La Séptima revealed this Sunday information about OkDiario, the newspaper directed by Eduardo Inda, which opens an important debate about judicial independence and the ethics of those who administer justice. According to the program 'La última hora', presented by Javier Ruiz, the newspaper would have offered different judges 1,000 euros to participate in conferences on the judiciary held in Marbella, in addition to covering their travel and accommodation in a luxury hotel.
The offer includes round-trip first-class flights and a luxury stay in Marbella. In exchange, the magistrates would participate in a 45-minute panel, with individual interventions of approximately 15 minutes. That is, 1,000 euros for barely a quarter of an hour of intervention.
The legal and ethical issue has been addressed in La Séptima by magistrate Victoria Rosell, who explained that there is no rule that expressly prohibits this type of payment and that, therefore, "what is not forbidden is allowed". However, the fact that a practice may comply with legality does not mean that it is free of ethical problems, especially when those who receive these payments are judges who may subsequently have to resolve matters related to the very media that remunerates them.
Javier Ruiz has focused precisely on that possible conflict of interest: "Probably a legal conflict, but certainly a hellish moral conflict." The journalist has raised a situation that directly affects trust in Justice: "If I have a conflict with OkDiario and I sit before a judge, I don't know if OkDiario has paid that judge. I cannot know if he is collecting from the counterparty."
The judges invited by Eduardo Inda
Among the names that appear in the conference program, La Séptima has cited Eloy Velasco, magistrate of the Audiencia Nacional; Wenceslao Olea and Rafael Catalá, former Minister of Justice with the PP. The invitation would also have been extended to prosecutors and members of the General Council of the Judiciary.
The list also includes María Tardón, the magistrate who is investigating the case of the massive entry of migrants into Ceuta. According to sources cited by the network, she would still be evaluating whether to attend the conferences.
Another prominent name is David Maman, a gender violence judge who has an open file for statements about women's complaints and who, according to La Séptima, is currently investigating the case of the former DAO.
His presence is especially relevant due to his history with the newspaper itself. In 2022, Maman dismissed the complaint filed by Pablo Iglesias and Irene Montero against Alejandro Entrambasaguas, an OkDiario reporter, for harassment of their family. "That judge has already ruled on an OkDiario reporter. He is a judge whom OkDiario now intends to pay. It is an obvious conflict of interest," Javier Ruiz pointed out.
The list is completed with Celso Rodríguez Padrón, president of the High Court of Justice of Madrid until this summer and currently a magistrate of the Military Chamber of the Supreme Court, and Javier Gómez Bermúdez, a judge of the National Court on leave of absence and lawyer for Carmen Pano and her daughter, who claimed to have transferred cash to the PSOE headquarters in Ferraz.
Legality does not mean ethics
The information revealed by La Séptima raises a question that goes beyond whether these payments are allowed by regulations: is it ethical for a media outlet to pay 1,000 euros, in addition to first-class flights and luxury hotel accommodation, to judges who may intervene in proceedings related to that same newspaper?
Magistrate Victoria Rosell has clarified that there is no rule that expressly prohibits this practice. But the absence of a legal prohibition does not eliminate the debate about the appearance of independence, judicial impartiality, and citizens' trust in Justice.
