The Supreme Court of Argentina assumed this Monday (18) the presidency of the Council of the Judiciary, the body that manages the resources of the Judiciary and has the function of appointing, sanctioning and dismissing judges, deepening the political dispute with the Executive, especially with the sector that reports to the vice president, Cristina Kirchner.
The president of the Argentine Supreme Court, Horacio Rosatti, now presides over the Judiciary Council, based on a decision handed down this Monday by the Supreme Court itself that responds to a determination of its plenary session at the end of 2021, which had declared the configuration and the functioning of that body.
Cristina Kirchner openly criticized this movement last Sunday on her social networks, warning about “the caste that no one talks about”, in reference to Rosatti, and retweeting the message of a journalist who said that this judge will assume the presidency of the Judiciary Council “ thanks to a decision handed down by himself and without leaving his position on the court, which he also won when he elected himself months ago”.
For his part, Justice Minister Martín Soria, close to Cristina, told Radio 10 this Monday that what is happening is an “institutional coup” by the Supreme Court, which “pursues political objectives clearly framed in opposition to the government”.
Opposition leaders believe that the new configuration of the council will prevent the executive from removing certain judges or frustrating the appointment of opposition candidates, in a context in which Cristina Kirchner, who was president of the country between 2007 and 2015, faces several legal proceedings for corruption.
The Judiciary Council, created with the constitutional reform of 1994, initially had 20 members, but, due to a reform promoted in 2006 by the then senator and current vice president of the country, it now has 13 members.
This reform was challenged in court for breaking with the balanced representation imposed by the Constitution. A complaint by the Buenos Aires Bar Association in this regard has advanced to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional on December 16 of last year and urged Congress to pass, within a reasonable period of time, a law that would organize the Council of the Judiciary or that within 120 days – expiring on April 15 – return to the composition of 20 members. , presided over by the holder of the Supreme Court, or else its acts would be null and void.
During these months, the government failed to pass a law in Congress to reform the Council of the Judiciary in accordance with its wishes, which led to the current situation.
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