Guatemala: Human rights expert denounces possible reprisals against judges in corruption cases

Judge Carlos Giovanni Ruano, of the Ninth Criminal Sentencing Court of Guatemala, is facing a pre-trial process that seeks to withdraw his immunity so that the Prosecutor’s Office can open criminal proceedings against him, in a case that could be a reprisal for his official work in a case of corruption in high levels of government.

The special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers* expressed serious concern about the case, stressing the importance of the independence of the judiciary.

“A fundamental principle of judicial independence is that judges should not be subject to criminal or disciplinary measures for the performance of their dutiessaid Margaret Satterthwaite.

The pretrial process

The expert explained that the pre-trial proceedings against Judge Ruano “intends to remove the immunity enjoyed by judges against undue criminal prosecution” and stated that this Immunity “is essential to the judicial functionas it protects judges from undue influence or intimidation”.

In Guatemala, the judges, ministers, deputies and the president they must go through a pre-trial process before being investigated by the Public Ministry. This is a right that gives them immunity from complaints against them.

When the complaint is against a judge, The Supreme Court of Justice decides if the complaint proceeds and, if so, it assigns an investigative judge who will listen to the accused and the complainant to later recommend whether or not the immunity of the accused should be withdrawn, in which case the Prosecutor’s Office can begin an investigation.

The Supreme Court of Justice then evaluates the recommendation of the investigating judge and you can order your immunity to be withdrawn to the judge in question.

Supreme Court Justice

The magistrate Carlos Giovanni Ruano is accused of having recorded a magistrate precisely from the Supreme Court of Justice, pressuring him to let his son out of jail. The pre-trial request was filed last October, just a month after that magistrate had been reinstated in the country’s highest court.

The Special Rapporteur referred with alarm to the patterns of criminalization against justice operators who have worked in cases of corruption or serious human rights violations in Guatemala.

Satterthwaite stated that this case appears to represent the latest in a series of attacks against judges, judges and prosecutors, and urged the authorities to take urgent measures to guarantee their protection.

abuse of law

Furthermore, the expert warned that in Guatemala “criminal law is being abused to target justice operatorsthe same people who protect and guarantee human rights, who are strengthening the rule of law and taking great steps in the fight against impunity in the country.”

In this sense, urged authorities to take emergency measures that guarantee that judges, prosecutors and other judicial officials do not suffer attacks or reprisals for their work.

The UN special rapporteur has been in contact with the Guatemalan government to raise her concern in this regard.

* The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.