Officialism gives new “deadly blow” to judicial independence

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The New Ideas bench and its allies approved reforms to remove judges over the age of 60, as well as facilitate their transfer. This is a “purge,” analysts say, and a further step in consolidating the coup from officialdom to democracy.

During Tuesday afternoon, and with a waiver of proceedings, deputies of New Ideas introduced in the legislative plenary a set of reforms to the Law of the judicial career.

These reforms go in the direction of modifying the procedure for the transfer of judges and chamber magistrates throughout the country. In addition, it establishes that all judges and magistrates over 60 years of age or with more than 30 years of service must be removed from office. This excludes magistrates from the Supreme Court of Justice.

With this last clause, 156 judges will be removed from office throughout the country as soon as these reforms come into force.

SEE: Assembly also reformed law regulating career of prosecutors and facilitates their transfer

One of them is Jorge Guzmán, a judge of San Francisco Gotera, who was prevented from accessing military files relating to the Mozote massacre.

Shortly after this reform was passed, both opposition MPs and jurists and defenders of democracy in the country noted that this is a kind of “grace shot” or “deadly blow” to the independence of the judiciary. , one of the main pillars of a democracy and a barrier against political persecution and impunity.

In addition, they point out that the approved seeks to guarantee officialdom its own judges.

In addition, this reform comes shortly after the government, and its loyal legislative majority, forcibly took the Constitutional Chamber on May 1, by removing it illegally and by force to the magistrates and replace them with related lawyers. In such a way that President Nayib Bukele, who has defied legality and the Constitution, already controls the three powers of the state.

“Charge against judicial independence”

According to Anabel Belloso, a member of the FMLN, the bench of “New Ideas charges against judicial independence”. In his opinion, with which it was approved yesterday, judges will be transferred at will and without justified cause to be able to favor processes.

René Portillo Quadra, head of the ARENA faction, states that this is an offense to the balance of power and maintains that it is a follow-up to the blow to the balance of power given on May 1, when he was dismissed. illegally in the Constitutional Chamber and the Attorney General of the Republic.

“If there is anything to be ashamed of, it is for those who vote for this decree, try to read what they are told by the Presidential House. Do not give the country to a dictatorship, try to do the right thing,” said Portillo Quadra. “This time they did pass!” He demanded of them.

For his part, Johnny Wright, MP for our Time, stated that “it accumulates once again in the constitutional order. This is a statement of the path to a dictatorship.” He also said that officialdom does not care about judicial independence. “What interests them is to have judges who obey orders.”

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And in addition to opposition MPs, lawyers and citizens condemned this new offense to the rule of law.

Constitutionalist Enrique Anaya considers that “these reforms are a deepening of the violation of judicial independence executed by the May 1 coup.”

However, he stressed that citizens are unprotected from this new abuse, since from the first day of the new Legislative Assembly was dismantled the independent constitutional justice and was left in place by a group of lawyers akin to power.

Finally, the constitutionalist points out that the Supreme Court will decide which people over 60 to withdraw and whom to transfer. In his opinion, the message is clear: “only if the judge is docile and obedient to the Presidential House regime, the CSJ will allow him to continue in office.”

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Anaya considered this part of a “purge of judges” and a “consolidation of the dictatorship.”

In a similar vein, Úrsula Indacochea of ​​the Foundation for the Cause Trial said that the reforms “legalize covert sanctions on judges and prosecutors.”

Deputies went overboard

The jurist Ruth Eleonora López, from Cristosal, stated that the deputies flagrantly violated the Constitution when approving the reforms, since any modification to the judicial career must be at the initiative of the Supreme Court of Justice and not the deputies.

For his part, Wilson Sandoval, coordinator of the Center for Anti-Corruption Legal Advice (ALAC-Fon), noted that the Legislature is suppressing the “independence of judges,” removing those words from the Judicial Career Act. “In Article 1 currently of the Act, it establishes independence. In reforms, it is suppressed,” the transparency expert denounced.

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