Secretary of State for Justice (Spain)
| Secretary of State for Justice | |
|---|---|
| Secretario de Estado de Justicia | |
Coat of Arms used by the Government | |
Incumbent since November 29, 2023Manuel Olmedo Palacios | |
| Ministry of Justice Secretariat of State for Justice | |
| Style | The Most Excellent (formal) Mrs. Secretary of State (informal) |
| Abbreviation | SEJUS |
| Reports to | Justice Minister |
| Nominator | Justice Minister |
| Appointer | Monarch |
| Formation | May 13, 1994 |
| First holder | María Teresa Fernández de la Vega |
| Website | mjusticia.gob.es |
The secretary of state for justice (SEJUS) is a senior minister in the Spanish Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes responsible for the government policy regarding justice.[1]
In this regard, the secretary of state assists the minister in the design of this policy and in the institutional relations with the bodies related to justice (General Council of the Judiciary, Prosecution Ministry, courts of justice, regional ministries of justice and with associations related to legal professions). It also supports the minister in all related to development of the legal system, international legal cooperation and civil registration.[1]
The secretary of state for justice is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the justice minister, after hearing the Council of Ministers. Since November 29, 2023, the officeholder is judge Manuel Olmedo Palacios.[2]
History
The Secretariat of State for Justice was created on 13 May 1994, when the ministries of Justice and the Interior were merged.[3] The Secretariat was organized through a General Secretariat for Justice and several directorates general (Judicial Infraestructure; Registries and Notaries; State Legal Service—current Solicitor General—, Conscientious Objection; Codification and International Legal Cooperation; Religious Affairs).[4]
As of 1996, the restored Directorate-General for Relations with the Administration of Justice was integrated into it and the cabinet of religious affairs was elevated to the rank of directorate-general. Likewise, the General Secretariat of Justice was abolished and the Judicial Studies Center and the Judicial General Mutuality were assigned to the Secretariat of State for Justice.[5] The structure of the department was not touched again until 2001 when the Directorate-General for the Modernization of the Administration of Justice was created in its midst.[6]
Except for certain changes between its directorates-general, its structure was not modified until 2008, in which the General Secretariat for Modernization and Relations with the Administration of Justice (current SGAJ) was created as an intermediate body between the Secretary of State and some of its addresses general.[7]
In 2010, it underwent its most relevant modification and is still preserved today. The Solicitor General and the Directorate General of Registries and Notaries were directly attached to the Minister and the Secretary of State assumed the competences over international legal cooperation.[8] In 2015, the Office of Asset Recovery and Management (ORGA) was created and assigned to the Secretary of State. As of 2018, the powers of the ORGA are assumed by the Secretary-General for the Administration of Justice (SGAJ).
In 2020, the new justice minister, Juan Carlos Campo, renamed all the Ministry's departments. Despite the name change of the Secretariat of State's bodies, the responsibilities were the same, with the exception of those relating to religious freedom, which were transferred from the Directorate-General for International Legal Cooperation, Relations with Religions, and Human Rights to the Undersecretariat of the Presidency, and the legal security and notaries responsibilities, which were transferred from the Undersecretariat of Justice to the Secretariat of State.[9]
Organization
As of 2026, this is the organization of the Secretariat of State:[1]
| Secretariat of State Organization (2026) | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of State | Cabinet |
| Centre for Legal Studies | |
| General Mutual Benefit Society for Civil Servants of the Administration of Justice | |
| General Secretariat for Innovation and Quality of the Public Justice Service |
Technical Cabinet |
| Directorate-General for Efficiency of the Public Justice Service | |
| Directorate-General for Digital Transformation of the Administration of Justice | |
| Directorate-General for Legal Security and Public Faith | |
| Deputy Directorate-General for Innovation and Quality of the Judicial Administrative Office | |
| Directorate-General for International Legal Cooperation |
Deputy Directorate-General for International Legal Cooperation |
| Deputy Directorate-General for EU Justice Affairs and International Organizations | |
Secretaries of State
| No. | Image | Name | Term of Office | Prime Minister | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Began | Ended | Days of Service | ||||
| 1st | María Teresa Fernández de la Vega | 4 May 1994 | 8 May 1996 | 735 | Felipe González | |
| 2nd | José Luis González Montes | 11 May 1996 | 6 May 2000 | 1456 | José María Aznar | |
| 3rd | José María Michavila | 6 May 2000 | 20 July 2002 | 805 | ||
| 4th | Rafael Catalá | 27 July 2002 | 20 April 2004 | 633 | ||
| 5th | Luis López Guerra | 20 April 2004 | 19 February 2007 | 1035 | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | |
| 6th | Julio Pérez Hernández | 19 February 2007 | 2 March 2009 | 742 | ||
| 7th | Juan Carlos Campo Moreno | 2 March 2009 | 31 December 2011 | 1034 | ||
| 8th | Fernando Román García | 31 December 2011 | 11 Octubre 2014 | 1015 | Mariano Rajoy | |
| 9th | Carmen Sánchez-Cortés Martín | 11 Octubre 2014 | 19 June 2018 | 1347 | ||
| 10th | Manuel-Jesús Dolz Lago[10] | 19 June 2018 | 30 January 2020 | 590 | Pedro Sánchez | |
| 11th | Pablo Zapatero Miguel[11] | 30 January 2020 | 8 December 2021 | 678 | ||
| 12th | Antonio Julián Rodríguez Esquerdo[12] | 8 December 2021 | 29 November 2023 | 721 | ||
| 13th | Manuel Olmedo Palacios[13] | 29 November 2023 | Incumbent | 847 | ||
References
- ^ a b c Ministry of Digital Transformation and Civil Service (28 February 2024). "Real Decreto 204/2024, de 27 de febrero, por el que se desarrolla la estructura orgánica básica del Ministerio de la Presidencia, Justicia y Relaciones con las Cortes, y se modifica el Real Decreto 1012/2022, de 5 de diciembre, por el que se establece la estructura orgánica de la Abogacía General del Estado, se regula la inspección de los servicios en su ámbito y se dictan normas sobre su personal". Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 March 2026.
- ^ El País (2023-11-27). "El Gobierno designa a Manuel Olmedo secretario de Estado de Justicia y a Sofía Puente como secretaria general para la Innovación y Calidad de la Justicia". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-03-23.
- ^ "Royal Decree 973/1994, of May 13, which creates within the Ministry of Justice and Interior, the Secretariats of State for Justice, for the Interior and the Undersecretariat of Justice and Interior". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "Royal Decree 1334/1994, of June 20, of basic structure, of the Ministry of Justice and Interior". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "Royal Decree 1882/1996, of August 2, of basic organic structure of the Ministry of Justice". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "Royal Decree 1321/2001, of November 30, by which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Justice is modified and developed". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "Royal Decree 1125/2008, of July 4, by which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Justice is developed". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "Royal Decree 1203/2010, of September 24, by which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Justice is developed". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "Royal Decree 453/2020, of March 10, by which the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Justice is developed". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "El fiscal Manuel-Jesús Dolz Lago, nuevo secretario de Estado de Justicia". www.legaltoday.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-04-13.
- ^ "Pablo Zapatero Miguel, nuevo secretario de Estado de Justicia". Confilegal (in Spanish). 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ "Lo adelantó Confilegal: Antonio Julián Rodríguez y Manuel Olmedo, nombrados secretario de Estado y secretario general de Justicia". Confilegal (in Spanish). 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
- ^ "El Gobierno designa a Manuel Olmedo secretario de Estado de Justicia y a Sofía Puente como secretaria general para la Innovación y Calidad de la Justicia". El País (in Spanish). 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2025-03-29.