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The renewal of the Court, amidst the judicial controversy
Posted On 05 Sep 2017
Ecuadornews:
The controversy over the alleged interference of former President Rafael Correa in Justice does not stop the competition to elect the new judges promoted by the Judiciary Council.
268 postulants who passed the registration and nomination phase of the contest to replace judges Maritza Pérez, Wilson Andino, Óscar Bermúdez, Gladys Terán, Alfonso Granizo, Carmen Salgado and Jorge Blum will be interviewed this week.
The President of the Council Gustavo Jalkh pledged for transparency. But the voices that consider it necessary to suspend the contest are heard.
The reason? The leak of emails exchanged by former president Rafael Correa with Jalkh cast doubt on the fair selection. Jalkh has acknowledged that there was communication with Correa but questioned the veracity of the content of the emails. Furthermore, for him, it is about hacking.
Mauro Terán, a former judge of the disappeared Supreme Court of Justice, believes that this is a conjectural issue, which should be postponed “until the ruling party removes the hands of Justice.” He considers that this will only be achieved when a Constituent Assembly reinstates the Supreme Court as head of the judiciary. Terán was one of the last judges of that Court that was replaced in the Constitution of 2008 and had jurisdiction throughout the territory. The plenary is composed of 21 judges who in January will choose a president who will serve three years in office. (I)