Cortizon names fresh blood for Supreme Court

President Laurentino Cortizo announced  Monday. November 25  the batch of new Supreme Court appointments that he has promised will change the environment in  Panama’s rocky judicial system

The Cabinet has unanimously endorsed Maribel Cornejo Batista and Maria Eugenia Lopez Arias as judges in the Criminal Chamber, and  Carlos Vásquez Reyes as a magistrate in the Third Room Administrative Litigation.

Otilda Vergara de Valderrama, Juan Francisco Castillo and José Agustín Delgado were appointed alternates for Cornejo, López and Vásquez, respectively.

Rafael Murgas Torraza, Carmen De Gracia and Miguel Espino were chosen as substitutes for Cecilio Cedalise, Ángela Russo and Olmedo Arrocha, respectively.

Cortizo said that all those elected come from the list of applicants interviewed by an evaluation commission of the State Commission for Justice, which is chaired by the Administration’s attorney, Rigoberto González.

“I only ask you one favor: do the right thing.” said the president.

The evaluation commission interviewed 123 candidates and sent a report to the Executive, with 32 names: 21 for the Criminal Chamber and 11 for the Administrative Litigation Chamber. The same candidate appeared on both lists.

Cornejo replaces Harry Díaz and Vásquez, Abel Zamorano. Both their terms expire on December 31. Cornejo and Vásquez will take office on January 2, 2020 and will be magistrates until December 31, 2029.

López, meanwhile, will replace  Jerónimo Mejía, whose 10-year term expired on December 31, 2017, but remained in the exercise of the position since the National Assembly did not ratify the two replacements designated by former President Juan Carlos Varela  López, therefore, will be a magistrate for the remaining eight years of the original 10-year term.

Carlos Vásquez Reyes is a professor at the Universidad Santa María la Antigua (USMA). He has been president of the National Bar Association and secretary-general of the Ombudsman in the government of Martín Torrijos. He has served as general secretary of the National Charity Lottery and deputy director of Legal Advice of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. He is the son of former magistrate Marisol Reyes de Vásquez.

María Eugenia López Arias has a career with more than 28 years of experience in the Judicial Branch. She served as a substitute magistrate of the Second Superior Court of the First Judicial District of Panama.

Maribel Cornejo Batista served for 13 years as a prosecutor in the Public Ministry, in charge of criminal investigations of Financial Crimes and Corruption Crimes.