Paitilla residents protest Supreme Court ruling

IN THE DYING hours of his term as President of the Supreme Court, Justice Alejandro Moncada Luna was, on Friday December 26, once again the focus of a demonstration over one of his decisions.

This time the protests came from a group of residents of Punta Paitilla, angry at a decision of Moncada Luna and one other judge not to to oppose the construction of more buildings in the upscale area. A third judge gave a dissenting opinion, saying that residents should have been consulted.

The protesters are part of the Civic Association of Residents of Punta Paitilla. They were protesting the decision of the Court not to suspend an order of the Ministry of Housing that allows the construction of two 37-story buildings.
The group carried placards which stated that zoning laws should be respected.
The group has previously protested in Nacho Valdés Park.
According to the demonstrators, the Ministry has not carried out consultations on the proposed projects.
Previous demonstrations of lawyers, politicians and civic groups called for the resignation of Moncada Luna over a controversial judgment overruling an Electoral Tribunal decision and favoring a pro Martinelli activist group. It was said to be unconstitutional, and was later rescinded.

Moncada Luna did not resign, but announced his decision to not seek re-election as President of the Court.