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- Guatemalan bar association puts judicial independence in danger
Guatemalan bar association puts judicial independence in danger
San Jose and Washington DC, April 7, 2014. San Jose and Washington DC, April 7, 2014. The suspension agreed upon by the Honor Tribunal of the Association of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala (Tribunal de Honor del Colegio de Abogados y Notarios de Guatemala, CANG) against Judge Yassmín Barrios constitutes an undue interference in the exercise of the judiciary and threatens the principle of judicial independence in the country.
Last Friday, the Honor Tribunal issued its resolution dated January 9, 2014, which ruled, among other punishments, to temporarily suspend Judge Barrios from practicing law for one year.
The decision is linked with the 2013 conviction process of the ex-generals José Maruricio Rodríguez and Efraín Ríos Montt for committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Ixil community.
Due to a series of actions taken by Ríos Montt’s defense lawyers on March 19, 2013, the High Risk Tribunal A ordered lawyers Moíses Galindo and César Calderón stand as the Ríos Montt’s defense counsel so to not violate his right of defense. The next day, the ex-general’s defense counsel resumed their original position. On the same day, Moíses Galindo stood as José Mauricio’s defense, and due to the fact that he did not agree with the High Risk Tribunal’s decision, he accused Judge Barrios of disrespecting and publically humiliating him before the CANG in obligating him to assume the position as the defense.
Moíses Galindo presented his denunciation before the Judicial Disciplinary Board (Junta Disciplinaria del Organismo Judicial), which did not find any fault of Barrios and ordered the complaint to be archived. CEJIL and dozens of lawyers and human rights organizations pronounce themselves on the conformity of the conduct of the High Risk Tribunal with the protection of the right of defense.
Despite the Disciplinary Board’s decision, the CANG Honor Tribunal analyzed Judge Barrios’s conduct and concluded, among other things, that there were ethic violations that provoked, “the mockery and human degradation of the complainant.” The temporary suspension could lead to Judge Barrios’s automatic suspension as a member of the High Risk Tribunal A.
CEJIL rejects and condemns the bar association’s decision as it violates judicial independence and could affect the right of Judge Barrios to remain in her position.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court) has made references to the independence of judges. In the Reverón Trujillo v. Venezuela case, the IA Court stated that, “[the judges] have reinforced guarantees due to the necessary independence of the Judicial Power.” For the High Tribunal, “the objective of the protection lies in avoiding that the justice system in general and its members specifically be submitted to possible improper restrictions in the exercise of their duties by bodies foreign to the Judicial Power or even by those judges that exercise duties of revision or appeal.”
It is undeniably reprehensible that a legal trade association of such nature exercises disciplinary authority in the respect to the work of the judges.
Additionally, the Honor Tribunal does not comply with functional guarantees of independence required by international standards. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights states in its recent report, “Guarantees for the independence of justice operators,” that in applying disciplinary measures the body with the power to sanction should be independent, competent and impartial: conditions that the cited bar association does not hold.
“According to international standards, the States are obligated to effectively guarantee judicial independence. If the State of Guatemala validates and executes the suspension of Judge Barrios ordered by the bar association, it could incur international responsibility. Additionally, it would be sending the justice operators a message of intimidation that would inhibit their ability to work independently,” declared Viviana Krsticevic, CEJIL’s Executive Director.
It should be noted that Judge Barrios is a beneficiary of measures of protection granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In her position as a judge, Yassmín Barrios has been victim of assassination attempts, threats and more recently a campaign discrediting and stigmatizing her role in the genocide ruling. The Honor Tribunal’s decision also contributes in discrediting her work as a judge and therefore puts her in a more vulnerable situation.
CEJIL respectfully calls on the Guatemalan authorities to reverse the High Tribunal’s decision as well as to abstain from acts of prosecution and intimidation against Judge Yassmín Barrios. CEJIL urges the international community and international protective bodies to pronounce themselves against this grave act that threatens judicial independence in Guatemala.
Press Contact
Daniela Araya
+506 22807473
daraya@cejil.org
