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Law approved to retire judges and prosecutors at age 60

2021-09-01T23:33:23.873Z


The measure establishes the mandatory retirement of judges who turn 60 or have 30 years in service, among other considerations.


They seek constitutional reform in El Salvador 3:00

(CNN Spanish) -

The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved this Tuesday the reform to the Law of the Judicial Career that establishes the mandatory retirement of judges who turn 60 or have 30 years of service, and changes the transfer procedure to others areas.

Until now there was no age limit to be a judge or prosecutor.

The deputies approved with 63 votes of the 84 possible the measure proposed by a deputy of the ruling party New Ideas (NI), which controls the Legislative Assembly with a large majority.

The reforms to nine articles of the Law of the Judicial Career were described by the opposition as a coup to judicial independence.

"It is violating the little judicial independence that remained in the country," said René Portillo Cuadra, a deputy for the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance.

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However, NI assures that the reforms seek to do justice and warns that it will promote mobility in the judicial body.

"This day is historic because true justice begins in our country," said the deputy of that party Rebeca Santos.

The opposition also criticized the reforms because it considers that it violates the powers of the different public powers.

A ruling by the Constitutional Chamber in 2016 established that the reforms that "affect the structure of the Judicial Branch" are exclusive to the Supreme Court of Justice to "prevent" the president or deputies from presenting initiatives that have repercussions on the judicial system.

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Protected by that ruling, several non-governmental organizations that have rejected the reforms do not rule out filing an appeal for annulment, which will be analyzed by the magistrates sworn in by the Assembly in May.

"Judicial independence does not mean perpetuity in office. This reform allows mobility within the judicial system. In all there are cycles and in the vast majority of professions there are retirement times", justified Guillermo Gallegos, deputy of the Great Alliance for Unity National.

For his part, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, applauded the reforms and asked the deputies not to lose the conviction of making history.

"They have shown the courage to go, step by step, changing what is wrong in our country," the president wrote on his Twitter account.

According to the procedure of elaboration of a law, Bukele can sanction it, make observations or veto it.

The changes will come into effect eight days after being published in the official gazette, in accordance with the text of the decrees approved by the deputies.

Similar reforms in the Public Prosecutor's Office

The deputies also approved with 64 out of 84 possible votes a series of reforms to the Fiscal Career Law aimed at retiring or transferring prosecutors with 60 years or 30 years of service to other functions.

Currently, the requirements to be able to retire for old age in El Salvador are to turn 60 and have worked at least 25 in the case of men.

Women must be 55 years old and 25 of them must have worked, as established in article 202 of the Law on the Savings System for pensions.

The reforms approved on Tuesday empower the attorney general to make the necessary transfers and make new appointments.

The current head of the Public Prosecutor's Office was appointed by the deputies with a pro-government majority on May 1, after the dismissal of Raúl Melara.

Background

The Legislative Assembly has already approved changes in the Supreme Court of Justice.

On May 1, the day the new deputies with a pro-government majority took office, they removed the magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber and appointed new judicial officials in their place.

That decision caused various reactions in the international community, which highlighted its concern over what it considered the lack of counterweights of a democracy and the disrespect for the separation of powers.

The United States was one of the countries that raised its voice to criticize what happened at that time.

For example, Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her concern about the situation in El Salvador on social media.

"We have deep concerns about El Salvador's democracy, in light of the vote in the National Assembly to remove judges from the Constitutional Court. An independent judiciary is key to a healthy democracy ... and to a strong economy," Harris said. on May 2 on his Twitter account.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-09-01

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