Special Law on the Organization and Operation of the Nominating Board for the Appointment of Supreme Court Magistrates

NATURE AND OBJECT OF THE LAW. The provisions contained in this Law are of public order and have as their object to regulate the organization and functioning of the Nominating Board for the Nomination of Candidates to Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice; as well as the corresponding selection procedure, in accordance with the parameters established in the Constitution of the Republic, international treaties and other instruments adopted by the State of Honduras that refer to judicial independence and the function of the judiciary.

PURPOSES OF THE LAW. The purposes of this Law are:

• 1)

  To generate maximum legitimacy, transparency and confidence in the election of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, in charge of the National Congress;

• 2)

  To guarantee the independence of the future Supreme Court of Justice with respect to political and economic actors, formal or factual, as well as to prevent the penetration of the Judicial Branch by sectors operating in illegality;

• 3)

  To achieve that the proposal of the Nominating Board is made solely on the basis of the weighing of merits, competencies and professional and personal suitability, as well as the moral and ethical quality of the nominated candidates; and,

• 4)

  To contribute to the development of constitutional principles and values of pluralism, citizen participation, national integration and the neutrality of public servants.

PRINCIPLES TO BE OBSERVED IN THE NOMINATION PROCESS. In all stages of the process, from the convocation to integrate the Nominating Board, until the nomination of candidates to Justices, all actions shall be governed by the following principles:

• 1)

  Compliance with legality;

• 2)

  Equality and non-discrimination;

• 3)

  Gender equity;

• 4)

  Publicity, transparency and accountability;

• 5)

  Independence and objectivity;

• 6)

  Timeliness and respect for established deadlines; and,

• 7)

  Ethics, responsibility and due diligence. CHAPTER II OF THE NOMINATING BOARD FOR THE NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES TO JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE

THE NOMINATING BOARD FOR THE NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES TO JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE. The Nominating Board for the Nomination of Candidates to Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, hereinafter the "Nominating Board" or "the Board", is an ad-hoc, temporary, collegial, deliberative and autonomous body, whose main function shall be to form a list of no fewer than forty-five (45) candidates for Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice to propose to the National Congress. It shall have its seat in the capital of the Republic. There shall be a quorum to hold sessions with the presence of four (4) of its members and its decisions shall be adopted by the favorable vote of the majority of the members present, principals or alternates who replace them.

COMPOSITION OF THE NOMINATING BOARD. The Nominating Board shall be composed of seven (7) principal members and the same number of alternates, selected in the following manner:

• 1)

  One principal representative and one alternate designated by the Supreme Court of Justice, elected by the favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Justices, in extraordinary plenary session;

• 2)

  One principal representative and one alternate from the Bar Association of Honduras (CAH), elected in an extraordinary assembly;

• 3)

  The National Commissioner of Human Rights (CONADEH), who shall designate his or her alternate;

• 4)

  One principal representative and one alternate from the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), elected in extraordinary assembly;

• 5)

  One principal representative and one alternate from the faculties of the schools of legal sciences, convoked to an ad hoc assembly by the Rector of the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), who shall be elected by the favorable vote of the simple majority of the professors present;

• 6)

  One principal representative and one alternate elected by civil society organizations in accordance with the provisions of the following Article; and,

• 7)

  One principal representative and one alternate of the workers' confederations that shall organize themselves in an extraordinary assembly in accordance with their bylaws. In all cases, at least one (1) of the representatives, principal or alternate, must be a woman. In the procedures for designating their representatives, the institutions and organizations convoked to compose the Nominating Board shall observe the principles established in Article 3 of this Law. The institutions and organizations may accredit at the Nominating Board Hondurans of notable international standing.

ELECTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVES. As soon as the convocation for the composition of the Board is made by the National Congress, the Secretariat of Transparency and the Fight Against Corruption (STLCC), shall publicly convoke, with at least ten (10) calendar days in advance, an assembly session of duly registered civil society organizations. Exceptionally, with evidence of the execution of projects or activities in justice or human rights matters during the last three (3) years, participation shall be authorized for unofficially registered organizations or entities without legal personality under the provisions of numeral 6 of Article 61 of the Civil Procedural Code, who may vote, but may not nominate representatives. In the convocation, the participation of organizations from all regions of the country shall be encouraged. Interested organizations shall register, within five (5) calendar days after the convocation, in an electronic list that shall be made available by the Secretariat of State in the offices of Transparency and the Fight Against Corruption (STLCC). After this deadline, the Secretariat of Transparency and the Fight Against Corruption (STLCC) shall simultaneously send the list for review to: The Secretariat of State in the offices of Governance, Justice and Decentralization, the Special Fiscal Unit for Transparency and the Fight Against Public Corruption (FETCCOP), the Special Fiscal Unit against Corruption Networks (UFERCO), the Special Fiscal Unit for the Prosecution of Servants of the Justice Sector (FEES-SJ) and the National Unit of Fiscal Support (UNAF), as well as to other units of the Public Ministry and the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) dependent on the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS), According to their established competencies, they shall determine whether the interested organizations are active and whether they are associated with investigations for corruption crimes. All these entities shall have three (3) calendar days to send a report to the Secretariat of State in the offices of Transparency and the Fight Against Corruption (STLCC). The final list shall be made available to the public through the official means of the Secretariat of State in the offices of Transparency and the Fight Against Corruption (STLCC). The Secretary of State in the offices of Transparency and the Fight Against Corruption (STLCC), shall chair the session and shall be accompanied by the Secretary of State in the offices of Governance, Justice and Decentralization as Secretary, in which the representatives of civil society shall be elected, by simple majority, in an assembly session, by the representatives that each organization has registered. At the assembly, only organizations that previously registered may participate and only through the principal representative, or the alternate in their case, that they have designated.

CONVOCATION AND INSTALLATION OF THE NOMINATING BOARD. In the second half of July of the year prior to the election of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice, the President of the National Congress shall convoke the institutions and organizations provided for in Article 5 of this Law to submit in writing the names of their respective representatives, principals and alternates, who shall compose the Nominating Board. The convocation shall be published in the Official Journal "La Gaceta", in three (3) media outlets of national circulation that guarantee its effective dissemination, as well as in the official digital platforms of the National Congress. The convoked entities must accredit their representatives no later than August thirty-first (31) of that year. In the event that any of the entities has not done so on the scheduled date, the National Congress shall compel it to do so within five (5) calendar days, under penalty of incurring corresponding legal liabilities. After this deadline, the President of the National Congress shall administer the oath to the principal and alternate members of the Board and shall install its sessions during the first half of September of that year. The members of the Board shall serve ad honorem in the exercise of their office. For purposes of legal responsibility and compliance with the ethical regulations of public servants, they shall assume the status of Public Officials from their swearing-in until the dissolution of the Nominating Board.

REQUIREMENTS AND INCOMPATIBILITIES TO COMPOSE THE NOMINATING BOARD. The representatives designated by each institution or organization to compose the Board shall meet the following requirements: 1) To be Honduran; 2) To be over 30 years of age and to be in the enjoyment and exercise of their civil and political rights; 3) To be a layperson; and, 4) Of proven conduct and moral solvency. Those who may not compose the Nominating Board are:

• 1)

  Those who are parties to active judicial litigation, or are being investigated, for violations of human rights, Crimes against Public Administration, money laundering and drug trafficking in any of their forms, as well as Legal Professionals who have exercised or exercise the Defense or Representation of those described above, except in cases in which they act or have acted as a Public Prosecutor or Public Defender;

• 2)

  Those who are executive members of political parties or who hold elective public office at the time of their designation;

• 3)

  Those who at the time of their designation have unfulfilled contracts with the State or participate as bidders in procurement processes with the State;

• 4)

