The Minister of Justice, Local Administration, and Public Function, José Antonio Nieto, and the mayor of Los Hermanos, María Jesús Serrano, signed a Collaboration Protocol that will allow the construction of a New Judicial Headquarters in the city of Córdoba. The agreement states that The Municipal Council will build a building that will relinquish autonomous administration in exchange for the current courts where the municipality wishes to locate the facilities of the local police..
Nieto emphasized the collaboration between administrations with different political affiliations, putting the general interest of the residents, not only of Baena but also of Luque and Valenzuela, who are part of the same judicial district. «Dialogue is the shortest way to reach agreements. Projects that benefit everyone can be launched, regardless of ideology,» he defended.
In this regard, he mentioned that during a previous visit on March 26, 2024, the mayor of Baen needed to expand the facilities of the local police. Nieto praised the vision to find a solution where «we all win,» proposing the construction of a new building that will house the courts and replace the current judicial headquarters.
Nieto explained that, after studying the proposal, the Ministry negotiated with the General Directorate of the Governing Board to obtain approval for this exchange and «within less than a year,» both administrations have signed the protocol to start the project.
The Baena Municipal Council will build the new judicial headquarters on two municipal plots on Central Street in Mesones, already adapted to the framework provided in the law on the efficiency of public justice. The rule replaces single-judge courts with collegiate bodies and implies a more flexible reorganization of staff, as officials will no longer be assigned to a specific court.
For the council, this saves them, as in the current headquarters on Juan Occi Street, work needs to be done to comply with the law, while the City Council also benefits as they needed new facilities for the local police and, thanks to this Protocol, will have the additions in the location they desired, «right in front of the local council.»
The city council of Córdoba is already promoting the necessary procedures for the construction of a «New building, designed for the Justice Service» on the two plots on Mesones Street, totaling 736 square meters and classified as urban land.
The maximum height in the area is two floors, sufficient to accommodate a Court of First Instance and Instruction, the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, and the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, as well as the dean and Civil Registry, in addition to a waiting room for victims and «Gesell» rooms for the practice of pre-confession tests. The project will also ensure full accessibility of the building.
The Minister recalled that with this protocol, the projects of the 2023-2030 Judicial Infrastructure Plan will be affected by Public Collaboration between the council and municipalities or deputies as one of the forestry formulas, along with public-private collaboration, the use of European funds, and self-financing to achieve the goal of acting in 100% of the 85 judicial districts in Andalusia.
In the province of Córdoba, the new headquarters in Lucena, inaugurated last September, was renovated, one will be built from scratch in Aguilar de la Frontera, and works will begin in Montilla. The Ministry of Justice also has a project to address the air conditioning issues at the Pozoblanco headquarters. «With the new headquarters, Córdoba will have the best judicial units in the province,» he said.
On her part, María Jesús Serrano emphasized that «today is the start of a path that will lead us to obtain a headquarters for the local police adapted to the new times and with accessibility, while at the same time, public justice in the judicial part in Baena. Keeping essential public services in the historic center by offering it life, we solve the city’s void in Mesones and create an administrative building with different public services; To do this, we will request European funds in the mayor’s call, along with the GuadaJoz Commonwealth.»