La Rioja appoints justices of the peace in seven rural municipalities

The Governing Chamber of the High Court of Justice of La Rioja has appointed eleven justices of the peace, including both titular and substitute judges, in seven municipalities of the community. The agreement was adopted at the meeting on October 29, 2026, and is published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja no. 218, of Wednesday, November 11, 2026, in section II. Authorities and Personnel, with official reference BOR-A-20261111-II–1258 and case file 202611090125544.

The agreement and its legal basis

The text, signed in Logroño on November 6, 2026, by the court’s Government Secretary, María José Miranda Sainz, is issued under article 101 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary and Regulation 3/1995, of June 7, on Justices of the Peace, approved by agreement of the Plenary of the General Council of the Judiciary.

The Governing Chamber thus resolves the eleven case files processed in the Government Secretariat: 172/2026, 187/2026, 188/2026, 192/2026, 193/2026, 180/2026, 189/2026, 223/2026, 224/2026, 197/2026, and 198/2026. The agreement orders the issuance of the corresponding titles, notification to the General Council of the Judiciary, and communication of the appointments to the presidencies of the courts of first instance of Calahorra, Logroño, and Haro, to the city councils, and to the justice office groups of the affected municipalities.

The eleven appointments

Seven municipalities now have a titular justice of the peace, and four of them also incorporate a substitute:

• El Villar de Arnedo: titular justice of the peace José Félix Ordoñez Ezquerro.
• Sojuela: titular justice of the peace José Manuel Fernández Romero and substitute justice of the peace Miriam Sánchez López.
• Valdemadera: titular justice of the peace Ricardo Ruiz Ortega and substitute justice of the peace Begoña Fernández Muñoz.
• Villarta Quintana: titular justice of the peace María Begoña Crespo Pérez.
• Aguilar del Río Alhama: titular justice of the peace Antonio Jesús Sevillano Benito.
• Canillas de Río Tuerto: titular justice of the peace Graciela Corcuera Fernández and substitute justice of the peace Antonio Torrecilla Peña.
• Ocón: titular justice of the peace José María Blanco Ruiz and substitute justice of the peace Mercedes Galilea Sierra.

The appointment of justices of the peace corresponds to the Governing Chamber of the high court, but the prior selection is carried out by the Plenary of each city council with an absolute majority among those who, meeting the legal requirements, request it.

One vacancy still to be filled in Aldeanueva de Ebro

The same issue of the gazette reports that the City Council of Aldeanueva de Ebro has opened the public call to elect a substitute justice of the peace, through Mayoral Resolution number 2026-0918, of November 2, 2026, signed by the mayor-president Ángel Fernández Calvo (reference BOR-A-20261111-II–1260).

The position became vacant after that, on October 14, 2026, the resignation from the appointment proposal agreed upon by the Plenary on September 29, 2026, was submitted. The Government Secretariat of the High Court of Justice of La Rioja then requested the City Council to act urgently to elect a new person in accordance with article 101.2 of the Organic Law of the Judiciary.

Proximity justice in rural areas

Justice of the peace courts are the first judicial instance for a large part of the population in small municipalities, and in La Rioja, they also cover civil registry functions and provide assistance to the reference judicial bodies. The renewal of these eleven positions reinforces judicial coverage in seven localities of a markedly rural character, from Aguilar del Río Alhama to Ocón, and prevents proximity bodies that serve residents of entire regions from remaining without a titular head. The full agreement is published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja no. 218, of November 11, 2026, on page 19145.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 218, of November 11, 2026, section II. Authorities and Personnel, p. 19145 (official reference: BOR-A-20261111-II–1258).