The Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) justices are engaged in a dispute over financial control of the Judiciary, which has intensified with the desire of some of them not to leave office on October 12. This is according to the president of the SCJ, Oscar Cruz.
Last weekend, the president of the OJ sent a communication to the presidents of the nominating committees of the CSJ and the Court of Appeals in which he informed that the Palace of Justice cannot be the headquarters of the nominating committees.
In response, the 12 remaining judges who make up the Appeals Committee issued a statement that was released by the OJ’s Communications Department. In it, they urged Cruz not to make administrative decisions, since the highest authority was the full CSJ, according to the statement.
But through a phone call, the president of the OJ attended Prensa Libre, and explained his version of the events. He said that the disputes between the magistrates They obey for the control of the resources, but there is also a clear intention of their colleagues in not wanting to hand over the positions of judicial magistrates.
How do you analyze the statement issued by the 12 magistrates of the CSJ?
I deeply regret the attitude of the judges, especially the presidents of the chambers. They continue to be completely unaware of the Constitution, the laws of our country and, above all, who is the highest authority of the Judicial Branch, which is the president of the OJ.
As president, I have made the decision and I have said that here, in the Palace of Justice, we do not have the appropriate facilities to be able to host the nominating committees, both to nominate judges to the CSJ and to the Court of Appeals.
The space we have is a space that can accommodate 25 people, but no more than that. From that point of view, I will not allow them to overstep my authority at any time.
The authority is exercised by the president of the OJ, not by the presidents of the chambers. They must limit themselves to administering justice in their chambers, that is their function, not to get involved in eminently administrative and budgetary issues.
These are issues that are the exclusive responsibility of the president of the OJ. They are thus committing an abuse of office. They swore to defend the Constitution and they do not fulfill that.
Today they had a plenary meeting. Did the judges explain their discontent with the letter you sent ruling out the SCJ as the seat of the nominating committees?
Yes, they always express their discontent at all the plenary sessions. The situation is due to the fact that I did not accept their pressure to give up the General Management of the OJ, every plenary session is inconvenient.
But the bottom line is that they want to be in charge of General Management in order to take advantage of certain situations at some point. I will not allow them to be in charge of General Management at any time.
That has been the crux of the matter. Since I took over the presidency, I hired the managers, I agreed to remove them at the time, but then they wanted to propose the people they wanted at their whim. I did not allow that.
Why is General Management of OJ important?
It is the one that administers all the funds of the OJ, especially all purchases, all contracts, all computer systems and the entire OJ budget.
As president of the OJ, I am the accountable person, I am the one who signs, so I cannot give in to that pressure, that coercion that the presidents of the chambers maintain on me.
How long has there been a division between the presidency and the rest of the judges of the CSJ?
We started with the issue of the management of the OJ in March, and since then we have not been able to move forward. Now it has even spread to the nominating committees.
Internally, I have been disrespected by the nominating committees themselves, trying to diminish my administrative authority as president of the OJ.
Analysts believe that the magistrates intend to delay the nomination committee process in order to postpone their tenure. Have you identified this situation?
That’s right, all these maneuvers are for that: to prevent the alternation that should exist in power.
I am very clear in my speeches that we, as judges of the CSJ, have a constitutional term that expires on October 13 and that this period should not be extended under any circumstances.
We would be sending a very negative message to the Guatemalan population and especially to us as judges of the CSJ who were sworn in by the Congress of the Republic.
We swore to defend the Constitution and that is the least we can do, defend the Constitution and the laws of our country.
Are the frictions and oppositions of the judges holding back the OJ’s agenda?
We have not been able to make any progress. This whole year is a setback for OJ with the personal interests at stake.
As president of the OJ, I am not even interested in running again. My only interest is to generate transparency and progress in the justice system from the OJ. But I have always found that obstacle in the personal interests at stake.
There has been progress in certain cases, and protection and preliminary trials have been filed. Where there has been no progress is in the eminently administrative matters where they want to participate.
They claim to be the highest administrative authority. But according to the OJ Law and the Civil Service Law, it is the president of the OJ.
Will you take any action against the judges for issuing this statement?
I am going to analyze the corresponding measures against the people who ordered the publication of that statement. What they are doing with that statement is a disregard for the Constitution and the laws.
But above all, they diminish my authority as president of one of the State agencies. The OJ Law is very clear about who runs the OJ, therefore, they should submit to the authority and the law.
The president of the @OJGuatemalaOscar Cruz responds to the statement from the 12 judges of the Supreme Court. He claims that they have interests in delaying the renewal of the Courts in order to remain in office. The disputes began over the financial control of the OJ last March, he indicated. pic.twitter.com/1I5DdDwfka
— Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_gtv) August 14, 2024
#president #points #magistrates
