The term of the judicial authorities will end in less than four months. Analysts consulted estimate that the next Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) and the Courts of Appeal will have, at least, three major challenges.
Each nominating committee in charge of compiling the lists of future candidates for magistrates will be sworn in tomorrow in Congress.
From there, the presidents of these commissions, Miquel Cortés and Raúl Alvarado, will convene to begin their work of renewing the Judicial Branch (OJ), which must face diminished credibility, judicial delays and maintain independent and objective management, say the analysts interviewed.
The commissioners’ job now is to submit to the legislature the list of candidates so that the election can be held on time and the new magistracy can begin on October 13 and conclude in 2029, without any delays as occurred in 2019.
Credibility
The image of the judicial authorities, both of the CSJ and of the Courts of Appeals, is not the best, according to Alejandro Rodríguez, of the Institute of Comparative Studies in Criminal Sciences of Guatemala (ICCPG).
The jurist believes that one of the main challenges that future judicial authorities will have to overcome is to restore confidence, because the magistracy that served almost two terms and the current one have been the subject of questioning.
“I think the most important challenge is to restore public confidence in the OJ, and how to ensure that citizens trust that there are honest judges,” he said.
Part of this social distrust in the magistrates who run the courts is due to rulings that have been questioned. It has been pointed out that the perception is that there is favoritism for some people involved in alleged corruption cases.
“We are seeing that in recent months the SCJ has released and closed major judicial cases involving alleged acts of corruption once morest suspects such as Alejandro Sinibaldi, Manuel Baldizón and José Luis Benito, to name a few,” said Rodríguez.
This series of resolutions has given rise to a level of scepticism that future authorities will have to overcome.
“The closure of major criminal cases shows that there is a great deal of corruption and systemic misconduct within the OJ justice system, a situation that is aggravated by the transfer of some judges,” said Rodríguez.
Mora judicial
The scheduling of hearings for months or years, together with the accumulation of legal appeals pending resolution, make judicial delay another of the great challenges of the new courts, according to Francisco Quezada, of the National Economic Research Center (CIEN).
The analyst pointed out that they have carried out several studies on the subject, through which it was possible to identify that justice in Guatemala is not prompt. The judicial delay became even more complicated since 2020, when the country was affected by the pandemic.
“Over the years, the judicial delay has been increasing, far from decreasing or at least staying the same. It is a very large legacy that will be inherited not only by the SCJ but also by the Courts of Appeals,” said Quezada.
He also stressed that it is not just regarding hearings that are scheduled for months or years, since there are resources that do not depend on judges or chambers, but on the chambers and often even on the full SCJ.
“The SCJ has a large backlog of amparos and cassation appeals that it will have to resolve regarding the jurisdictional aspect and the administration of the OJ, in order to generate policies aimed at reducing judicial delays,” he said.
Independence
This might be one of the biggest challenges that the magistrates elected for the next five years will face, according to Pedro Cruz, a member of Foro Guatemala, which brings together organizations and sectors of academia that will be observing the process of renewing the courts.
“What we are most hoping to achieve from this entire process of electing the courts is that what is so much talked regarding is maintained: independence when it comes to making decisions,” he stressed.
Cruz stressed that the work of the nominating committees will be crucial to having the independent courts that the country needs, because their task will be to select the best candidates.
“I understand that many actors respond to powers, to certain groups, but it is not right that they leave aside the interests of the country. A balanced justice system must be promoted that guarantees the common good,” Cruz concluded.
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