Varela judicial picks face tough ride

THE LIKELIHOOD   of  President Juan  Carlos Varela’s picks for  Supreme Court judges ever taking their seats is shrinking daily as the two nominees sit before the National Assembly  Commission of Credentials to hear speaker after speaker voice reasons why they should not be endorsed.

The supposed lack of independence and impartiality of the aspiring magistrates to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), were the main reasons aired.

If the Assembly fails to endorse the appointments it will reveal a strategic political blunder by Varela, who had promised citizen participation in the choosing of magistrates, and when he made two earlier appointments, ignored the input of civil society.  Hours after they took their seats they rushed to support the widely criticized Ayu Prado in his bid for the renewed presidency of the Court. He has gone on to become the most traveled judge at the public expense . while the Court lags in handling major corruption cases.

The report on the appointments observations published by the commission showed that 61% of the 52 presentations (32) rejected the appointment of Moore; and 48% (25)  of the exponents disputed  Tovar de Zarak the wife of the former Vice Minister of Economy, Iván Zarak.

Nine of the comments received by the commission were in favor of the appointment of Tovar and only two in favor of Moore.

Tovar de Zarak was opposed because of political closeness to the Government, due to images circulated of her dressed in clothing of the Panameñista party. Her husband resigned shortly before the cabinet announced her nomination, seen by many as a sort of insider trading.

Moore was rejected as she was the prosecutor in charge of investigations into the Odebrecht corruption scandals who,  if ratified to the Criminal Chamber, would be barred in several proceedings for having investigated them.