The atmosphere at the Rafael Landívar University facilities has been very busy since last August 20th, when the reception of files for the renewal of both the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ).
Since the early hours of this Saturday, August 24, last day to receive the files, the applicantsamong whom were judges, commissioners, prosecutors, former government officials and even those accused by the international community of committing acts of corruption, They began to arrive at the university headquarters to deliver the corresponding paperwork.
The five-day event has also been in the spotlight of the international community, which has requested that the process of renewing the courts be transparent, and the Organization of American States (OAS) has also delegated an observation mission. to constantly monitor the receipt of files.
On August 24, at around 5 p.m., the secretaries of the Supreme Court of Justice’s nomination committee, announced the closing of the process of receiving files.
Miquel Cortes, president of the Nomination Commission for the election of magistrates of the CSJ, confirmed to the media that A total of 206 files were receivedan amount that rates it positively and points out that the entire reception process was “satisfactory.”
The reception of files of candidates for magistrates of the CSJ ends. In total, 206 files were received, although the profiles that will arrive from the Judicial Career Council, which have a deadline of August 30, still need to be added.@Guatevision_tv @prensa_libre pic.twitter.com/vPFtHjMWLJ
— Leslie Sanchez (@lsanchez_gtv) August 24, 2024
Cortes added that, although the reception of files has been closed, there is still The profiles that will arrive from the Judicial Career Council are missingsince they have a deadline of August 30th.
Meanwhile, 567 lawyers turned up this Saturday to submit their applications to magistrates of the courts of appeal. One of the last to attend was Óscar Dávila, former commissioner against corruption of Alejandro Giammattei.@Guatevision_tv @prensa_libre pic.twitter.com/ePqWzRrw30
— Leslie Sanchez (@lsanchez_gtv) August 24, 2024
The selection of candidates for the CSJ will begin on August 25These groups are responsible for reviewing the files submitted during the five days of receipt. Each group must be made up of an appeals judge, a dean and a member of the College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala (Cang).
As far as the Court of Appeals is concerned, approximately More than 1,200 files have been receivedOn August 20, 4 files were received for the Court of Appeals, on August 21, 21 were received, on August 22, 139, on August 23, 565, and this Saturday, 567.
As in the CSJ, the nomination committee for the Court of Appeals indicated that it has yet to receive the files of the Judicial Career, since they The deadline is Monday, September 2.
The lawyers who do not have a number are waiting for a response from the Appeals Office. They arrived before 5 p.m., the deadline set by the summons.@prensa_libre@Guatevision_tv pic.twitter.com/LBHdDjPVpl
— Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_gtv) August 23, 2024
Comparisons
The numbers of applicants registered in 2024 differ considerably when compared to those that occurred in 2020.
According to data from Projusticia, in 2020 there were registered 259 candidates for Supreme Court justices, a higher number than that registered in 2024.
For its part, the number of candidates for the Court of Appeals increased, since in 2020 there were 1,032 registered applicants.
Those accused seek the magistracy
During the day of receiving files, several officials who were pointed out by the international community were also present. commit acts of corruption and “undermine democracy” in Guatemala.
Such is the case of Rafael Curruchiche, current head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity of the Public Ministrywho is under sanctions by the United States and the European Union, since on August 23 he submitted his application to aspire to a position as a judge in the Court of Appeals.
The chief prosecutor, Rafael Curruchiche, went to the @TSEGuatemala to request documents that will be useful for submitting his application for magistrate. Curruchiche said he is considering applying for a magistrate position on the Court of Appeals.@prensa_libre pic.twitter.com/ihx1FY7EAW
— Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_gtv) August 20, 2024
The presence of was also reported Cynthia Monterrosocurrent regional prosecutor of Zacapa and also sanctioned in the US, who presented her file to the Court of Appeals, as well as Leonor Moralespublic prosecutor.
The prosecutors of the @MPguatemala Cinthia Monterroso and Leonor Morales Lazo submitted their files to seek an Appeals magistrate position.
Monterroso, current prosecutor of Zacapa, and Morales Lazo, member of Feci.@prensa_libre@Guatevision_tv pic.twitter.com/q4ZCogVFKl
— Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_gtv) August 24, 2024
Other applicants
Other profiles that submitted their files for the renewal of courts are Oscar Enrique Barrientos Perez (center), former vice-presidential candidate by the Republican Union Party.