  Relatives within the fourth degree (4th) of consanguinity or second (2nd) degree of affinity with the President of the Republic and those designated to the Presidency of the Republic, deputies to the National Congress, high-ranking officials of the Public Administration, Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Attorney General of the Republic;

• 5)

  With the exception of the National Commissioner of Human Rights (CONADEH), those who have participated as principals or alternates in previous Nominating Boards or are members of the Board of Directors, Executive Council or governing body of the institution that must compose the Nominating Board; and,

• 6)

  Those who have received sanctions from their professional colleges or legally constituted honor courts. The principal and alternate members of the Nominating Board may not hold administrative or jurisdictional positions in the Judicial, Legislative and Executive Branches in the two (2) years following their participation in the Board, counted from the delivery of the list of candidates to the National Congress. The representatives of the Supreme Court of Justice are excluded, or those who already held positions in said Branch at the time of their designation for the Board; in which case, they may not receive promotions or advancements in the same period, except for periodic and general salary adjustments or transfers to positions in the same category.

CHALLENGES AGAINST THE DESIGNATION OF MEMBERS TO THE NOMINATING BOARD. The process of internal election in each institution or organization shall be governed by what is established in the Constitution of the Republic, this Law and the legal, regulatory or statutory provisions of each entity. The designation of the representatives shall be immediately made known to the members of the institution or organization and to the general public. The members of the entity and any citizen, based on the public interest of the selection process, may challenge it following the following procedure:

• 1)

  The interested party may challenge the designation based on the causes contained in Article 8 preceding, except that the Law requires him or her to provide the representation or professional service in question. The objection shall be made by means of a properly motivated written statement, accompanied by an indication or evidence of the concrete location where it is found, before the body that conducted the selection, within seventy-two (72) hours after the publication of the designation, pointing out the inconsistencies or non-compliance in the selection process or identifying the requirements that the designated representatives do not meet;

• 2)

  If the challenge is based on procedural violations, it must be declared admissible or inadmissible within forty-eight (48) hours, counted from the presentation of the interested party's written statement. Once admitted, the petition shall be resolved within five (5) calendar days, counted from the admission. If it is declared without merit, the designation shall be final, if it is declared with merit, the selection process shall be repeated;

• 3)

  If non-compliance with requirements or the existence of incompatibilities is alleged, the person supposedly incurring in the assumptions of the preceding Article shall be notified so that, within forty-eight (48) hours after notification, he or she may pronounce himself or herself and provide the evidence of discharge that he or she deems relevant. With or without his or her response, the authority shall issue a decision within the deadline established in the preceding numeral;

• 4)

  If the challenge is declared with merit, when it concerns the principal, the election act shall be repeated and the alternate shall be placed in his or her place, proceeding to elect another alternate. The same shall be done when the challenged party is the alternate, the corresponding election act shall be repeated; and,

• 5)

  The resolution that resolves the challenge must be properly reasoned, shall be final as of its pronouncement and no administrative remedy shall proceed against it. Furthermore, it must be immediately published in the portal of the corresponding institution or organization. Foreseeing the challenge of the representatives elected in assemblies, they shall designate, in addition to their representatives to the Board, a permanent commission with the power to admit or reject challenges and hear defenses, if applicable. If a challenge is admitted, said permanent commission shall convoke a new assembly session, which shall vote approving or rejecting the recommendation of the permanent commission and electing the substitute. The institutions and organizations convoked to compose the Board must provide in the scheduling of their designation processes the deadlines set forth in this Article for the filing and resolution of challenges; in such a way that they may communicate to the National Congress the names of their representatives within the deadlines established in this Law.

FINANCING AND LOGISTICS OF THE NOMINATING BOARD'S OPERATIONS. To fulfill the object and purposes of this Law, the operating expenses of the Board, as well as its logistical operations, shall be covered and distributed equitably and proportionally among its resources by the seven (7) member institutions and organizations. In case it is not possible to assume the expenses by any of the entities that compose the Nominating Board, they may receive donations from recognized international Human Rights organizations. Likewise, if necessary, the Nominating Board may receive resources from the National Congress whenever it so requests. The proposing institutions and organizations may not influence, based on their contributions, in the decisions of the Board.

