Straight to the point
Towards justice reform
Judges don’t just resolve disputes. They send “signals” to all people in society regarding the scope and limits of their rights.
The formation of independent collegiate courts is essential to take the definitive step towards justice reform. In other words, there are two stages, namely: the first, consisting of a nomination process that focuses on pre-candidates with appropriate attributes for the exercise of the magistracy and, once that has been achieved, the second, consisting of a reform constitutional that allows the establishment of a true judicial career.
The importance of achieving judicial reform lies in the fact that, without the “goods” that judges and magistrates “produce” for society, Guatemala will never be able to develop.
These “assets” are the sentences and other resolutions that judges issue in the matters before them. Each of these sentences sends a “signal” to all the people who make decisions of any kind in society. They are a kind of “radio waves” that transmit information to all people who act in an open society.
“Open society” means one in which, within certain general rules, everyone decides what will become of their life. And, in that type of society, the rules (already interpreted in light of the facts of each case), as the great Spanish jurist Álvaro D’Ors wrote, are in the sentences of the judges and magistrates.
Of course, laws contain general rules, but in light of each set of facts, they have different meaning and implications. I propose an example. Two friends, let’s say, Paco and Joaquín, organize a company that imports European cheeses. It is not easy to penetrate the market, one day Paco tells Joaquín: -Hey, Enrique works at the distributor “D” and, well, it is one of the best established, why don’t we invite him to be a partner in the company. company?
The law establishes as one of the cases of “unfair competition” the fact that a company uses “strikes” to divert a competitor’s clientele in its favor.
They propose it, Enrique accepts, he shares everything he has learned regarding European cheese distribution channels and their main buyers and, in a few months, things are going much, much better.
The law establishes as one of the cases of “unfair competition” the fact that a company uses “strikes” to divert a competitor’s clientele in its favor. And, then, the question that arises is the following: Does the hiring of Enrique constitute a scheme, in the sense of the law?
The general manager of company “D” perceives that a hitherto unknown competitor suddenly enters the scene. He investigates and, indeed, Enrique is the key.
Logically, the manager consults with his lawyer: is there a case for unfair competition? Does the behavior of the new competitor constitute an act of unfair competition? The lawyer’s response might not be more ambiguous and the client’s protest prevails: is it or is it not? But, it’s not the lawyer’s fault. There are no sentences that, in light of similar facts, clarify the issue. Paco, Joaquín, Enrique and company “D” are in the dark. The former do not know what type of risk they have run and Enrique’s employer does not know if, in the circumstances of the case, the law protects her.
Without that type of information, business owners cannot make reliable calculations regarding the consequences of their decisions. Markets cannot develop, in part, because entrepreneurs do not have enough information to make many of the decisions that depend on how general rules are interpreted in light of the widely varying facts and circumstances of real life. If justice is not reformed, this information will not be generated in this jurisdiction.
#justice #reform