Oscar Enrique Barrientos Perez (center), former vice presidential candidate for the Republican Union party, is among the candidates to be an appeals judge. He is a retired military officer and was a legal advisor to government entities.@Guatevision_tv @prensa_libre pic.twitter.com/vrLUoLcs1N
— Leslie Sanchez (@lsanchez_gtv) August 24, 2024
The former first instance criminal judge also appeared, Patricia Gámez, who ran for Attorney General in 2018 and ended up on the list of six candidates.
Carlos Alberto Solorzano Rivera He also submitted his application to be an appeals judge. Rivera was a deputy for the Partido Patriota from 2004 to 2008 and a rapporteur against torture. He applied to be Human Rights Ombudsman in 2022.
Carlos Alberto Solórzano Rivera also submitted his application to be an appeals judge. He was a deputy for the Partido Patriota from 2004 to 2008 and a rapporteur against torture. He applied to be a PDH in 2022. pic.twitter.com/jJOmYVIQqv
— Leslie Sanchez (@lsanchez_gtv) August 24, 2024
Gendri Reyes, former Minister of the Interior of Alejandro Giammattei’s government, also appeared.
“Monitor the process”
There were several statements from national and international entities regarding the day of receiving files for the renewal of courts.
The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, published a message on the social network X in which he qualified the day as “a historic moment”, and encouraged the nominating committees to correctly evaluate the candidates.
“It is a historic moment, and for that reason, We must remain attentive to the work of the nominating committees“Let’s evaluate the candidates, monitor the process, and inform those close to us about what is happening,” Arévalo wrote on his social media.
A little over a year after the people broke a crack in the wall of corruption, a new fissure has opened in the system with the process of electing the courts.
This is a historic moment, and for this reason, we must remain attentive to the work of the nominating committees.…
— Bernardo Arevalo (@BArevalodeLeon) August 24, 2024
Diego Paz, OAS ambassador in Guatemala, positively described the process of receiving applications, where he emphasized the great participation of the candidates, especially on August 23 and 24.
“After the closing of the process, the work of the nomination committees will continue, we fully trust that the day On October 13th the renewal of the courts will be carried out satisfactorily“, Paz said.
The @OEA_official continues to evaluate the process of electing courts of justice. Diego Paz, representative of the OAS in Guatemala, indicated that the report of the observation mission will be presented after the judges are elected.
@Guatevision_tv @prensa_libre pic.twitter.com/hgdRbUYs6Z— Leslie Sanchez (@lsanchez_gtv) August 24, 2024
The president of the nomination committee for the Court of Appeals, Raúl Horacio, also saw it positively, and added that He hopes that the files will be from “dignified and transparent lawyers.”
For Carmen Aída Ibarra, director of the Pro Justice Movement, it is striking that Among the candidates are several prosecutors close to the Attorney General, María Consuelo Porraswhich would be a “strategy to take control of the criminal courts. This explains the participation of her close collaborators who have appeared in the most relevant cases for her, from 2021 to date,” she says.
Ibarra says that these processes always involve prosecutors who have made a career in the MP and that They seek to change the scope of the administration of justicealthough he argues that one cannot “confuse the normal participation of prosecutors with that of a group of them who would be arriving in the nomination processes to co-opt the courts.”
“People who have graduated as lawyers are also arriving, but who They do not practice in the profession and have rather been politicians, mayors, deputies or officials of the Judicial Branchand who have little experience in the administration of justice,” Ibarra added.
Therefore, he suggests that the commissioners should be “careful” when reviewing the files, since the Political Constitution establishes Minimum of 10 years in the exerciseand not since they joined or graduated; otherwise, those who have the number of years and who only have a “questioned political” career will be beneficiaries.
Marielos Fuentes, director of Guatemala Visible, believes that as usually happens on other occasions, the number of applications received on the second day of the call is not high and attributes the wait of the applicants that there was some delay because interested parties now have less time to prepare.
Fuentes said that on other occasions all the paperwork from the applicants is received and then reviewed. However, on this occasion There were delays because those who received the files checked that the requirements were met.
“The good thing is that that It was modified later and we will celebrate that there is a high participationthe ideal would be that within all that number of candidates there are lawyers who not only fit the profile, but also have the desire to make changes to improve the justice system,” he said.
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