POWERS OF THE NOMINATING BOARD. The powers of the Nominating Board are the following:

• 1)

  To prepare a schedule with the stages of its work, anticipating the deadlines established constitutionally, but always keeping the principles established in Article 3 of this Law;

• 2)

  To issue the regulations of this Law and apply the evaluation matrix and the illustrative technical instructions that contain the international human rights standards developed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers in accordance with the content of international treaties related to the function of the judiciary and international jurisprudence on judicial independence, and other International Instruments Adopted by Honduras related to the matter.

• 3)

  To prepare a schedule with the stages of its work, anticipating the deadlines established constitutionally, but always keeping the principles established in Article 3 of this Law;

• 4)

  To approve, prior to the convocation, the technical instruments that, among other elements, define the ideal profile of the candidates to be selected, the evaluation and scoring criteria in accordance with said profile, the documentation that will be requested from the applicants and a question bank for interviews in accordance with the technical evaluation matrix that shall be prepared in accordance with the international human rights standards developed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, in accordance with the content of international treaties related to the function of the judiciary and international jurisprudence on judicial independence;

• 5)

  To require specific criteria of excellence, to guarantee professional suitability and the moral and ethical quality of the candidates, supplementing the basic requirements established in the rest of the Honduran legal system;

• 6)

  To conduct a public convocation, in print and electronic media and to receive directly for its study, in the office of the institution or organization whose representative holds the position of Secretary, self-nominations of professionals who apply for the Supreme Court of Justice;

• 7)

  To open a file with the name of each of the applicants;

• 8)

  To verify that the applicants are suitable for the position, verifying, through the appropriate tests and investigations, that they meet the legal requirements and criteria of excellence and that they do not incur in disabilities or conflicts of interest;

• 9)

  To receive and resolve complaints and objections against the applicants, always guaranteeing the right to a defense;

• 10)

  To conduct public interviews with the candidates on key issues or matters that could help the Board to prepare its final list, in accordance with the highest standards of professional, moral and personal suitability;

• 11)

  To evaluate and objectively weigh the merits of the professionals participating in the process, taking into account also criteria of gender equity, ethnic diversity and disability status;

• 12)

  To deliver to the National Congress and to the general public, a list of no fewer than forty-five (45) candidates for the Supreme Court of Justice, along with a detailed report on the evaluation of personal and professional merits of the candidates included and not included in the final list; and,

• 13)

  To guarantee the participation of observers and the broadest publicity and transparency of all its activities, from the beginning to the end of its work. CHAPTER III OF THE PREPARATORY PROCEDURES OF THE BOARD

INTERNAL ORGANIZATION AND ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS. Once sworn in, the members of the Board shall meet immediately to determine its internal organization, electing through the holding of a public drawing at least a president, a secretary and an official spokesperson. In support of the Secretariat, the Board shall establish a Technical Secretariat, under the direction of one of the member institutions or organizations. The Technical Secretary shall not have a vote in the decisions adopted, but is obligated to observe, like the members of the Nominating Board, the technical evaluation matrix prepared in accordance with the international human rights standards developed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur and other International Instruments of the Inter-American System, on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers in accordance with the content of international treaties related to the function of the judiciary and international jurisprudence on judicial independence. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each principal member of the Nominating Board may designate an assistant, who shall not have voice or vote, who meets the same requirements established in Article 8 of this Law, who shall faithfully keep a memorandum of everything done and file all documents necessary for the report that he or she must render to the organization he or she represents after the process is completed. The Board shall issue the regulations of this Law no later than one (1) calendar month after its installation, publishing it in the Official Journal "La Gaceta" and in three (3) media outlets of national circulation. It must also approve in the same deadline and publish in the same manner the technical evaluation matrix prepared in accordance with the international human rights standards developed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, in accordance with the content of international treaties related to the function of the judiciary and international jurisprudence on judicial independence, and the corresponding illustrative instructions that must ensure, through objective, clear and measurable indicators, that the selected persons meet the conditions of integrity and professional and personal suitability, as well as the appropriate legal training or qualifications. The existence and prior publicity of this regulations shall be an essential requirement for the convocation to nominations.

