NGO proposes path to IACHR for independent Supreme Court magistrate selection

The NGO Acceso a la Justicia has presented a proposal to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) outlining a process for the independent selection of magistrates for the Supreme Court of Justice. The organization believes Venezuela is undergoing a "re-institutionalization process" that offers a historic chance to rebuild democratic institutions and align the magistrate selection with constitutional models.

The NGO highlighted that the judicial renewal process, which began in April, was halted in late June due to a significant earthquake. However, they stressed that this process is part of the dialogue table's agenda for re-institutionalization, providing an opportunity to correct its flaws before it continues. Acceso a la Justicia considers these corrections "indispensable."

The organization pointed out that the current Organic Law of the Supreme Court of Justice deviates from the Constitution. The constitution grants the pre-selection of candidates to a Judicial Nominations Committee with exclusive civil society participation. In contrast, the existing law transfers this control to the National Assembly, diminishing citizen involvement and increasing the potential for political manipulation.

Acceso a la Justicia reminded that the law was recently amended to increase the number of magistrates. They argued that if the law could be modified to alter the court's composition, it can also be reformed to conform to the Constitution and reinstate civil society's central role in pre-selection. Even without such a reform, the NGO insisted that the selection process must revert to the nomination stage, as it lacked the transparency required by law. This necessitates, at a minimum, publishing the evaluation criteria, the number of vacancies, the relevant chambers, and all information needed to ensure an open, verifiable, and citizen-scrutinized process.