The south of Gran Canaria, the island's tourist epicenter, is preparing for a significant judicial change. Starting October 1, the San Bartolomé de Tirajana judicial district will officially become a Court of First Instance, marking phase 2 of the implementation of Organic Law 1/2025 on measures to improve the efficiency of the Public Justice Service. This move seeks to modernize and streamline the judicial system in one of the archipelago's most dynamic demographic and economically active areas.
The Ministry of the Presidency, Public Administration, Justice, and Security, under the direction of Nieves Lady Barreto, has been leading this process. Recently, the Justice Participation and Advisory Commission met in Santa Cruz de Tenerife to agree on the new court office models to be implemented. The judicial district of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, along with Telde in Gran Canaria, and La Laguna and Arona in Tenerife, has been selected for this transformation. Given its population, caseload, and number of executions, data extracted from the Atlante case management system and statistics from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) have led to the proposal of the C1 court office model for San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
This C1 model is designed to address the complexity and workload of the area, with a robust structure that includes: a Common Processing Service (CPS), a Common General Service (CGS), and a Common Enforcement Service (CEJ). To this end, this court will be equipped with a team comprised of a specific number of Court Clerks (CJLs), managers, processors, and judicial assistants, ensuring specialized and diversified support for its services.
In addition to the main structure, the new San Bartolomé de Tirajana Court of First Instance will have cross-cutting services essential for efficient judicial management. These include coordination with the prosecutor's office, the municipal justice office, the provincial dispute resolution teams, prisons, and the Civil Registry. In parallel with the creation of the courts of first instance, eleven magistrates' courts in the Canary Islands will be converted into Municipal Justice Offices, adopting Model A. Although the text does not specify which of these eleven correspond to Gran Canaria, these new judicial service points will have case managers and judicial assistants, and, depending on their population, also processors, bringing justice closer to citizens at the local level.
The implementation of these new models, starting October 1, represents a crucial step in the modernization of the Canary Islands judicial system, seeking greater efficiency and agility in the administration of justice for the benefit of citizens and the economic activity of southern Gran Canaria.
