Omar Mora Díaz
Who is Omar Mora Díaz?
Omar Mora Díaz was elected as president of the supreme court of justice of Venezuela in February 2005, replacing the retiring Ivan Rincón.
Why watch him?
Mora Díaz's reputation as a supporter of the President Chávez 's “Bolivarian Revolution", as well as his determination to seek ways of penalizing the judges who fail to comply with the constitution, have raised concern about the supreme court's level of impartiality.
Age: 56
Place of Birth: Caracas.
Public Life:
Omar Mora Díaz is married and has four sons. During the 1960s and 1970s he was jailed seven times for his involvement in a number of guerrilla movements affiliated to the Venezuelan Communist Party.
Educated: Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), graduating in Law in 1977.
Timeline
1978: Lecturer at the UCV in judicial practice.
1980-1983: Lecturer at the UCV in financial law and labour law.
1983-1987: Lecturer at the UCV's business school.
1988-2000: UCV's legal advisor. Legal advisor to the lecturers association of the UCV (APUCV). Legal advisor to the lecturers association of Venezuela. President of the disciplinary court of the APUCV. Member of the tripartite commission of arbitration of the
UCV.
1999: Legal advisor to the ministry of education.
1999-2005: Judge of supreme court of justice.
Feb. 2005: Elected president of the supreme court of justice.
Strengths
Mora Díaz was elected president of the supreme court with the support of 30 of the 32 judges of this institution. At UCV he was considered an outstanding law student and, since graduating, has continued to lecture on law there. In his acceptance speech, Mora Díaz said that a firm hand against judicial corruption is top of his agenda. "People are demanding that we put an end to impunity," he said.
Weaknesses
Mora Díaz's links with the Chávez administration have led many to question his impartiality. His loyalty to the government was evident when, on his first day as president of the supreme court, he announced the dismissal of the remaining judges responsible for finding four high-level members not guilty of mutiny for their part in the short-lived coup that briefly ousted President Chávez in April 2002.
Prospects
It is still early days for the new president of the supreme court. Other than his determination to punish judges who appeared soft on the coup organisers, Mora Díaz has also publicised his plan to improve the prosecution system. This is a key issue in Venezuela, where innocent people can spend over five years in jail awaiting trial. Mora also confirmed that from now on the directive of the supreme court will have regular meetings with the parliament, civilian representatives, the minister of the interior as well as the minister of justice and President Chávez . This is likely to increase the US's concerns over the concentration of power in the hands of the executive. Last December, the State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said that the Venezuelan congress's appointment of 12 new supreme court justices “put into doubt the principle of judicial independence".