The High Court appoints justice of the peace for San Lorenzo de Calatrava

The Governing Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha has appointed Francisca Adán Monsalve as the titular justice of the peace of San Lorenzo de Calatrava, according to the edict published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ciudad Real number 202, dated October 20, 2026, on page 9896 (announcement number 3391). The agreement was adopted on October 9, 2026, and the appointee has twenty calendar days from the date of publication to take office. The appointment comes with a four-year mandate and the option to appeal before the General Council of the Judiciary.

The edict is based on Regulation number 3/1995, of June 7, regarding Justices of the Peace, published in the Official State Gazette on July 13, 1995, whose article 20 regulates the procedure, and on articles 101.2 and 101.4 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary. The Governing Chamber acted “in commission” during its meeting on October 9, in compliance with the agreement of the Plenary of the General Council of the Judiciary of December 1, 1995. The text was signed in Albacete, on October 15, 2026, by the Government Secretary of the Castilian-Manchegan high court, Sigfrido Mangas Morales.

The figure of the justice of the peace is the gateway to the administration of justice in municipalities that do not have a court of first instance. City councils open public processes to collect candidacies, and the High Court of Justice subsequently formalizes the appointment, such that the procedure combines municipal initiative and judicial oversight.

An appointment that already appeared in September

The name of Francisca Adán Monsalve already appeared in the edict of the Governing Chamber published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ciudad Real number 172, dated September 8, 2026, corresponding to the agreement of September 4. In that announcement, four designations for the province were resolved jointly:

• Titular justice of the peace of Villarta de San Juan, Gabriel Rojo García.
• Substitute justice of the peace of Ruidera, María del Carmen Gallego Cano.
• Substitute justice of the peace of Argamasilla de Calatrava, Celia Baena Fernández.
• Titular justice of the peace of San Lorenzo de Calatrava, Francisca Adán Monsalve.

The edict of October 20 reproduces only the designation for San Lorenzo de Calatrava, with the same partially hidden National Identity Document (****6272) that appeared in the September publication.

Possession, mandate, and appeal

The agreement precisely establishes the effects of the appointment:

• The assumption of office must take place within twenty calendar days following the publication of the appointment in the provincial bulletin.
• The act requires an oath or promise before the judge of first instance and instruction of the corresponding judicial district, or before the dean if there are several.
• The term of office lasts four years and is calculated from the date of publication of the appointment in the bulletin.
• The appointed person is exempt from swearing or promising if they have already done so previously for the same position.
• An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed against the agreement within one month, counted from the day following the notification or publication, before the Permanent Commission of the General Council of the Judiciary, in accordance with Law 39/2015, of October 1.

Other open processes in the province

The same publication of October 20 includes, in the local administration section, the opening of the process to designate the titular and substitute justice of the peace of Navalpino, with the submission of applications at the municipal offices until 2:00 PM on November 3, 2026, according to the announcement signed by the mayor María Sagrario Hontanilla Díaz.

In the preceding days, similar calls have occurred in other municipalities:

• Luciana opened a period of fifteen business days to fill the positions of titular and substitute justice of the peace (file LUCIANA2026/323), with an announcement from the mayor Josefa Navas Camarero.
• Campo de Criptana called for the election of a substitute justice of the peace following the end of the previous holder’s term.
• Miguelturra published the renewal of the titular and substitute justice of the peace within the framework of a requirement from the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha dated October 1, 2026.

The appointment in San Lorenzo de Calatrava directly affects a small municipality, where the justice of the peace assumes conciliation and civil registry functions and prevents residents from having to travel to the judicial district for minor procedures. The publication closes the file for filling the position and activates a twenty-day calendar for the new holder to swear the oath of office; from then on, the four-year term begins to count from the date of the bulletin.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Province of Ciudad Real, number 202, of October 20, 2026, Justice Administration section, page 9896 (official reference: announcement number 3391; CVE 9NjNigdUntzPLZPFLZi5).