Famed Spain judge appeals being barred from bench

MADRID – A Spanish judge who won global fame for aggressively taking on international human rights cases is appealing his conviction for overstepping his jurisdiction in a domestic corruption probe.

Baltasar Garzon's 200-page appeal called his February conviction barring him from the bench for 11 years "arbitrary, irrational and manifestly unjust."

The appeal of the Supreme Court decision was filed Wednesday with Spain's Constitutional Court.

The Supreme Court also ruled Garzon did not overstep his jurisdiction by launching an investigation into right-wing atrocities tied to the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War.

In that case, the court ruled Garzon misinterpreted Spanish law, but did not knowingly and arbitrarily violate the limits of his jurisdiction.