Weekly Report - 07 October 2021 (WR-21-40) |
EL SALVADOR: Judges’ installation proves contentious |
In line with the controversial reforms to the judicial career law approved at the end of August [WR-21-36], El Salvador’s supreme court (CSJ) has installed 98 new judges. This comes as the reforms, which force judges and prosecutors to retire once they turn 60 or after completing 30 years of service (excluding those from the CSJ), continue to draw criticism, stoke protests, and fuel legal appeals. All of this adds to existing fears regarding judicial independence which have intensified since the new legislature, in which the ruling Nuevas Ideas (NI) now has a two-thirds majority, took up its seats in May and promptly dismissed five members of the CSJ’s constitutional chamber (SC) and attorney general, Raúl Melara, all critics of President Nayib Bukele [WR-21-18]. Widely censured as unconstitutional, the reforms were promulgated by President Bukele on 17 September. The same day a local human rights group, Cristosal, filed a complaint on behalf of at least 50 judges before the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the Salvadorean state for “violation of judicial independence” in relation to the changes. Among other things, Cristosal’s complaint accused the Salvadorean state of violating labour stability and the rights of equality and non-discrimination of people over the age of 60. Five days later a court in San Miguel department also issued an order suspending the law’s application for now - which the CSJ has failed to heed and is appealing. The CSJ has offered some concessions in response to the wave of criticism sparked by the reforms, which also stems from suspicion that they are aimed at ejecting certain judges in particular – not least Jorge Guzmán (aged 61), in charge of investigating the 1981 ‘El Mozote’ massacre, one of the worst human rights abuses of the country’s 1980-1992 civil war. On 22 September the CSJ offered severance pay to judges over 60 who agreed to resign voluntarily before 25 September. It added that judges could apply to continue working on an availability basis, particularly in relation to cases involving grave violations of human rights. However, this has failed to convince the judges or government critics. For instance, Guzmán has refused to continue working. In a letter dated 23 September reiterating complaints that the law was unconstitutional, he said he would leave office on the date that it becomes effective (26 September) and would only return if it were declared unconstitutional or revoked.
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