The Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), which has become a subordinate body to the political control of Rosario Murillo, resolved only 245 cassation appeals in 2025, out of a scheduled goal of 1999. The figure—equivalent to a compliance of 12.3%—evidence that, after the political intervention, the highest court lost the capacity to fulfill its essential functions of administering justice and guaranteeing the functioning of the judicial system.
The data, according to information from the Liquidation Report of the General Budget of the Republic 2025, also confirms that it is the worst drop in the performance of the CSJ in the last five years.
“It is the consequence, let’s say, of political intervention in the Court, but above all of the inability it had to integrate chambers. Since the integration of the chambers was prevented, there was no way for the jurisdictional body to issue rulings, not even an order, let alone a sentence,” constitutional lawyer Juan Diego Barberena explained to CONFIDENCIAL.
In October 2023, the CSJ entered into internal paralysis after the eviction of its president, Alba Luz Ramos, after the police operation ordered by Murillo.
A month after Ramos’ departure, the number of laid-off workers amounted to 900. The purges continued in 2024, with a new wave of dismissals that raised the number to 1,100 people.
After Ramos’s expulsion, Judge Marvin Aguilar was designated as “acting president”, but he was never formally appointed but was forced to leave the Court in December 2025, citing health problems.
In November 2025, the regime had already appointed new judges to the Court, but Barberena doubts that the change has a “reason for the correct administration of justice.”
“The magistrates who are in the different rooms are operating politically,” Barberena said.
Former Judiciary official Yader Morazán explained that this stagnation has been aggravated by internal management and human resources problems. “The Court has been paralyzed for a while, since the intervention in October 2023. If by working they do not resolve much, now when they were not doing so,” Morazán questioned.
Collapse in cassation rulings
Between 2020 and 2023, the Court maintained relatively stable levels of resolution of sentences, even with overcompliance in 2021. However, in 2024 a decline began that deepened in 2025, reducing the operational capacity of the court.
Since 2020, the CSJ has resolved a total of 10,025 cassation cases, distributed per year as follows:
- 2020: 2,394 sentences out of a scheduled goal of 2,568 cases.
- 2021: 2,504 cases resolved, representing 131.7% execution of 1,902 cases scheduled this year.
- 2022: The CSJ resolved 2,167 cases out of 2,494 scheduled cases.
- 2023: 2,049 sentences executed, equivalent to 91.8% of a total of 2,231 scheduled cases.
- 2024: 666 sentences out of a goal of 2,251, that is, 29.6%.
- 2025: 245 sentences executed (12.3%).
The lag responds to a loss of institutional capacity. In practical terms, it implies that there are dozens of cases left unresolved in the last judicial instance.
“Some of those appeals may have been resolved, but the issue is how long after the appeals were filed. So, late justice is not really justice,” Barberena added.
According to Morazán, rather than reducing pending cases, institutional efforts have historically focused on trying to mitigate it. “Dealing with the delay of justice is only looking for ways to reduce it, but it is something that will always exist,” the former judicial official stressed, “and many cases that have political connotations are not resolved quickly or are shelved.”
Impact on users of the judicial system
For people waiting for a final sentence, in the last instance of the administration of justice in the country – Barberena stressed – it has negative consequences. Cassation is the last resort within the judicial system, so its delay prolongs the processes indefinitely.
The lack of resolution of the cases violates “the right to prompt, effective and speedy justice,” recognized in constitutional and international standards.
The impact is more evident in criminal matters. The people who appealed in cassation remain without a final decision. “The principle of presumption of innocence is violated,” he warned, referring to those who continue to be detained without a final sentence.
The lack of speed in cassation rulings also has effects in other areas, that is, civil and family proceedings remain unresolved for years. Barberena mentioned cases of alimony claims that are still pending in cassation, which generates situations of vulnerability. “The principle of superior equality of the child is affected,” he added.
The attorney also pointed to practices in appellate courts that limit access to the Supreme Court. As he explained, some chambers rejected appeals with substantive arguments, despite the fact that their function is only to review formal requirements.
“They were declaring the appeals inadmissible by ruling on the merits,” he stated. This, he added, prevented the cases from reaching the Court. “The resources were prevented from being part of the official statistics,” he said.
What happens in other judicial instances?
The problem is not only limited to the CSJ. The appellate courts also did not perform well.
In 2025, of 2,196 appeal resolutions and other scheduled procedures, only 586 were resolved. Regarding rulings on matters under appeal, 4,540 of a total of 5,545 cases were resolved.
In 2025, the Court received a budget of 4,143.5 million córdobas. Of that amount, 3837.9 million were spent, leaving a balance of 305.6 million and an execution level of 92.6%.
Despite this high level of spending, the results in resolving cases did not improve.
