Another Martinelli escape route blocked

Former President Ricardo Martinelli invoked the electoral criminal jurisdiction within the process called New Business, but it was flatly rejected by the second judge for Criminal Cases, Baloisa Marquínez.

The decision is due to the fact that there is a ruling of the Supreme Court of August 2022, where a ruling of the Plenary of the Electoral Tribunal is declared unconstitutional, which revokes in all its parts what was dictated by the Second Administrative Electoral Court, which ordered the lifting of the electoral criminal jurisdiction for the ex-president.

In view of the existence of said ruling by the magistrates of the Plenary of the Court, Judge Marquínez ” ordered that the legal effects of this ruling be maintained, that is, of resolution 2-22 of February 23, 2022, issued by the Court Second Electoral Administrative of the present case “underlines a statement from the Official Organ.

The criminal judge in the case highlighted in her decision against the former president’s brief, that since there is a firm and enforceable pronouncement by the electoral administrative authorities, article 314 of the Electoral Code says: ” Once the criminal electoral jurisdiction has been lifted within of a process, it will not be necessary to apply again for any other situation.

The ruling of the Second Criminal Case Settlement Court announces the ruling when there were five days left for the trial of the New Business case where 20 people are prosecuted for alleged money laundering and anomalies in the purchase of Editorial Panama America.