Congress took the Easter holiday without having reached minimum agreements to meet and tension fueled by dissent between the allied blocs and the Semilla Movement.
In this context, the Legislative Body begins April with an issue that activates and divides several political and power groups: the election of magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and Appeals chambers, as well as the head of the Institute of Justice. Public Criminal Defense (IDPP).
The renewals in the judicial bodies, in the opinion of the analysts consulted, will be key and there will be a power struggle to try to have control over the administrators of justice.
If the environment of legal tension left by the 2023 general elections and the four-year delay in the renewal of the Judicial Branch (OJ) are taken into account, the path looks complicated, according to analysts.
The main challenge for Congress, upon its return from Easter, is to agree on an agenda to convene sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, which it has not been able to achieve in the last two weeks.
The nomination committees for the CSJ and Appeals chambers are those that generate the greatest expectations in various sectors as they are the future authorities of the OJ, where criminal, civil and administrative issues are discussed.
At the same time, the IDPP postulator is also part of the judicial system, which is responsible for defending people who lack the resources to hire a private lawyer.
The deadlines
The judges of the CSJ and Appeals chambers for the period 2024–2029 must take office on October 13. The last process was blocked and the previous holders and substitutes of both Courts remained in office for four more years.
Sources from the justice sector indicate that the Council of the Judicial Career (CCJ) plans to notify Congress of the future judicial renewal on April 11, so that it can call the candidate six months in advance, as dictated by law.
“Decree 7–2022, of the reforms to the Judicial Career Law, establishes that when the Council notifies, Congress must convene,” said Carmen Aída Ibarra, from the ProJusticia Movement, an entity that monitors the work of the different candidates.
However, even if the CCJ sends the notification to the Legislature, the final decision remains in the hands of a divided body. On the other hand, according to Ibarra, there are different criteria regarding the moment of the call.
“Others think no, because although Congress can receive this notice from the CCJ, it does not necessarily have to convene immediately, but can do so later, to comply with the Law of Nomination Commissions, which dictates that it be held for four months. before the deadline expires,” he added.
For the IDPP candidate, ProJusticia data indicates that the call must also take place in April, so the three candidates would coincide.
The commissions for the CSJ and Appeals chambers, which include the call and the work itself, work from April to September, while that of the IDPP runs from April to August.
Your integration
The candidates for CSJ and Appeals chambers are made up of 37 people. Each commission is chaired by the rector of one of the country’s universities, elected by the rectors’ forum.
The candidate for the CSJ has 12 deans of the Law faculties, an equal number of representatives from the College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala (Cang) and 12 judges from the Appeals chambers. The latter, elected by the CCJ.
This same formula is repeated for the nomination committee for Appeals chambers, with the difference that 12 of the 13 titular magistrates of the CSJ are integrated.
For the IDPP nomination, the members of the institute’s Council, made up of four professionals, are summoned.
Óscar Cruz, president of the CSJ; Mario Siekavizza, president of the Cang and judge of the Appeals chamber; Luis Aragón Solé, representative of the deans of the Law faculties, and Arely López Loarca, staff representative of the public defenders.
The challenges
Organizations that work on issues related to transparency and parliamentary work consider that the three candidates will face challenges, both for future commissioners and for deputies.
“I would like to be optimistic, although we know that the process has been permeated by the groups that traditionally appointed their judges and magistrates, and that inertia and influence continues for this year,” said Marielos Fuentes, from Guatemala Visible.
The weight that the justice sector has in Guatemala now attracts more attention than in previous events. Fuentes estimates that this could encourage more people to help supervise the work of the applicants.
“Having seen everything that happened last year with the electoral process, in which Guatemalans were closer to all the problems, we see that when the vote of Guatemalans was touched upon, that link emerged between the justice system and the day. to the day of the Guatemalan,” he added.
María del Carmen Aceña, from the National Economic Research Center (Cien), considers it crucial that the call be made on time, but that honest people also dare to apply.
“Since we continue with the same system, we cannot expect different results. What happens in Guatemala is that regardless of the system in place, if there are no honest people who apply and honest people are in charge of the processes, we will have the same results as other years,” he remarked.
What in his opinion cannot happen again is the extension of functions in the OJ, since the last process that lasted four years was a negative precedent, not only for the justice sector but for the country.
“It is important that the deadline be respected, because the country almost had a coup d’état. One of its pillars, which is the OJ, was not renewed, so we hope that this time the established times will be met and the current CSJ will not be extended, which must hand over the position to the magistrates who are elected on December 13. October,” he insisted.
The analysts highlight that the call to the different commissions is only a first step, since the integration of the working groups will be essential for the correct development of the event.
Meanwhile, names such as Estuardo Gálvez, Roberto López Villatoro and Néster Vásquez continue to be heard, as the strongest ones that could influence the election processes for the formation of the candidates.
OAS
Last week, President Bernardo Arévalo asked the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) to accompany the process of nomination and election of Cortes. “We are on the eve of an important legal and political battle, in which the people will confront the groups that control the judicial apparatus,” he said.
The president said in Washington that the OAS played a fundamental role in supporting “the fight to assert sovereignty in Guatemala, against a powerful minority in control of the justice system, interested in perpetuating a regime of corruption and impunity,” therefore that support in the renewal process is necessary.
Luis Almagro, secretary of the OAS, considered Arévalo’s invitation to be positive and recognized that “to date, institutions continue to deal with great challenges; The actions of the MP continue to this day.”
Although it was not made official what type of mission could accompany the application processes, the invitation still stands and was received.
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