Por María Izquierdo 
The Chief Legal Officer of the Cortes, Marcos Herrero, has submitted his resignation this Friday, four days after the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of Castilla y León ordering the Parliament’s Board to reinstate the official who reported harassment by the Secretary General.
According to parliamentary sources confirmed to Europa Press, Marcos Herrero has resigned this Friday and the vacancy will be filled by Edmundo Matía, as he is the most senior legal officer in the Cortes as stipulated in the personal statute in article 3.
Marcos Herrero took office on March 28, 2022, following the constitution of the XI Legislature with Carlos Pollán of Vox as the President of the Cortes.
It is worth noting that during the press conference after yesterday’s Board of Spokespersons meeting, David Hierro, spokesperson for the Vox Parliamentary Group, the party that presides over the Cortes of Castilla y León, emphasized that court rulings are meant to be upheld and suggested that Marcos Herrero should «reconsider» whether four rulings against decisions made by him are good for the image of an institution like the regional Parliament.
The spokesperson for the Socialist Group, Patricia Gómez Urbán, and the representative of Unidas-Podemos, Pablo Fernández, also demanded the resignation of the Chief Legal Officer, with Fernández even going so far as to call for the resignation of the President of the Cortes, Carlos Pollán, if Herrero was not removed. In response, Francisco Igea likened the situation to «garbage» and a «mud puddle.»
On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Popular Group, Ricardo Gavilanes, acknowledged that his party had not requested either the continuation or the dismissal of the Chief Legal Officer as it is a competence that solely belongs to the President of the Cortes, who was also the one who appointed Herrero.
Herrero’s resignation comes four days after the TSJCyL declared the modification of the RPT approved on July 10, 2024, by the Cortes Board null and void, allowing the Head of the Administrative Management Service to be filled by personnel from the Engineering Scale in addition to the Technical Corps, thus siding with the official who reported harassment by the Secretary General and Chief Legal Officer, Marcos Herrero.
The ruling of the First Section of the TSJCyL also annuls the call and appointment of this position to an official from the Engineering Scale and orders the reinstatement of the official dismissed in her position on a provisional assignment basis.
The sentence considers that the modification of the RPT and the subsequent call were made with the aim of evading compliance with the court ruling, which had already declared the dismissal of the official in May 2022 null and void. «It is not explained, beyond that it seeks to evade compliance with the ruling,» adds the ruling, which establishes that the Cortes Board is responsible for executing the sentence.
CRIMINAL LIABILITY STUDY
In addition, the court agrees to send a copy of the particulars to the Court of Instruction number 4 of Valladolid to investigate whether the facts could constitute criminal liability. «Given that there are preliminary proceedings No. 1321/2024 of the Court of Instruction No. 4 of Valladolid, for facts related in this ruling and in order to determine whether criminal liability has been incurred, it is appropriate to send a copy of the particulars to the said Court,» the resolution states.
The complainant previously appealed the revocation of her appointment by the accused and succeeded in having the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the TSJCyL, in a ruling dated April 22, 2024, annul the same on the grounds that, in addition to being issued by an incompetent body, without following the legally established procedure and without any motivation or justification, it «violated the rights to personal and professional dignity of the appellant considering the circumstances and manner in which it was carried out.»
Furthermore, the introduction of the requirement of two years of experience within the Cortes to convert the complainant’s position into a Technical Corps position, Economic-Financial Scale, all within the framework of an RPT modification, was also annulled by the same court in a ruling dated July 20, 2023.
In this case, the Court noted that the defendant, «with his conduct (which we have said amounts to retaliation against the appellant’s previous actions), has violated her fundamental right to effective judicial protection, in terms of guarantee of immunity.»
The resolution added that with the requirement of experience (of two years) in the Chamber itself, «which lacks an objective and reasonable criterion within the framework of art. 23.2 of the Spanish Constitution, has also violated her fundamental right of access under equal conditions to the civil service (in terms of career development), in relation to article 14 of the Constitution.»