18 civil groups demand refurbished Supreme Court

A CALL FOR the implementation of the government’s “People First” plan has been made by 18 civil society organizations in a June 26 open letter to President Juan Carlos Varela.

They laid stress on strengthening the justice system, and the need to “ensure a transparent mechanism with citizen participation for the judge’s selection, as established by the Government Plan People First”, including a “gender balance” in the Supreme Court.
“We believe that the country needs a Supreme Court perceived as independent by the citizens, composed of judges and magistrates who believe in transparency, human rights and with ethical suitability, experience and academic preparation in the legal department of the Court’s Chamber that they are going to be assigned to” emphasized the organizations in a letter sent to the president dated June 26.
The organizations recalled that since 2011 the Supreme Court experienced a crisis with the resignation of a judge after being questioned for his actions [relating to a cabal seeking to remove then Attorney General Ana Matilde Gomez] and later with “the conviction in March 2015 of another judge for unjustified enrichment and falsification of documents and the recent resignation of a third judge before the imminent hearing for allegedly committing unjustified enrichment and money laundering “.
“The two vacancies that currently exist, and the two that will come next December in the Supreme Court, are the opportunity to redirect the nation toward strengthening the institution in charge of keeping the balance and guarantee democracy “, said the letter.