Departures of note

Javier Delgado Barrio was a Spanish jurist who served as president of the Supreme Court and of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) from 1996 to 2001, and later as a magistrate of the Constitutional Court. Born in Barbastro, Huesca, he was a specialist in administrative litigation and was regarded as one of Spain's foremost legal experts on urban planning law. Elected unanimously to the presidency of the CGPJ and the Supreme Court, he worked to strengthen judicial independence and to speed up the functioning of the administration of justice. He left the presidency in November 2001 and was appointed magistrate of the Constitutional Court that same year, a post he had briefly held in 1995-1996, remaining on the court until 2012. He also published works on administrative procedure and urban planning law, including 'El control de la discrecionalidad del planeamiento urbanístico.'