Julian Sanchez Melgar named as new Spanish attorney general

MADRID, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The cabinet of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Thursday confirmed Supreme Court Judge Julian Sanchez Melgar as the new attorney general to succeed Jose Manuel Masa, who died on Nov. 18 on a visit to Buenos Aires.

Melgar will take up office on Monday after receiving the necessary paperwork, a government spokesman said following Thursday's cabinet meeting.

Melgar, 62, is considered to be a conservative and was part of the body of judges that accepted the denouncement of the Catalan regional assembly made by his predecessor for permitting a vote on a unilateral declaration of independence for the region.

He has promised a "serene, yet proportionate response" if "acts of disobedience to the courts or against the Spanish Constitution" are repeated in Catalonia. Enditem