Natasha Niebieskikwiat
04/09/2020 - 14:24
Clarín.com
Politics
"People who do not respect the system make the whole system look bad and lose credibility. Many times the judge cannot defend himself from public criticism, but it is the City Bar Associations and the lawyers themselves who have the important responsibility to defend that judge, even if they do not agree with the ruling. Because
attacking a judge is attacking the judicial system
and all those who are part of that judicial system, "United States Ambassador
Edward Prado
had said
on Monday, in a virtual meeting organized by the City Bar Association.
It was one of the few social activities that the diplomat has had during the quarantine, which keeps him locked up with his wife, María, in the American residence on Avenida del Libertador and Kennedy.
But it was a
conversation before critical figures of the current context in which Kirchnerism is
advancing with a controversial judicial reform and also seeks official intervention in the market for cell phones, internet and cable TV.
Prado said in general lines the usual
.
He spoke about justice, the independence of powers and his vision of the legal system in the United States.
It is the matter in which he feels comfortable, since
before being an ambassador he was a judge for decades
in the State of Texas.
He had recently spoken about something similar before Buenos Aires legislators.
But the one who was most sensitized was Senator K Oscar Parrilli, who this week attacked Prado, although
the diplomat did not mention the Argentine case
.
The former spy chief crossed Prado hard in the Senate session on Thursday.
Parrilli accused Trump's ambassador of attempting "against the respectful relations that President Alberto Fernández has with the US government."
He noted that "the most serious thing is that this senator (sic) Edward Prado, who came to the country in May 2018, appointed by Trump, came and said he was coming to help improve Argentine justice. He had friends here: the Minister of Justice at that time, some judges, prosecutors like
Stornelli, Marijuan
, judges like
Bonadio
, who attended every July 4 to pay homage or I don't know what to this ambassador, "he attacked.
"Obviously, if this Trump ambassador came to help, he did a lot of damage and the truth is that the best thing he should do is
keep his mouth shut
and not meddle in the internal affairs of Argentina."
The episode recalls the one starring the late former Foreign Minister
Héctor Timerman,
when in September 2014 he
threatened today the then United States Charge d'Affaires in Argentina, Kevin Sullivan
, to take “more severe measures stipulated in the Vienna Convention on conduct diplomatic representatives ”and suggested expelling him.
Sullivan was criticized for his exclusive statements to
Clarín
, in which he advised that Argentina should come out of default soon and fix its problems with the financial market.
But Parrilli's attack against Prado is now taking place
without the diplomat having said a single word about the judicial reform
that is being discussed in Argentina, although he did speak about an issue that sensitizes the current government.
Prado addressed the President of the Bar Association and said the following:
"
My experience as a federal magistrate in the United States, in addition to having been a public defender and a prosecutor, allows me to comment more strongly on the justice system in my country and I am grateful that you have thought of me for this presentation.
It was through seminars like this that for the first time I came to know Argentina. As the doctor said, before being ambassador, when he was still a federal judge in the United States,
I came to Argentina to give presentations on our judicial system
and share our good practices.
I always came with my wife, and we fell in love with the country, its people, and its culture, the food.
That is why I was very happy when I had the honor of being named Ambassador of the United States here in Argentina.
Senator Parrilli, during the virtual session this Thursday, when he criticized Ambassador Edward Prado.
The good performance of justice is crucial in any society, whether in Argentina or the United States. It is important to many aspects of our societies,
from the safety of our citizens to the investment climate for companies
.
This is why seminars like this are so important.
In Shakespeare's Henry VI, A Rebel, Dick the Butcher - Richard the Butcher - describes how he is going to overthrow the government, saying, "The first thing we will do is kill all the lawyers." There are several interpretations of this famous phrase; not all favor lawyers very much. But I think that, with this phrase, Shakespeare does not criticize lawyers negatively, but rather praises them. Because Shakespeare knew that
an anarchy could only work if lawyers, defenders of order and constitutional rights, were eliminated.
Today, as in Shakespeare's world, lawyers defend constitutional rights and guarantees, whether in the United States or here in Argentina.
As lawyers we have an obligation to strengthen judicial institutions and educate the public on the importance of law and order. We have to go to schools and talk to students, and we have to work on the free legal sponsorship of people.
