ACCYDED - Citizens Association Against Corruption and for the Defense of the Rule of Law

Insecurity

Citizen security is an essential pillar for any society that aspires to guarantee fundamental rights

When we travel, the first thing we ask is whether we can walk the streets in peace. Spain usually passes that test. But there is another kind of insecurity, quieter and just as dangerous, that no uniformed patrol can tackle: the one citizens feel when they walk into a courtroom and discover that the law does not always protect them.

The two faces of security

Public safety is a pillar of any society that aspires to guarantee fundamental rights and peaceful coexistence. But it is not just a matter of statistics or police presence: it is the deep-seated certainty that our lives, our freedom and our physical integrity are protected both on the street and in our dealings with institutions. The real value of rights varies dramatically with the level of security and justice in each country.

Spain, with relatively low levels of street crime compared with other states, suffers from a less visible crisis: legal insecurity. It is not measured by cameras or fought with patrols; it is felt in the courts, in the corridors of prosecutors' offices and in the attitude of certain bodies towards those who dare to report wrongdoing. How can citizens defend themselves when the threat to their rights comes not from a criminal but from an institution?

The price of speaking out

Many citizens who have stepped forward to expose illegal schemes or administrative abuses describe the same journey: endless proceedings, reprisals at work and even charges they consider unfounded. Meanwhile, those responsible for what was reported often enjoy institutional protection that deters anyone from following in the whistleblower's footsteps. The question is unavoidable: in our country, is reporting corruption paid for with persecution or marginalisation?

Legal insecurity is neither an accident nor a passing anomaly. It is, to a large extent, the result of a structure consolidated over time in which political and economic elites, an excessively hierarchical and politically exposed judiciary, and oversight bodies designed not to cause too much trouble all converge.

A justice system exposed to politics

At the heart of the problem lies the lack of genuine judicial independence. The appointments system, particularly around the General Council of the Judiciary, has for years been a battleground between parties. When promotion to key posts depends more on affinity than on merit, it creates a chain of favours and silences that undermines public trust. A judge who knows that his or her career depends on those in power has fewer incentives to act boldly against political corruption.

The Public Prosecutor's Office, for its part, has a very rigid hierarchical structure which, according to many of those affected, allows investigations to be halted, complaints shelved or proceedings steered from the top. All too often a citizen's complaint crashes into a wall of institutional indifference; and, in the worst cases, it triggers reprisals against the person who filed it.

Checks that do not check

The bodies meant to balance the system have frequently taken on a decorative role:

  • the General Council of the Judiciary, deadlocked for years over its renewal while accused of shielding judges under scrutiny;
  • the Court of Audit, whose members are elected by Parliament and whose work is often perceived through a partisan lens;
  • professional associations, which sometimes look the other way in the face of irregularities;
  • the Ombudsman, when it declines to investigate well-founded complaints.

Added to this is a section of the media, dependent on institutional advertising or large economic groups, that trivialises serious cases or stigmatises whistleblowers as "resentful" or "troublemakers". And some large law firms with political or financial ties help design procedural labyrinths in which justice gets lost before ever reaching a judgment.

A country's safety is measured not only by what happens on its streets, but by what awaits the honest citizen who walks into a courtroom.

Restoring trust

Article 9.3 of the Spanish Constitution guarantees legal certainty and prohibits arbitrary action by public authorities. Turning that promise into reality requires, at the very least:

  • a system of judicial appointments based on merit and shielded from party politics;
  • a Public Prosecutor's Office with real autonomy and reasoned, reviewable decisions;
  • oversight bodies with effective independence and sanctioning powers;
  • rigorous application of Law 2/2023, which protects those who report breaches of the law and corruption.

None of these reforms will arrive on its own. Demanding them is the task of citizens who refuse to accept that fear of speaking out is the price of living in a seemingly safe country. Because a country will only be truly safe when the law protects everyone equally.

Further reading