CEJIL expresses its regret over the decision made by the Constitutional Court of Guatemala on the processes of judicial elections

San José, Costa Rica November 25th, 2014- The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), expresses its opposition to the decision made by the Guatemalan Constitutional Court (CC) of validating the election of judges for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, despite a clear breach of domestic legislation and international standards conducted by both by the nominating committees and the Congress on these processes.

The appointments had been temporarily suspended by the Court on October 9^th. Many individuals and civil society groups alleged significant irregularities in the process, such as lack of adequate verification and evaluation of the merits and abilities of candidates, lack of transparency in some phases of the process, the existence of conflicts of interest in the appointments, among others.

Despite this, the Court did not discuss the merits of the arguments. It considered that the Congress had not committed any violation and failed to analyze the complaints weighed by the process followed in the nominating committees. Thus, the Constitutional Court ignored the recommendations and rulings issued by major international protection agencies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on the independence of judges, magistrates and lawyers, who had recently urged the authorities to respect judicial independence and, consequently, to review the appointments in accordance with the international obligations of the Guatemalan state.

On this issue, both the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I-A Court) and the IACHR, have pointed out that the proper process of nomination and selection of judicial officers constitutes one of the essential prerequisites for the guarantee of judicial independence. In turn, these bodies have emphasized that «if basic parameters of objectivity and fairness are not respected, it would be possible to design a system that allows a high degree of discretion in selecting the judicial personnel, under which the individuals selected would not necessarily be the most suitable.»

«The decision of the Constitutional Court deepens the institutional crisis currently facing Guatemala. Validation of judicial elections without guaranteeing a choice based on merit seriously jeopardize the principle of separation of powers and affects the rule of law”, stated Marcia Aguiluz, CEJIL’s Program Director for Central America and Mexico.

CEJIL regrets the decision of the Constitutional Court as it affects the access to justice for all Guatemalans by not ensuring judicial independence, implying that the people living in this country will have no certainty of capacity and suitability of persons providing justice.

At the same time, we respectfully ask all social sectors to speak out against this event and to join in observing the actions of the persons named and denouncing those who clash with the international obligations of the Guatemalan state. Finally, we ask the authorities to protect the various actors who have denounced irregularities in the process, to avoid suffering retaliation for those complaints.