The Supreme Court has dismissed the petitions for annulment submitted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office concerning the ruling that imposed a two-year disqualification on Álvaro García Ortiz, former Attorney General of the State. This decision allows him to file an appeal for protection before the Constitutional Court. The ruling issued by the Chamber, composed of seven magistrates, includes a dissenting opinion from judges Ana Ferrer and Susana Polo, who expressed their disagreement with the disqualification sentence and the fine of 7,200 euros for a crime of revealing confidential information, as well as the compensation of 10,000 euros to Alberto González Amador, partner of the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The decision of the High Court was anticipated, as these incidents generally do not succeed, although it was a necessary step for him to now appeal to the court of guarantees after exhausting the ordinary route. The High Court asserts that «freedom of expression does not justify the dissemination of an informational note containing confidential data that should not be disclosed and that is known due to the position held.» «This is evidenced in the disciplinary regime of members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which requires the activation of the sanctioning mechanism when the Prosecutor’s Office discloses reserved information, without being affected by the public relevance of the matter or by the limitation of its freedom of expression,» it is mentioned in the ruling, which reiterates and emphasises the arguments presented in the sentence. Thus, the Chamber clarifies that «the need to defend the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office against various institutional attacks,» as indicated by the State Attorney’s Office, «does not eliminate the unlawfulness of the conduct, as it represents an excess that cannot be justified by freedom of expression.»