TRANSPARENCY AND OBSERVATION OF THE BOARD'S ACTIVITIES. The broad participation of observers from civil society, representatives of countries, agencies and international missions duly accredited, media in all its formats and the general public is guaranteed. The sessions, hearings and interviews held by the Nominating Board shall be public; the voting shall be done through name recording and shall be broadcast live through state channels and the official social networks of the institutions and organizations composing the Board that have the means to do so, as well as other media outlets. Likewise, an electronic transparency portal shall be enabled in which all information shall be placed, including the minutes of its meetings, in accordance with the guidelines of the Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information and its Regulations. In this sense, the applicants must authorize the publication of public versions of the documentation they present during the process. The Board shall accredit one of its members as a public information officer to the Institute of Access to Public Information. CHAPTER IV OF THE NOMINATION AND SELECTION PROCESS OF CANDIDATES

CONVOCATION TO NOMINATIONS. During the first half of October of the year of election, the Nominating Board shall issue a general convocation so that the lawyers and female lawyers who meet Article 309 of the Constitution of the Republic that establishes the legal requirements and the complementary criteria of excellence established in Article 310 of the Constitution of the Republic, defined in the profile that shall be prepared, present their self-nomination. The convocation shall expressly encourage the submission of nominations by women and professionals from sectors insufficiently represented in the judiciary. The convocation shall be published in the Official Journal "La Gaceta", or in at least three (3) media outlets, print or digital, of guaranteed national coverage; being incorporated also in the digital platforms of the institutions and organizations composing the Board that have these resources. Those interested shall submit the documentation required in the convocation to the Secretariat of the Board no later than October thirty-first (31) of the year of the election. The institutions and organizations that compose the Nominating Board may not present applicants.

REQUIREMENTS AND DISABILITIES TO SELF-NOMINATE BEFORE THE NOMINATING BOARD. Those who respond to the call of the Nominating Board must meet the requirements established in Article 309 of the Constitution of the Republic and not be incurred in the presumptions and disabilities contained respectively in Articles 225 and 310 of the Constitution of the Republic and must present with their self-nomination a sworn statement regarding their assets and bank accounts, of not having investigations or pending criminal, civil, administrative or any other type of judicial proceedings or disciplinary proceedings in process before the Bar Association of Honduras (CAH), the bank accounts shall not be public. Furthermore, they must prove the following: 1) Not to have been sanctioned for serious misconduct in the Bar Association, the Notary Controller's Office or the disciplinary bodies of the institutions or organizations in which he or she has worked; and, 2) Not to have been convicted by final judgment for domestic violence or for non-payment of child support and, those who are not in the enjoyment and exercise of their rights.

FILES AND DOCUMENTATION OF APPLICANTS. The Nominating Board shall open a file for each of the applicants, where the curriculum vitae, documentation supplied by the relevant institutions of the State at the request of the Board, investigations or opinions gathered, interview responses, complaints and objections filed against them, evaluation and merit weighting forms, the final report and any other relevant document shall be filed. The Nominating Board shall send to the Secretariat of the National Congress a copy of each request and documents presented by the applicants, said remittance shall be made on the next business day following its receipt.

