The National Assembly (AN) appointed the preliminary commission of deputies that will be in charge of appointing the judicial nominations committeewith which Parliament activates the procedure for the selection of new judges of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
The president of the AN, Jorge Rodríguez, indicated that vacancies open in the highest court in the country for reasons such as resignation and retirement of magistrates, which is why Parliament proceeds, according to its constitutional powers, to order the formation of the judicial nominations committee.
Rodríguez indicated that the process is part of the announced judicial reform by the governor in charge, Delcy Rodriguezwho last weekend expressed that the changes will arise from a large national consultation. The Peace and Democratic Coexistence Program, chaired by former Minister of Culture Ernesto Villegas, and the commission that monitors the application of the Amnesty Law, headed by former Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, will also participate in the reform process.
The deputy (Psuv) Giuseppe Alessandrello He once again chairs the preliminary commission, as well as directed the Citizen Power nominations committee that recently appointed Larry Devoe as attorney general and Eglee Gonzalez Lobato as ombudsman. The retired military man also headed the committees that in the last administration of the AN appointed rectors of the Electoral Branch (twice) and magistrates of the TSJ.
Also making up the preliminary commission are deputies Carlos Mogollón, María Gabriela Vega, Desiree Santos Amaral, Fernando Bastidas, Jose Villarroel, Luis Augusto Romero (Democratic Alliance) and Antonio Ecarri of the Pencil Alliance.
The route towards the new appointment of TSJ magistrates occurs amid rumors about the departure of 12 of the 20 main members of the country’s highest court, which has been interpreted as a “purge” to remove from their positions magistrates related to the representative detained in the United States, Cilia Flores.
The Judicial Nominations Committee prepares the lists of candidates that the AN considers for the appointment of magistrates. This activity generates attention in the political and legal spheres, in the midst of debates about the renewal of the Judicial Branch.
