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Guatemala: Expert calls on Nominating Commissions to ensure transparent and merit-based procedure to appoint apex courts

09 July 2024

GENEVA (9 July 2024) – An independent expert today welcomed the swearing-in ceremony of the Nominating Commissions for judicial appointments in Guatemala.

“All actors who are to sit on these Commissions must, according to the law, act responsibly, and be motivated by the national interest,” said Margaret Satterthwaite, the Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers. “In this way, the decisions of the Commissions will represent the broader interests of society.”

Magistrates currently serving on the Guatemalan Supreme Court and Court of Appeal will end their terms in October 2024. Congress should therefore elect new judges based on lists chosen by the Nominating Commissions.

“I call on the Nominating Commissions to make public the indicators for each of the criteria for determining the suitability of candidates: capacity, speciality, suitability, honesty and proven good repute. There must be a clear evaluation scheme with the score to be assigned to each criterion plainly specified and shared from the start of this process,” she said.

The evaluation scheme and chronogram to follow should also detail the methods of evaluation, the criteria for possible exclusions of applicants and criteria for the acceptance or exclusion of objections to candidates. For officials already holding judicial office, the criteria of capacity and specialty should include an independent assessment of current performance of duties.

“Concerning the criteria of honesty and honourability, I recall that the lack of a criminal judgement is insufficient on its own,” Satterthwaite said. “Candidates should be required to submit a sworn and public declaration of assets, employment contracts, and a sworn and public declaration of personal and commercial conflicts of interest. All of these elements should be considered when assessing honesty and honourability.”

“Civil society must be able to participate fully and meaningfully in considering the candidates and monitoring the process, and I encourage the Commissions to consider and respond substantively to civil society’s objections,” the expert said. “At the same time, I stress the crucial importance of not repeating the past, when judges were not appointed for almost a full term. The Guatemalan people deserve courts made up of judges of the highest calibre, appointed in a timely manner.”

The Special Rapporteur has been in contact with the Government of Guatemala regarding these recommendations.

Margaret Satterthwaite is the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. She was appointed as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers by the Human Rights Council in October 2022. Professor Satterthwaite is an international human rights scholar and practitioner with decades of experience in the field. She is a Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law.

Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page - Guatemala

For further information and media requests, please contact: [email protected] .

For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Dharisha Indraguptha ( [email protected]) or John Newland ([email protected])

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