Decree-2-2023

This decree elects 15 magistrates to the Supreme Court of Justice for 7 years, following a proposal from the Nominating Board. It also appoints Rebeca Lizette Raquel Obando as President of the Court. It ensures judges are selected based on merit and fitness, without discrimination, in accordance with international standards of judicial independence.

Whereas, in accordance with Article 205 Attribution 9) of the Constitution of the Republic, it is the responsibility of the National Congress to elect for the corresponding period and from the list of candidates proposed by the Nominating Board referred to in the Constitution, the Justices to the Supreme Court of Justice.

Whereas, in accordance with Article 308 of the Constitution of the Republic as amended, the Supreme Court of Justice shall be composed of fifteen (15) Justices.

Whereas Articles 11 and 12 of the Statute of the Ibero-American Judge stipulate that selection and appointment processes must be carried out through bodies predetermined by Law, which apply procedures that are also predetermined and public, that objectively evaluate the knowledge and professional merits of the applicants, by means of selection mechanisms that adapt to the needs of each country and shall be oriented, in any case, toward the objective determination of the suitability of the applicants.

Whereas international standards, such as the Basic Principles relating to the Independence of the Judiciary, adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in Milan in 1985 and confirmed by the General Assembly in its Resolutions 40/32 of November 29, 1985 and 40/146 of December 13, 1985, establish that: "Persons selected for judicial office shall be individuals of integrity and suitability and shall have appropriate legal training or qualifications. Any method used for the selection of judicial personnel shall guarantee that such persons are not appointed for improper motives. In the selection of judges, there shall be no discrimination of any kind on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic position, birth or status; the requirement that persons aspiring to judicial office be nationals of the country in question shall not be considered discriminatory"; and the Bangalore Principles on Judicial Conduct approved in July 2006 by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, identify "Independence" as the foremost value and as a prerequisite of the principle of legality and a fundamental guarantee of the existence of a fair trial...

Whereas, in keeping with the foregoing recitals, in a historic milestone, this National Congress approved through Decree No. 74-2022 the Special Law of Organization and Functioning of the Nominating Board for the Proposal of Candidates for Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, which made it possible to present in an unprecedented process, the list of candidates for Justices for the election of the Supreme Court of Justice, Period 2023-2030.

Whereas Article 205 Attribution 1) of the Constitution of the Republic establishes that it is within the authority of the National Congress: To create, enact, interpret, reform and repeal laws.