A highly important Supreme Court Election
Last November, Honduras initiated its Supreme Court election process. The process is composed of many bureaucratic procedures but the action begins with the Junta Nominadora [Nominating Board] which is in charge of vetting all the candidates and sending a list of at least 45 candidates to the National Congress for election. The nominating board is composed of representatives from a variety of sectors, including members from the national college of lawyers, civil society, the Honduran council of private business (COHEP), the Workers Confederation, and others.
The board demonstrated a good job of following the protocols and guidelines stipulated by the nominating process. Last week, the finalized list of 45 candidates was sent to the National Congress, and out of those 45, only 15 will be elected as Supreme Court Justices or magistrates as they are known in Honduras.
Experts and political analysts claim that this year the election of the Supreme Court is more important than ever. According to Ursula Indachochea, Lawyer for the Due Process Foundation, an organization that advocates for the rule of law and access to human rights, this year's Supreme Court nomination is crucial due to its role in fighting Honduras’ “endemic corruption”. Indachochea explained that it is important to uphold a supreme court as an independent body in order to regulate the unchecked political power of Honduran political actors.
The court will also play an important role in establishing the International Commission against Impunity in Honduras (CICIH). Victor Fernandez, lawyer and expert on Honduran law, explained that in the past years, the Supreme Court enabled impunity and corruption, thus this year the election of 15 candidates will decide what path will Honduras take.
In the initial list of 185 candidates, the nominating board was able to eliminate most of the candidates with criminal records, drug-trafficking ties, and legal disputes but some made it to the final list due to the dismissal of their records. Now it is up to the National Congress to appoint the best.
Interested in the 45 candidates and their past? Check this database created by Contracorriente (In Spanish) 🌎
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