José Manuel Maza Martín (23 October 1951 – 18 November 2017) was a Spanish prosecutor, judge,
criminologist
Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
and writer. He served as the 89th
Attorney General of Spain
The Attorney General of the State ''(')'', or also, Prosecutor General, is the head of the Prosecution Ministry, Public Prosecutor's Office (''Ministerio Fiscal''), the independent body within the Judiciary, that is tasked with promoting the opera ...
from November 2016 until his death on 18 November 2017.
Legal career
He studied Law and History in the
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...
. He also got a diploma in
Criminology
Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
in the same university. He entered the Judicial career in 1975 and in the Prosecutor career in 1978, where he was the first of his promotion. He worked for a few years as a lawyer and as a counsel of the National Railways Network. For a short time, Maza worked as a lawyer, taking on cases for
state-owned company
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
Renfe
Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company.
It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
.
During the 1990s, Maza served as the spokesman for the ''Unión Judicial Independiente (UJI)'', a conservative association of judges. During this time, Maza became a district judge in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
after having worked in the courts of
Alcorcón
Alcorcón () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. As of 2022, it had a population of 170,296.
Geography
The municipality, largely flat, lies at an average altitude of 711 metres above sea level, with the hi ...
,
Valencia
Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
and
Cangas de Morrazo. He later was appointed chair of the first chamber of the Madrid Provincial Court and, in 2002, he was appointed Magistrate of the Criminal Chamber of the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
replacing Adolfo Prego, who was appointed member of the
CGPJ.
In addition to his daily work as a magistrate, he also authored several books, including the ''Handbook of Legal and Forensic Psychiatry'', ''Circumstances that exclude or modify Criminal Responsibility and Criminal Penalty Practices'', and other publications related to
Criminal Law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...
and the relationship between law and medicine.
During his time at the Supreme Court, he worked on many high-profile cases. Maza defended the disqualification of judge
Baltasar Garzón
Baltasar Garzón Real (; born 26 October 1955) is a Spanish former judge in Spain's central criminal court, the '' Audiencia Nacional'' responsible for investigation the most serious criminal cases, including terrorism, organised crime, crimes ...
, and, in 2007, made it possible to file a case against the former president of the
Santander Group
Banco Santander S.A. trading as Santander Group ( , , ), is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Santander, with operative offices in Madrid. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in most global financial centres ...
,
Emilio Botín
Emilio Botín-Sanz de Sautuola García de los Ríos, ''iure uxoris'' Marquess of O'Shea (1 October 1934 – 10 September 2014) was a Spanish banker.[Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...]
nominated Maza as Spain's
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
in November 2016, a position he held until his death a year later. On 16 May 2017, the
Congress of Deputies
The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid.
Congress has ...
censured him as Attorney General for suspicious activity in the
Prosecution Ministry
The Prosecution Ministry () or Public Prosecutor's Office is a constitutional body ( Part VIbr>§ 124 which has full autonomy within the judiciary of Spain. It is entrusted with defending the rule of law, the rights of the citizens, and publi ...
that aimed to obstruct certain cases against corruption. Justice Minister
Rafael Catalá
Rafael Catalá Polo (born 21 June 1961) is a Spanish politician and member of the People's Party (Spain), People's Party. He has been Ministry of Justice (Spain), Minister of Justice and First Notary of the Kingdom since September 2014, and was ...
and the anti-corruption prosecutor,
Manuel Moix
Manuel Moix (born 1958) is a Spanish lawyer. After serving as a public prosecutor in the Community of Madrid, he was appointed Spain's "top anti-corruption prosecutor" from February 2017.
He resigned on 1 June 2017, after admitting he owned 25% o ...
, were also reprobated. The latter resigned to his position on 1 June 2017. This reprobation had no binding effects so he continued with his job.
2017 Spanish constitutional crisis
In September 2017, Maza asked security forces to investigate possible Catalan government preparations to hold an independence voting. He also announced that he would present criminal charges against members of both the regional parliament and government for allowing the referendum. The central government proceeded to deploy a series of legal measures intended to nullify the referendum, while also warning local councils in Catalonia to either impede or paralyse efforts to carry out the vote.
On 13 September, he summoned 700 Catalan mayors for their role in the independence referendum.
On 30 October 2017, Maza called for charges of
rebellion
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
,
sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...
and
embezzlement
Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
against
Puigdemont, the Bureau of the
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, and other Catalan leaders.
It transpired that the ousted President and five of his ministers had fled to
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and some had been jailed.
Death
On 17 November 2017, he was admitted in the Bazterrica Clinic in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
for some pain. He died the next day, as a result of a kidney infection complicated by the diabetes he suffered.
See also
*
Judiciary of Spain
The Judiciary of Spain consists of Courts and Tribunals, composed of judges and magistrates (Justices), who have the power to administer justice in the name of the King of Spain.
Law
The Spanish legal system is a civil law (legal system), civil ...
*
Spanish Attorney General
The Attorney General of the State ''(')'', or also, Prosecutor General, is the head of the Public Prosecutor's Office (''Ministerio Fiscal''), the independent body within the Judiciary, that is tasked with promoting the operation of justice in def ...
*
2017 Spanish constitutional crisis
Seventeen or 17 may refer to:
*17 (number)
* One of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017, 2117
Science
* Chlorine, a halogen in the periodic table
* 17 Thetis, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Literature
Magazines
* ''Seventeen'' (American ...
*
Operation Anubis
The Operation Anubis was a police operation in Catalonia, Spain, initiated on 20 September 2017 by the Civil Guard (Spain), Civil Guard following orders of the trial court number 13 of Barcelona, directed by judge Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer. Its ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maza, José Manuel
1951 births
2017 deaths
Attorneys general of Spain
20th-century Spanish judges
21st-century Spanish judges
Prosecutors general of Spain
Lawyers from Madrid
Complutense University of Madrid alumni