Joy for ‘bullied’ judge who warned of court cutbacks
VIOLENCE has erupted on the streets of Catalonia’s main cities with pitched battles between protesters and police.
It followed the jailing of nine pro-independence leaders earlier this week.
They have called for an end to violence but encouraged demonstrations.
Six people were held in Barcelona during clashes as A JUDGE who says she was so badly bullied after she lodged complaints that she had a breakdown won a landmark case yesterday.
District Judge Claire Gilham had spoken out about the impact of cuts on the justice system and how the drop in funding left court officials unprotected.
She says she was then bullied after voicing her concerns about what she considered a lack of secure court rooms, a severely increased workload and administrative failures.
Unhappy with the way that court managers dealt with her grievances, she tried to take the Ministry of Justice to an employment tribunal.
Claims
But the move was initially barred because she was considered to be an “office holder” and not “a worker”.
Yesterday however, five Supreme Court Justices ruled in her favour saying office holders should not be prevented from taking their claims to an employment tribunal.
The court ruled Judge Gilham could be classified as a “worker” and was therefore entitled to whistleblowing protection.
Now she can have her case heard at an employment tribunal.
Speaking after her victory, Ms From in Madrid protesters in hoodies pelted police with bottles and other missiles.
Masked protesters in the centre of Barcelona also targeted central government HQs, setting light to around 20 makeshift bonfires.
Spain’s Supreme Court has sentenced nine Catalan politicians and activists to jail terms of between nine and 13 years after they launched a failed independence bid in 2017.
Catalonia is a semiautonomous region in northeast Spain with a population of 7.5 million. The people have their own language, parliament, flag and anthem.
Yesterday morning the Catalan leaders appealed for Gilham said: “Winning is a great relief after these seven, long years.
“Ethically, I always knew my point was right – that judges should have human rights protections.
“You can’t have justice without independent and unafraid judges and if judges can’t speak out to protect the court system, then justice suffers and people in the system suffer too.”
She added: “So much money, so much stress has gone into this and this is the best news.”
Ms Gilham had to mortgage home to pay her legal bills and launched a crowdfunding appeal.
The Warrington judge began her career as a district judge in 2006 sitting in county courts inWales and Chester.
After major budget cuts in 2010, she spoke out about the massive impact on the system.
Supreme Court President Lady Hale said: “The appellant raised a number of her has concerns relating to the cuts, in particular the lack of appropriate and secure courtroom accommodation, her severely increased work load and administrative failures.
“She said the handling of her complaints led to severe degradation in her health, resulting in psychiatric injury and disability.”
In February 2015, she made a claim to the employment tribunal arguing that she should be considered a worker.
But at previous court hearings judges decided her status meant she was not entitled to safeguards granted to whistleblowers under the Employment Rights Act 1996.
The MoJ denies Ms Gilham suffered due to her whistleblowing and said “robust security and safety measures” protect judges and everyone else who attends court.
Ms Gilham also has a claim for disability discrimination against the MoJ. Madrid also warned that the violent protests would be met with a “firm, proportional and united” response.
A government statement issued earlier said: “It’s obvious we’re not dealing with a peaceful citizens’ movement but something co-ordinated.”
Police said yesterday another 24 people had been arrested in other parts of Catalonia.