From my experience as a federal judge, I learned how it is only possible to provide justice for the people when its different actors work in coordination, with the professionalism required by the system.
The prosecutor is part of a team that protects the welfare of citizens.
The defender protects the rights of the accused, guaranteed under the Constitution of the Nation. Sometimes the defender is the only person in the world who defends the accused.
Edward Prado, United States Ambassador to Argentina, during the City Bar Association conference.
The judge in the United States is like the arbitrator, he does not favor any part of the process.
He or she does not get involved in the investigation
or determine what witnesses or evidence will be presented.
They ensure that everyone follows the rules of the Court.
We all know that having an impartial referee is essential for a soccer game.
The same happens in justice.
It is essential that the judicial system be independent, transparent
and fair,
so that all people have confidence in the system.
Surveys in the United States show that the people of the United States have more confidence in the judiciary than in the other branches of government.
I believe there are several reasons for this: First, the courts are open to the public. This helps to have transparency in the system. Anyone can listen to the witnesses and the evidence presented and understand how the decisions that are made are arrived at; The people participate in the juries.
There is more confidence in the system when the public participate in it.
The public knows that the decisions were not just made by a judge, but by a group of citizens.
That aspect of justice exists here in Argentina when you begin to have trials with juries;
judges have the independence to make difficult decisions without fear of retaliation
;
the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Chambers of Appeal form precedents and guide the judges in the interpretation of the law.
This allows greater predictability in the system, both in criminal cases and in administrative or civil cases.
Judge Claudio Bonadio, at the cocktail party for the Independence of the United States, in 2017. Photo Emmanuel Fernández.
The bar association system requires the membership of all attorneys. These colleges have the authority to sanction inappropriate actions by attorneys and provide mandatory annual trainings and ethics courses.
The public knows that decisions are made in a timely manner. The judge focuses on managing the agenda that comes to him and
makes his decisions or rulings in the majority in less than a year.
Thanks to technology, lawyers can file petitions and judges can record decisions,
all electronically.
The press and the public have access to most of the documents through the web pages of the federal and provincial courts to strengthen transparency.
We are seeing the need for a good electronic justice system in the current times of pandemic.
This past Saturday was 15 years of Hurricane Katrina. The appellate court was in New Orleans, and we had to leave the city for four months. And the court was able to continue working electronically from another city. And that's what we are doing today, during this pandemic.
People who don't respect the system make the whole system look bad and lose credibility
.
Many times the judge cannot defend himself from public criticism, but it is the Bar Associations and the lawyers themselves who have the important responsibility of defending that judge, even if they do not agree with the ruling.
Because
attacking a judge is attacking the judicial system
and all those who are part of that judicial system.
At the same time,
we all have an obligation to say something if we see bad behavior in our courts,
because bad behavior hurts all of us who are part of the system and affects how the public sees us.
No judicial system is perfect. In the United States we already have more than 200 years of our judicial system and we still have problems and we continue every day trying to improve our courts.
You have the opportunity today to learn not only from the good practices of the United States, but also to learn from our mistakes, so that you can prevent those mistakes from occurring in your system.
The United States
highly values the institutional linkages between the judiciary of the United States and Argentina.
For this reason, our Embassy provides support in this sector through
exchanges and training in the accusatory system
, in trials by jury, and in complex investigations.
We hope to continue expanding and deepening our ties of cooperation and exchange.
We also highly value the exchange with Bar Associations, because we consider that lawyers are a fundamental part of the justice system.
For this reason, our Embassy participates in events aimed at lawyers through the Associations that group them through exchanges and presentations at events like this one. For example, last year I participated in a talk with the ABA of Buenos Aires that was organized by Amcham (Argentine-American Chamber of Commerce). I have also made presentations at various workshops with various attorneys, attorneys, and judges, about the change they are making in jury trials and the adversarial system.
Thank you again for inviting me to participate in this very important seminar for you.
I hope that everyone present here can expand their knowledge and continue to share good practices that serve to help us all.
My hope is that when this pandemic is over, we will have the opportunity to meet in person and have a more extensive discussion on the law of the law and the United States system and have a more informal chat.
We wait for you when the pandemic passes that we can get together and have this talk.
Thank you very much for your time, good luck and I look forward to seeing you in person.
Thanks for your time".
