Vance Center Joins Discussion on Judicial Appointments in Guatemala

Vance Center Associate Executive Director Jaime Chávez Alor and other panelists at the panel discussion, “Meritocracia y Objetividad para una Justicia Independiente,” in Guatemala City, September 10, 2024. Photo credit: Diálogos

Nearly 100 people attended the event, “Meritocracia y Objetividad para una Justicia Independiente,” organized by think tank Diálogos in Guatemala City. 

In addition to Chávez Alor, the panel discussion featured insights from María Dolores Miño, executive director of Ecuadorian human rights organization Observatorio de Derechos y Justicia; Daniel Haering, anticorruption researcher at Diálogos; and moderator Francisco Rodriguez de León, executive director of digital news outlet Plaza Pública. The speakers offered their perspectives on the importance of a merit-based system to appoint judges and magistrates, as a way to support a more independent and professional justice system. 

Guatemala is currently appointing judges for its highest courts—a process in which nomination commissions will evaluate the profiles of more than 1,500 candidates to fill 280 seats. The Vance Center has produced several reports and other documents emphasizing why this process must align with international standards, while also noting the need for additional reform. 

In his remarks, Chávez Alor outlined different models that would guarantee compliance with international standards, pointing to the recent reform of the Mexican judiciary as an example of a system being modified against international standards. He underscored the importance of judicial independence for the legal community, the private sector, and society in general, noting the risks that arise in a system that cannot guarantee impartiality. 

Chávez Alor also discussed the fundamental need for judicial independence to support local and global efforts to fight corruption, and how this leads corrupt actors to target judges and other justice operators. He noted that this regional trend has been apparent in Guatemala, where independent judges fighting corruption have faced criminal charges, harassment, threats and other attacks, many of them coming from the Attorney General’s office. 

He pointed out that the judicial appointment process does not just impact the makeup and decisions of the courts in question, but that appointing independent judges can also ensure greater protections for all independent judges, prosecutors, journalists and human rights defenders, enabling them to continue investigating and addressing corruption and human rights violations. 

Chávez Alor also emphasized the importance of supporting well prepared, experienced and ethical candidates, instead of only opposing those with questioned trajectories. 

Miño shared her experience in Ecuador and discussed the fundamental role civil society plays in appointing judges, including though monitoring and evaluation efforts. She urged the audience to remember the crucial role of judges in society, and argued that better understanding that role provides all of us with the tools to defend judicial independence. 

Haering offered a long-term view, pointing out that concrete efforts to reform Guatemala’s appointment process now will ensure that the next round, in 2029, will be different. He and Chávez Alor mentioned several specific points for reform, including extending judges’ terms from five years to nine or more, staggering individual judges’ appointments so that entire courts are not turning over all at once, and separating administrative functions from the court. 

Chávez Alor also recorded an interview with Haering for the TanGente podcast, continuing the conversation around the importance and principles of judicial independence.