Francisco García recalls that "20 years ago, the capital status of Judicial District No. 8 in our municipality was approved."
The mayor of Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Francisco García, met again this Monday with Nieves Lady Barreto, Minister of the Presidency, Public Administration, Justice, and Security of the Canary Islands Government, to reiterate "the need to create a Court of First Instance in our municipality, as stipulated in the Organic Law on the Efficiency of the Public Justice Service 1/2025." García expressed his hope that "the Canary Islands Government will support this historic demand of our residents before the Ministry of Justice so that the construction of new courts can be carried out."
According to Organic Law 1/2025 on Public Service Efficiency, a Court of First Instance must be created in Santa Lucía de Tirajana with offices comprised of a Single Section, Civil and Investigation, which will also cover Violence Against Women. On January 15, the mayor met with the Minister of Justice to learn how her department would approach the implementation of Law 1/2025. This Monday's meeting also took place at the request of the mayor of Santa Lucía de Tirajana, after the minister met with representatives of the Ministry of Justice to learn how the implementation of the new Courts of First Instance will be implemented in the Canary Islands.
The mayor reminded the head of the Canary Islands government that "for more than 20 years we have been demanding the creation of courts in Santa Lucía de Tirajana, and that the law of June 2005 be complied with, which established that our municipality must be the seat of the capital of judicial district number 8 of the province of Las Palmas." According to García, "even in the regional budgets of 2008 and 2009, a financial statement was included for such construction, but then the crisis hit, and the courthouse in the capital of Gran Canaria was prioritized."
Following the meeting, which was also attended by Councillor Nieves Lady Barreto, the Deputy Minister of Justice, Cesáreo Rodríguez, and the Director General of Relations with the Administration of Justice, María del Carmen de León, the mayor stated that “the Santa Lucía Town Council will continue to demand the construction of the new courts, which are a great need for the entire population of southeastern Gran Canaria, taking into account the collapse that already exists in the courts of Telde and San Bartolomé de Tirajana.” “We know,” García added, “that a report from the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands is necessary, but from the Town Council we are willing to work hand in hand with the TSJC, the Ministry of Justice and the Canarian Government to ensure that the law is complied with and Santa Lucía de Tirajana has the judicial infrastructure that it is entitled to as the capital of judicial district number 8 in the province of Las Palmas.”
For her part, the Minister of Justice, Nieves Lady Barreto, stated that "We share the demands of the Santa Lucía de Tirajana City Council and its mayor, Francisco García, but, as of today, we are bound by the provisions of the Law on the Efficiency of the Public Justice Service, which came into force last January and requires the Autonomous Communities, before December 31, to transform the current investigating and first-instance courts into courts of first instance." Barreto added that "The Ministry of Justice has made it clear that it does not contemplate, at least for now, the creation of new bodies."
