> it may be procedurally simpler for the Spanish government to compel ISPs to block IPs.

The Spanish government is not the ones enforcing the ban here. La Liga and Telefonica went to the judges, who are the ones making ISPs to enforce these blocks, as an intermediate "fix" essentially.

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TheCoelacanth 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This appears to be using "government" in American English sense, where "government" refers to anyone who works for the state in any capacity, including courts, not just the executive.

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tomnipotent 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> went to the judges

Which are part of the Spanish government.

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embedding-shape 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Which are part of the Spanish government.

Judges in Spain are not part of the government ("Gobierno"). They are part of the Poder Judicial, the judiciary. The Spanish Constitution separates these clearly, give it a skim if you haven't already.

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tomnipotent 6 hours ago | parent [-]

The judiciary is part of the government. Being an independent branch doesn't change that. Government doesn't just mean legislative.

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embedding-shape 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That's not what the constitution says though. "Government" ("Gobierno") is what an American would understand "executive branch" to be, I'm guessing this is why it's confusing. I tried to make it easier by adding the translations, but maybe that's just making it more confusing :)

I guess broadly in English you'd say the judges are part of the state, but they're not a part of the Spanish Government.

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2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

[deleted]

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nalaj 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That's not how it works in Spain. In Spain, all members of the General Council of the Judiciary, which handles appointments to the Supreme Court, high courts, and other senior positions, are directly chosen by the Congress and the Senate after a reform by a socialist government in 1985.

This is against what the 1978 constitution says, but the Constitutional Court decided not to care.

You sum that to the president of the government bragging on live TV about how the current socialist government controls the prosecutors in Spain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbDsPfoE_a4) and you get a banana republic.

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jddj 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Language nit: in english, "add to that" is more natural

	▲	nalaj 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Appreciated.

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amcvitty 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That’s true in America, but the word government is applied more narrowly elsewhere, including in the UK.

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tomnipotent 2 hours ago | parent [-]

What matters is what the OP was communicating with it, and in English it means all state bodies responsible for administration. No one would argue the US Supreme Court is not part of the government.

	▲	TRiG_Ireland 19 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		No. That's what it means in the USA. Judges are not part of the government in the UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand either. They're part of the State.

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ahtihn 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The judiciary is part of the state. The government is also part of the state. They are different parts.

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benhurmarcel 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

In many countries, the word “government” only refers to the executive branch