PHASE OF TESTS AND INVESTIGATIONS FOR VERIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS, INABILITIES AND KNOWLEDGE. To verify compliance with legal requirements for the position and criteria of excellence, the non-existence of inabilities and suitability, the Board shall order the conduct of toxicological, psychometric and written tests of legal knowledge, respecting the dignity of the human person. Under no circumstances shall the polygraph test be administered. With respect to applicants who have passed the three (3) tests in the preceding paragraph, investigations shall be conducted regarding everything related to their personal, professional and patrimonial trajectory, requesting and receiving all information from institutions, organizations and persons that it deems competent and relevant, which shall respond within a period not exceeding ten (10) business days, under penalty of incurring the legal responsibility that corresponds, in case of delay or non-compliance. In the performance of this attribution, the Board may keep the name of informants confidential, if so requested, but shall not receive anonymous communications. For the conduct of these tests and investigations, the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), the Directorate of Forensic Medicine, the Secretariat of State in the Office of Health, the Superior Court of Accounts (TSC) and the competent public and private agencies are obligated to provide priority support to the Board, complying with the deadlines it establishes. The Board may request the cooperation of the Superintendency for the Application of Trust Evaluation Tests, which shall be made available to the Board immediately and unconditionally, in cases of tests or investigations for which there is no public or private agency that can provide the service with the same quality and timeliness, but shall not be subject to the General Law of the Superintendency for the Application of Trust Evaluation Tests, contained in Decree No. 254-2013 dated December 16, 2013, containing the General Law of the Superintendency for the Application of Trust Evaluation Tests, published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" dated March 6, 2014.

INTERVIEW PHASE. Once a preliminary list is available with the applicants who have successfully passed and obtained the highest scores in the previous phase, these professionals shall be summoned to appear before the Nominating Board, to be interviewed, in public, on key topics or matters that could help the Board form its list of candidates in accordance with the highest standards of professional, moral and personal suitability.

SELECTION CRITERIA. The Board shall clearly differentiate between elements that simply allow an applicant to continue in the process, such as compliance with legal requirements, the non-existence of inabilities, the passing of psychometric tests or patrimonial investigations, and the selection criteria that attest to the exceptional professional and personal trajectory that the position of magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice warrants. To this end, the technical evaluation matrix provided for in this Article shall be applied and for illustration the implementing instructions developed in accordance with international human rights standards developed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, in accordance with the content of international treaties related to the judicial function, international jurisprudence on judicial independence and international standards on the matter. Therefore, according to the profile that shall be developed, those applicants who effectively meet the requirements of integrity, professional ethics, capacity and suitability shall be deemed eligible. The verification of integrity shall take mainly into account professional good conduct, professional esteem, recognition by the public legal community, the repercussions of their professional actions and objective assessments of their performance in professional practice, and shall have not been convicted of domestic violence or non-compliance with their child support obligations. Non-compliance by the candidate entails the non-assignment of score for this requirement. This component shall contribute twenty-five percent (25%) of the final score. The verification of professional ethics shall be objectively justified, based on the existence or non-existence of disciplinary and judicial proceedings and their results. Account shall also be taken of their relationships with clients, users, institutions or companies in the exercise of their profession. If there exists any complaint against an applicant regarding their professional practice, the Nominating Board shall evaluate the specific case. The selection criteria and indicators established for this requirement in the evaluation matrix are of a cancellatory nature. Non-compliance by the candidate with any of them shall entail the non-assignment of a score for this requirement. This component shall contribute twenty percent (20%) of the final score. To demonstrate suitability and capacity for the position, an objective appraisal shall be made of their academic, professional and social projection merits, including the written test on general legal knowledge, the evaluation of their analytical capacity during the interview and, in the case of an applicant who is a judge or magistrate, the quantity and quality of sentences rendered. In this regard, inquiry shall be made into their command of human rights regulations related to access to and administration of justice; differentiated or inclusive justice regarding persons in vulnerable situations; and public judicial policies with a human rights perspective and other areas of law. This component shall contribute fifty-five percent (55%) of the final score. -- Technical Evaluation Matrix -- Requirements | Selection Criterion | Indicators | Assigned Scores | Total Percentage 1) Personal and Professional Integrity | 1) Good professional and personal conduct | Compliance with patrimonial obligations of any kind | 5% | 25% 2) Professional esteem | Public recognition linked to professional trajectory | 5% | Analysis of the repercussions of their professional actions | 5% | Objective analysis of their relationships in the employment, contractual and any other type of relations and family relations. | 5% | Not having been convicted of domestic violence or non-compliance with child support obligations | 5% | 2) Professional Ethics | 1) Professional performance | Absence of disciplinary proceedings, carried out by the Bar Association, Controller of the Notariate or any institution or organization with a labor or professional link. Analysis shall be made of whether disciplinary proceedings were conducted in accordance with due process guarantees. | 20% | 2) Professional and personal relationships incompatible with the exercise of the judiciary and with the confidence that this position must inspire in the citizenry | Analysis that their professional relationships with clients, users, institutions or companies do not present ethical objections. | 3) Serious ethical objections | Absence of discriminatory behaviors or discourse that fail to recognize human rights in general | 3) Technical Suitability and Capacity | 1) Technical knowledge in the branch of law and specializations linked to the position | 1) Academic and professional merits | 20% | 55% 2) Knowledge regarding international human rights standards related to access to and administration of justice. | 2) Professional trajectory representative of the professional experience that the position warrants | 15% | 3) Knowledge about public judicial policies with a human rights-based approach | 3) Legal knowledge, including specializations linked to the position, in human rights standards and public policies for access to justice and capacity for analysis. | 20%

