The Board positions Mijas as a "benchmark" in Malaga for the new Municipal Justice Office model

The Ministry of Justice, Local Administration and Public Function has chosen Mijas as a "benchmark" in Málaga and Andalucía for the new model of Municipal Justice Office (OJM); as part of a pilot project that will allow the third largest town in the province in terms of population and size to receive "the maximum" number of competencies and services allowed by the Efficiency Law for these structures that replace the peace courts.

The head of Justice, José Antonio Nieto, explained that the more than 95,000 residents of Mijas will be able to carry out procedures that until now had to be done in Fuengirola, the head of the judicial district, such as obtaining judicial certificates, requesting a public defender, accessing mediation services and victim assistance, functions of the Civil Registry, and even testifying via videoconference in judicial proceedings held anywhere in Spain.

Nieto met yesterday in Mijas with the mayor, Ana Mata, to coordinate the implementation of this new model which will be located in the former offices of Acosol in Las Lagunas, in larger facilities than the current ones and that will accommodate the new official that has been appointed to a town that already generates 40% of the cases processed by the Instance Tribunal of Fuengirola. In total, there are already five public employees, and the number "will progressively increase" as new competencies are assumed.

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The councilor emphasized the "institutional collaboration" between both administrations as a tool to "anticipate needs, be more efficient, and that the great beneficiaries are the residents." In the new OJM, the people of Mijas will be able to carry out most of the usual judicial procedures without having to travel and access new services such as the possibility of attempting mediation processes to reach agreements that avoid going to trial.

Progressive Extension

Nieto has thanked the mayor for her willingness to deploy the OJM model in the town which will "progressively" extend to the rest of the province, as the Ministry has chosen a municipality in each province as a pilot. In Málaga, there are 92 peace courts that with the Efficiency Law are transformed into Municipal Justice Offices.

Unlike the old model that established the same functions for the peace courts, the Public Service Justice Efficiency Law foresees different models of OJM with more or fewer competencies, and in Mijas, the goal is to reach "the maximum" and to be "a reference for the rest of Andalucía."

"We are going to end the unjustified punishment that the province of Málaga has suffered for decades in terms of judicial infrastructure"

José Antonio Nieto

Minister of Justice, Local Administration and Public Function

Nieto has highlighted the effort of the Regional Government to "end" the "unjustified punishment that the province of Málaga has suffered for decades in terms of judicial infrastructure" with the also push to the new premises in Fuengirola, Estepona, Marbella, and Torrox, as well as the expansion of the City of Justice of the capital.

For her part, Mata has highlighted that this new judicial equipment will improve the lives of the residents of Mijas because it will facilitate their judicial procedures, deepen the proximity of such an important service, and will constitute a new centrality in the province.

"Mijas is the third municipality in the province of Málaga, and its evolution confirms it as the great city of the Costa del Sol that it already is, so we appreciate that the Andalusian Regional Government has chosen us to start this important program," concluded the mayor.