Reform to the Judicial Career Law threatens El Mozote investigation, Inter-American Court Requests information from the Salvadoran State

• The Salvadoran State must present information on the impact of the reform on the criminal process of the massacres of El Mozote and surrounding areas.
• The organizations representing the victims before the Inter-American Court will hold a press conference next Tuesday, September 21 at 9:00am to refer to the obstacles in the investigation as a consequence of the reform and other measures.

September 20, 2021 – On September 14, the reform to the Judicial Career Law approved by the Legislative Assembly and signed by President Nayib Bukele was published in the Official Gazette of El Salvador, a measure that requires judges over 60 years of age or those who have served 30 years in office within the judiciary to leave their position.

With its publication, the reform should enter into force within eight days and with it, more than 170 judges will be automatically removed from their positions, which would represent about a third of the total number of judges in the country.

This reform has been criticized by various sectors that recognize the measure as a violation of judicial independence and a threat to access to justice. Tutela Legal “María Julia Hernández” and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), representatives of the victims of the El Mozote case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), affirm that the reform is contrary to the Salvadoran Constitution and compromises the State’s compliance with its international obligations, as it directly impacts the investigation of the massacre, since the Judge in charge, Jorge Guzmán Urquilla, would be obliged to retire due to his age.

The organizations explained to the IACHR Court that the reform represents one more obstacle in the investigation, trial and punishment of the massacre committed in 1981, and in this sense contravenes what was ordered in the sentence issued by the Court in 2012. In light of this, the Court requested that, no later than September 24, 2021, the Salvadoran State submit an updated and detailed report on compliance with the investigation of the facts in which it refers to the adoption of said reform.

This legislative modification is in addition to other measures implemented by the Bukele government that would result in the weakening of democracy and the rule of law. In this line, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers recognized that the reforms to the Judicial Career Law affect the separation of powers and judicial independence and urged the Salvadoran State to respect the guarantees for the independence of judges.

In light of this context, the organizations Tutela Legal “María Julia Hernández” and CEJIL call for a press conference next Tuesday, September 21 at 9:00am at the offices of Tutela Legal, located at 7ma. Avenida Norte San Salvador, San Salvador. The conference can be followed online on CEJIL’s Facebook page.