The Spanish government has demanded immediate action from the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ) to speed up reinforcements for Ceuta’s judicial system. In a letter, Secretary of State for Justice Manuel Olmedo said the Ministry is ready to approve the necessary budget but is waiting for the CGPJ to submit a formal request and inspection report. The reinforcements are meant to ease mounting pressure on the city’s courts after a dramatic increase in migration-related cases.
Ceuta, an autonomous city bordering Morocco, has 14 judicial bodies, including civil, criminal, administrative, social, juvenile and penitentiary courts, as well as a branch of the Provincial Court of Cádiz. All come under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia, Ceuta, and Melilla. Around 80,000 migrants arrived at the end of July, putting unprecedented strain on the city’s legal infrastructure and prompting urgent calls for additional resources. The mass entry took place on 30 and 31 July. Its aftermath has brought demands for migrant identification and administrative processing, as well as judicial scrutiny and the handling of individual cases.
Olmedo urged the CGPJ to prioritize reinforcements by assigning magistrates from other courts or sections outside Ceuta’s civil and investigative divisions, and to use substitute judges if necessary. He also said the Ministry has authorized measures to increase the number of experienced court staff. In the coming days, three clerks, a process manager and an assistant are expected to join Ceuta’s judicial teams. The Ministry has also approved expanded duty shifts to help manage the growing caseload.
The government’s commitment extends beyond judges and clerks. Three substitute prosecutors have been authorized to join the Area Prosecutor’s Office. The Institute of Legal Medicine in Ceuta has received 11 forensic doctors, seven autopsy technicians and two additional clerical staff. The Ministry has also approved longer working hours for three senior court lawyers and five additional duty immigration lawyers, along with expanded translation and interpretation services.
Olmedo’s letter follows a recent decision by the CGPJ’s Permanent Commission to begin the reinforcement process for Ceuta’s courts, echoing a proposal the Ministry made three weeks earlier. The dispute over administrative capacity became more formal on 20 October, when Ceuta’s government decided to bring a contentious-administrative appeal before Spain’s Supreme Court. It argues that the state has failed to provide enough staff and material resources to process files concerning adults who arrived during the late-July influx, including cases involving expulsion and return, as well as international protection.
The central government has rejected the accusation of inaction. On 20 October, Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory Ángel Víctor Torres cited 7,400 accommodation places made available for migrants who entered irregularly at the end of July. He also pointed to security deployments, resources for identification and triage, and measures to speed up administrative files. The ministry reported that major informal settlements in the Trampolín, Benítez and Guano coastal areas had been cleared, with operations continuing elsewhere. The government also reported that 12,705 people had returned to Morocco from Ceuta between 10 August and 20 October, including 12,142 described as voluntary returns and 536 as deportations.
Madrid has said administrative processing should move as quickly as possible, while stressing that returns, expulsions and international-protection applications must comply with Spanish and European legal safeguards. The government’s position is that migrants cannot be “deported” without due process. These return figures describe the broader response to the migration emergency, not the specific workload facing Ceuta’s courts. Their scale and pace do not remove the requirement to assess cases under applicable procedures.
The migration emergency has also prompted a separate investigation at Spain’s Audiencia Nacional. Judge María Tardón expanded the inquiry into the mass entry and summoned three members of Ceuta’s regional government and three National Police officers who were present during the events. She also requested intelligence reports and other documentation. Separately, Ceuta’s authorities have pressed for resources to address the situation of approximately 3,300 minors registered in the city. These parallel demands add to the institutional pressure over adult-migrant case files and court capacity, as well as the allocation of state resources.
The influx has drawn greater scrutiny in Congress and exposed deep divisions among Spain’s political leadership. For further context on the broader impact of the Ceuta crisis, see the analysis of government actions and parliamentary hearings at this recent coverage.
Ceuta’s position as a Spanish enclave in North Africa has long made it a focal point for migration and border security challenges. Its legal system is not equipped to handle sudden caseload surges of this magnitude. The push for reinforcements addresses immediate operational needs and the wider challenge of maintaining judicial effectiveness amid unpredictable migration flows. The Ministry’s readiness to allocate funds and personnel shows that officials recognize the pressure on Ceuta and the implications for Spain’s approach to border management and the rule of law.
