Espot criticises Andorra’s justice system while defending reforms

Xavier Espot, former mayor and nearly seven years as minister of Justice, criticised Andorra’s judicial system while defending recent reforms and the resources allocated to the administration of Justice. His remarks came during the Visura Ciutadana segment of the interview "El cap de Govern respon".

"We have a Justice that is not giving the satisfaction it should give in a country that would like to be a model and that demands legal certainty," Espot said. He argued that, despite the work his government has done, the system still falls short of public expectations.

Espot called for greater involvement from the operators who make the system work, particularly civil servants and other staff directly involved in decision-making. "Everyone must put their grain of sand" to speed up the administration of Justice, he said, adding that the legal profession — including lawyers and procurators — also has a responsibility. "A never-ending Justice is an unjust Justice," he warned.

He criticised attitudes he sees as inadequate, saying Justice "is not a business that you start at 7 a.m. and leave at 1 p.m.," because decisions affect people’s interests and, in some cases, their lives and futures.

Espot noted steps already taken: approval and implementation of a shock plan, work on amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, and planned changes to the Penal Code intended to make the justice administration’s work easier. He also pointed to the growing complexity of cases and the use of appeals, incidents and delays as factors that have helped clog the judicial system.