COMPLAINTS AND OBJECTIONS AGAINST APPLICANTS. With respect to the preliminary list of applicants who shall proceed to the final interview, any person may file a complaint or objection

COMPLAINTS AND OBJECTIONS AGAINST APPLICANTS. With respect to the preliminary list of applicants who shall proceed to the final interview, any person may file a complaint or objection against any of those summoned, by means of a written statement grounded in the requirements, inabilities and selection criteria established in this Law. A complaint shall be understood as information intended to question the integrity or ethics of the applicant, as well as to point out alleged administrative, civil or criminal liabilities. An objection refers to non-compliance with requirements, the existence of inabilities or the lack of suitability and professional capacity of the applicant. The Nominating Board shall set a peremptory period of seven (7) business days to receive complaints and objections, which shall be accompanied by the evidence that supports them or the specific indication of where the evidence is located; otherwise, they shall be dismissed. As soon as they are admitted, the Nominating Board shall forward every objection, challenge or questioning to the applicant in question, granting them five (5) business days to respond by presenting evidence in their defense. Once the response is received, the Nominating Board shall rule, with a hearing of the interested party within a period of three (3) business days. The ruling, duly reasoned, shall be notified electronically and published. In the event that the complaint is sustained, the complained or objected applicant shall be removed from the list and excluded from the process. If the Nominating Board identifies indications of the commission of a crime, it shall immediately bring them to the attention of the Attorney General of the Republic. If the complaint or objection is declared unfounded, the applicant may continue with the following stages of the process.

FINAL SELECTION PHASE WITH GENDER EQUITY. Once the previous phases have been completed, the Board shall objectively evaluate and weigh the merits of the female and male professionals participating in the process in accordance with the technical evaluation matrix. In this phase, applicants shall be divided into two (2) groups, women and men. The list of no fewer than forty-five (45) candidates shall be composed of the twenty-three (23) women and twenty-two (22) men best evaluated based on the selection criteria determined in the preceding Article 19 and taking into account the scores obtained; then preparing a joint list, in order from highest to lowest score. In no case may the proportion between women and men be altered.

