The discussion of the regulations of the Court of Appeals nomination committee has been the central focus of the meeting this Friday, August 9, in which the proposal of a commissioner stands out because it seeks to regulate the work of the media and change the way in which files are traditionally evaluated.
The document in question was prepared by Commissioner Julio Adrián Velásquez Aguilar, elected by the College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala (Cang) promoted by the United for Law and Platform of Professionals for Justice slate.
His proposal has 27 articles and is being analyzed together with the one presented by the president of the nominating committee, Raúl Arévalo, rector of Universidad Internaciones.
During the session this Friday, the nominating committee has managed to agree on the initial considerations of the regulations, as well as the first articles of its internal regulations that refer to the 48 hours notice and the manner in which the commissioners are summoned.
But there are still other articles pending that will define the way in which the commission will carry out its work until the time when it compiles the list of candidates. This commission must deliver to the Congress of the Republic a list of 270 candidates for magistrates of the Chambers.
Media regulation
One of the articles proposed by Commissioner Julio Velásquez, from the CANG, is focused on the way in which the media works. It is Article 25 of his proposed regulation, which is worded as follows: “Public and private entities that appointed or elected commissioners and that have their own or linked media They must respect the work, integrity and dignity of the members of the Nominating Committee.”
The article also adds: “Attacks and public statements against commissioners that were made by media outlets or those linked to public and private entities that elect or appoint members to the Nomination Commission may be reported and objected to by the commissioners to the president of the Commission. to take the appropriate measures to guarantee objectivity and respect for the members”.
Questioned about the substance of the article, Velásquez denied that it seeks to limit the work of the press. But he believes that “it should be regulated.”
“No, it’s just the opposite, it’s about regulating it, to prevent the press from being confused. You have an activity protected by Human Rights, but apart from that there are the netcenters that pretend to be the press,” he commented.
The commissioner denies that the fund is intended to limit the media, but it is intended to limit netcenters. Despite this, the wording of the proposal does not refer to the so-called netcenter.
“The spirit of this article is focused on maintaining harmony among the members of the commission. We have seen, not in this one, but in the other commission, that there are moments that have gone out of line, and they normally go out of line because netcenter groups from both extremes are activated. Here we are not conditioning any ideological extreme,” he insisted.
Velásquez, despite being the one who drafted the proposal, He was unable to explain what he meant by “relevant measures” for the media.. Although it indicates that it is necessary for the commissioners to have the right to reply to the media, if necessary.
“It is basically that the commissioners have the possibility of exercising their right to clarification regarding any publication in which they are questioned. But that is nothing new, it already exists in the law,” he added.
Evaluation of files
The applicants have distributed the designation of files for their respective qualification by drawing lots, a crucial point that could determine the exclusion or continuity of an applicant in the process.
But Commissioner Velásquez’s proposal seeks to change the way in which files are traditionally reviewed by lottery. His approach seeks to have the secretaries distribute the files.
“For the respective evaluation of the applicants’ files, these will be assigned by the Commission’s secretariat in proportional amounts to each of the twelve lists, having to assign them in the correlative order of the secretariat’s registry,” the proposal states.
The office of the Appeals Committee is headed by another commissioner elected by the Cang. This is César Fernando Díaz García, who was also elected by the same slate as Velásquez: United for the Law and Platform of Professionals for Justice.
In this regard, Velásquez indicated that the law gives this power to the secretaries, but he preferred not to go into detail about the change in the distribution of the files. “I would prefer… since it is an issue that we have not all spoken about, I cannot address it beyond what is in the text,” he said.
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