Spanish judges protest against legal reforms

All seven of Spain's associations for judges and prosecutors on Friday protested against the recent legal reforms outside of the offices of the Ministry of Justice in Madrid. The legal reforms, introduced by the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, include a range of fee hikes which have been rejected unanimously by all seven of the associations as they argue the move would make it more difficult for ordinary people to afford civil cases or to appeal judgments against them. An appeal in the Spanish courts will now cost 800 euros (1,035 U.S. dollars), while appealing to the Supreme tribunal will cost 1,200 euros, which is considered to be beyond the means of ordinary people. Spain's judges also insisted that other reforms would increase an already heavy workload in a country where there is an average of 10.2 judges for every 100,000 inhabitants.