DELIVERY OF THE LIST OF CANDIDATES TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS. Once all the stages contemplated in this Law have been completed and the final list has been constituted, the Nominating Board shall deliver to the Permanent Commission of the National Congress the list of no fewer than forty-five (45) candidates together with a detailed report on the evaluation of the professional and personal merits of the candidates included in the final list, as well as the disqualifications, inabilities and incompatibilities of those who were not included therein. The Board shall clearly explain the reasons why each candidate on the list was nominated, according to the score obtained; also accrediting the reasons why the other applicants were not included, including, where applicable, the procedures followed by complaints and objections. In all cases, the dignity and privacy of the applicants and their families shall be preserved. The list and report shall be presented simultaneously to the National Congress and the general public within the first half of January of the year of the election of magistrates. This report shall be published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", in three (3) media of social communication, print or digital and digital platforms so that it is of general knowledge. The National Congress may not elect any person who is not included in the list delivered by the Nominating Board. Those who have been magistrates in previous Supreme Courts, as well as current members seeking re-election, shall have the right, equally with other applicants, to participate in the selection process regulated by this Law, subject to compliance with all the requirements and stages established herein. In their final election, the National Congress shall maintain gender parity by electing no fewer than seven (7) women as magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice.

DISSOLUTION OF THE NOMINATING BOARD. Once the list of candidates for magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice has been delivered to the National Congress, the Nominating Board shall conclude its functions and shall be dissolved for all purposes. The dissolution shall be notified to the National Congress and to the institutions and organizations that were summoned to its integration. The supporting documentation of the list and detailed report delivered to the National Congress shall remain, after inventory, in the custody of the organization or institution that served as the Secretary of the Board and shall be subject to the Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information, as well as the regulations on preservation of archives and documents issued by the Institute of Access to Public Information (IAIP).

INTERPRETATION AND SYSTEM OF SOURCES. Regarding the organization and functioning of the Nominating Board and the process of election of magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, the provisions of this special Law shall prevail over any other legal or regulatory norm. The interpretation of this Law shall be conducted in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic and international human rights treaties. For aspects not contemplated in this norm, administrative law shall apply.

REGULATIONS AND OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. The Nominating Board shall issue the Regulation of this Law within a period not exceeding one (1) calendar month, counted from its installation by the President of the National Congress. The Board shall apply the evaluation matrix approved in this Decree and the particular technical implementing instructions shall be for illustration purposes; these shall be prepared in accordance with international human rights standards developed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, in accordance with the content of international treaties related to the judicial function and international jurisprudence on judicial independence, for specific phases of the process. All internal regulations and technical instruments shall be approved and published before the convocation and receipt of applications. The regulation and implementing instructions shall be fully subject to the content of this Law, with provisions that contradict it being without force; without prejudice to the responsibilities that may be incurred pursuant to Law. The Nominating Board is exempt from payment of the costs of any publication that it is obligated to make in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta", by reason of its functions. The Secretariat of State in the Offices of Governance, Justice and Decentralization, as well as the Directorate of [the Board] shall provide immediate collaboration in all its requests and shall give priority to its publications.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISION. For this time only, the period to carry out the convocation to the institutions and organizations provided for in Article 7 of this Law shall begin to run from the date of publication of this Decree and shall expire at midnight on the last day of July of this year.

REPEAL. Decree No. 140-2001 dated September 25, 2001, published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" dated October 5, 2001, containing the ORGANIC LAW OF THE NOMINATING BOARD FOR THE ELECTION OF CANDIDATES FOR MAGISTRATES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE, and its reforms and any other legal or regulatory norm opposed to this Law are hereby repealed.

EFFECTIVE DATE. This Law shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Chamber of the National Congress, on the nineteenth day of the month of July of two thousand twenty-two. LUIS ROLANDO REDONDO GUIFARRO PRESIDENT CARLOS ARMANDO ZELAYA ROSALES SECRETARY LUZ ANGÉLICA SMITH MEJÍA SECRETARY To the Executive Branch Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., July 20, 2022. IRIS XIOMARA CASTRO SARMIENTO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF GOVERNANCE, JUSTICE AND DECENTRALIZATION TOMÁS EDUARDO VAQUERO MORRIS