The Daily Journal. — The Venezuelan government and the National Assembly elected in 2015 agreed to launch a new process to transform the justice system. The plan calls for reforms to the Organic Law of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the renewal of the Judicial Nominations Committee, and a new call for candidates to appoint all justices to the country’s highest court.
The agreement, reached at the end of the first round of talks between delegations led by Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera, establishes a new roadmap for renewing the judiciary and puts on hold the process that Chavismo had been pursuing to appoint Supreme Court justices.
According to the joint statement released Wednesday, the parties agreed to “begin a process that contributes to the transformation of the justice system,” which will include changes to the legislation governing the country’s highest court.
The new roadmap calls for “reforms to the Organic Law of the TSJ and other laws governing the justice system,” as well as the renewal and expansion of the Judicial Nominations Committee.
One of the key provisions calls for the parties to launch “a new nomination process for the renewal and appointment of all TSJ justices.”
The agreement also calls for the creation of a council that will review candidates’ credentials and qualifications to verify their compliance with the Constitution, applicable laws, and the evaluation criteria established for the nomination process.
New mechanism for the Justice System
The decision comes as part of the first round of talks between the administration of Delcy Rodríguez and the 2015 National Assembly, with support from the U.S. Department of State.
During this first stage, the parties held five technical working sessions and five plenary meetings. The delegations focused on two areas: addressing the emergency caused by the June 24 double earthquake and strengthening democracy, the judiciary, and the electoral branch.
The agreement on the TSJ therefore establishes a new framework for selecting justices instead of continuing with the process that had already been underway.
The statement does not specify what will happen to the nomination and selection procedures that had already begun, nor does it provide a detailed timetable for replacing the justices. However, it states that the implementation schedule will begin in August, “with official announcements and concrete actions.”
