46 and 49 and where the content of the application justifies a decision on the merits by the Constitutional Court because of its special constitutional significance for (i) the interpretation of the Constitution, (ii) its application or general effectiveness, and (iii) the determination of the content and scope of fundamental rights. An inadmissibility decision ( providencia ) shall be notified to the person who lodged the amparo   appeal and to the public prosecutor. The latter may lodge an appeal within three days. Under section 86, a decision of initial inadmissibility ( decisión de inadmisión inicial ) is taken in the form of an order ( auto ); depending on the nature of their content, other legal acts are undertaken in the form of an order if they contain reasoning, or in the form of a decision ( providencia ) if they do not contain reasoning. 48 .     The examination of an amparo appeal on the merits results in it being either allowed or dismissed (section 53). One or more of the following forms of relief may be granted: (i) a declaration of nullity in respect of the decision, act or resolution that has prevented the full exercise of the rights or freedoms protected, with a determination, where appropriate, of the extent of the effects of such nullity; (ii) recognition of the right or freedom in question, in accordance with its constitutionally declared content ( contenido   constitucionalmente declarado ); and (iii) the restoration to the appellant of the integrity of her/his right or freedom by means of the adoption of the appropriate measures, if applicable (section 55). 49 .     In Judgment no.   147/1982 the Constitutional Court stated that as members of parliament, deputies and senators were neither public authorities nor official or agents within the meaning of section   41   (2) of Institutional Law no.   2/1979; only the body of which they were members could be considered to constitute a public authority because it could generate acts mentioned in that section or to act in such a way as to impose obligations on citizens and thereby interfere with their fundamental rights and freedoms. 50 .     In Judgment no.   659/1987 the Constitutional Court stated that section   42 provided for an amparo remedy against parliamentary acts violating rights and freedoms that were subject to such a means of constitutional protection. Such a remedy did not constitute judicial interference with normal parliamentary activities or a remedy by which to correct lacunae in the legal system, or any kind of inadequacy inherent therein. 51 .     In Judgment no.   173/2020 the Constitutional Court held that section   41(2) of Institutional Law no. 2/1979 established, in general, that the amparo   remedy protected against violations of rights and freedoms caused by, inter alia , omissions. Therefore, there was no reason to interpret that the appeal for parliamentary amparo under section 42 could not be filed against omissions or simple factual actions of the parliamentary bodies that could result in the kind of violation of fundamental rights referred to in section   41(1), in accordance with Article 53 § 2 of the Constitution, having regard to the general nature of section 41 and the principle of adopting the interpretation most favourable to the effectiveness of fundamental rights, which had also been affirmed by the Constitutional Court in relation to Article   23 § 2 of the Constitution (see also Judgment no. 66/2021). In Judgment no.   242/1993 it had found a violation of Article 29 § 1 of the Constitution (Right to lodge an application) on account of the absence of any response by the Parliament of the Canary Islands to an application lodged by the appellant, and recognised, as a measure of restoration, the right to have his application processed in accordance with the regulations of the Parliament of the Canary Islands – including obtaining of an acknowledgment of receipt.   The possibility of filing an appeal for parliamentary amparo against violations of rights or freedoms originated by the simple way of fact, was accepted in Judgment no.   101/1983 . 52 .     The Constitutional Court also held that the above-mentioned three ‑ month period, once the impugned act or decision had become final, was to be calculated from the date of its notification by means of the relevant communication or by means of its publication in the official bulletin of the Chamber (Judgment no. 13/2018 and the cases cited therein). E.     Other material 1.      Internal rules of the Congress and Senate 53 .     Under rule 205 of the internal rules of the Congress of Deputies, a proposal for the appointment of six GCJ members from judges and magistrates must conform to the following rules: (a) up to thirty-six candidates shall be drawn from judges and magistrates, pursuant to Law   no.   6/1985; (b) those candidates shall be submitted directly to a Plenary vote ( la votación del Pleno ), after the Bureau of the Chamber has verified that they meet the constitutional and legally established requirements. 54 .     Under rules 184-86 of the internal rules of the Senate, a proposal for the appointment of six GCJ members from judges and magistrates is subject to the following procedure: (a) up to thirty-six candidates drawn from judges and magistrates, pursuant to Law no. 6/1985; (b) the candidates, except those already elected by the Congress of Deputies, shall be submitted directly to a Plenary vote ( la votación del Pleno ), after the Bureau of the Chamber has verified that they meet the constitutional and legally established requirements; and (c) the deliberation and voting pursuant to rule 186. Under rule 185, the Senate’s appointments committee shall be chaired by the President of the Senate and shall comprise the parliamentary groups’ respective spokespersons. Once it has been verified that the requirements of the Constitution and the laws specifying the requirements for holding office have been met, the Committee, on its own initiative or at the request of a parliamentary group, may decide on the appearance of the candidates. The Committee shall then draw up a report on the suitability of candidates for the posts to be filled. This report shall be submitted to the Plenary. The President of the Senate, in the light of the Committee’s deliberations and the time elapsed since the beginning of the procedure, may propose to the Bureau of the Chamber the setting of a deadline for the presentation of candidatures. New applications will be processed under the same procedure. Under rule   186, the Plenary’s deliberation shall encompass the presentation of the Committee’s report and speeches/contributions made by the spokespersons of the parliamentary groups. During the voting (by ballot paper), each senator may vote for as many names as there are positions to be filled. The Bureau declares as elected the same number of those candidates who have obtained the most votes as the number of seats to be filled, provided that each of those candidates has been elected by the majority of votes required in each case by the Constitution or by the relevant legislation. 2.      Other provisions of Spanish law and jurisprudence 55 .     Under Article 103 of the Spanish Constitution, organs of public administration are created, directed and coordinated in accordance with the law. The law shall regulate the status of civil servants, and their entry into the civil service in accordance with the principles of merit and ability. 56 .     Under section 55 of the Statute on Public Employment of 2015 ( Estatuto Básico del Empleado Público ) all citizens have the right of access to public employment ( al acceso al empleo público ), in accordance with the constitutional principles of equality, merit and ability, and in accordance with the provisions of that Statute and other provisions of national law. The selection procedures should guarantee those constitutional principles, as well as the impartiality of the members of the selection bodies, and should be transparent. Where so provided for by the relevant legislation, the Statute may apply to civil servants serving in constitutional State bodies and to personnel whose work serves the admi