The president of the Judicial Branch (OJ), Oscar Cruz, informed through a letter that the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) cannot host the Nomination Commissions as the other magistrates intend. He pointed out that “it does not have the funds or the necessary conditions for the work of the postulators.”
In the letter, Cruz stressed that “it is not possible to access what was requested in its entirety due to the lack of allocated budget,” and He stressed that it would take approximately two months to optimize the necessary areas. of the body for that function.
This Saturday, August 10, 2024, the Nomination Commission held its seventh meeting where it was read.
The discussion initially focused on the choice of venue, which until now has been debated between the facilities of the Rafael Landivar University and the Palace of Justice of the CSJ, without a consensus having been reached.
During the session, the president of the Commission for the Nomination of Magistrates of the CSJ, Miquel Cortés Bofill, addressed three key points, starting with the urgency of establishing a “critical timeline” to meet the six-week deadline set until September 23, 2024.
“We urgently need to work and reach consensus to fulfill the mission”said Cortés Bofill, who proposed holding at least 18 or 19 sessions.
He quoted Greek mythology: “Cronus devoured his children and he should not devour us.”
Read also: Nominating committees: what they are, what they do and why they are important
The second point of the meeting was the reading of the letter sent by Oscar Cruz, in which the president of the OJ emphasized the limitations of the CSJ to serve as the headquarters of the Nominating Commissions due to the lack of resources and the inability to guarantee the security of the files.
The letter addressed to Miquel Cortés by Cruz states that “it is not possible to access the entire request for the use of the premises due to the lack of an allocated budget, since the administrative units of the Organization do not have the budgetary capacity to comply with the requirements presented.”
Among these, it states that “a budget item should be created to be able to comply with them and this would generate findings against the institution by the supervisory body since it could affect the normal functioning of the organization.”
It also notes that they do not have the necessary network and telecommunications infrastructure to provide the video screen equipment and live data transmission service.
The letter also describes that approximately two months of work would be needed to optimize the areas.
This period would be necessary, according to the letter, to guarantee electricity, water, networks and telecommunications services, as well as other administrative processes such as the preparation of quotes, direct purchases and other activities.
Meeting these requirements, it is argued, would only be possible if “the current limited budget execution can be unblocked.”
The president of the @OJGuatemalaOscar Cruz, reports that the CSJ cannot host the nominating committees as the other magistrates intend. It does not have the funds or the necessary conditions for the work of the nominating committees.@prensa_libre@Guatevision_tv pic.twitter.com/YQGIlKgsTi
— Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_gtv) August 10, 2024
Congress will be evaluated as a venue
After reading the letter, the commissioners addressed the third point of the proposal made by the President of the Congress of the Republic, Nery Ramos.
The commissioners agreed that A meeting with Ramos could be held next Monday, August 12, to evaluate the possibility of this being a third option as a venue.
The committee chairman then called for a vote to amend the agenda and proceed to discuss the approval of the committee’s internal regulations.
Cortés Bofil urged them to move forward with the agenda: “It is an opportunity to show the people of Guatemala, to work as a team and leave aside rhetoric.”
“It is time to move forward and then return to the point of the headquarters when all the necessary elements are in place, otherwise the process would be paralyzed, and the pressure will be greater to not postpone the process beyond September 3,” he added.
The majority of commissioners intervened and expressed their agreement with the modification.
Elvio López Ruiz, from the “Unity for Justice” group of the Bar Association, said that if they had chosen the CSJ as the venue they would have “taken a leap into the void, a serious situation” by not having the resources due to the lack of budget.
Read also: Lack of consensus among nominating committees favors current magistrates
They move forward with the agenda
Finally, with 37 votes, they approved the modification of the agenda and began to know the approval of the internal regulations for the development of the sessions.
Two proposals were put forward to regulate the preparation of the lists of candidates; one is from the president of the Commission, Miquel Cortés Bofill, with 22 articles, and the other from Commissioner José Ortiz, a magistrate of the Court of Appeals, with 27 articles.
Both are expected to be revealed during the day’s follow-up.
Judge José Ortiz presents proposed regulations for the CSJ nominating committee.
She is seeking to keep certain information about candidates for the SCJ confidential. Other nominating bodies have published files for transparency.
Proposes mechanisms for reviewing quorum and developing meetings. pic.twitter.com/8NjoN6xD0J
— Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_gtv) August 10, 2024
Read also: Commissioner elected by the Cang seeks to regulate media and modify the way files are evaluated
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