The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has just finalized its review of El Salvador, one of the State parties under examination during the 52nd session of the Committee held between the 28 April and 23 May 2014.
During a one-week mission that concluded on 4 October, the ICJ received information on the tense situation faced by the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber, whose independence has been subjected to political influence for more than a year.
The ICJ is concerned about a complaint filed with the Legislative Assembly which requests a provisional judgment against four judges of the Constitutional Chamber for alleged prevarication, abuse of power and disobedience. This could result in their removal from the Court.
The ICJ wishes to reiterate that, in accordance with international standards, the judiciary must be protected from any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats or interferences, direct or indirect, including from legislative or executive authorities.
The mission, led by a high-level ICJ delegation that included ICJ Commissioners Justice Philippe Texier and Professor Rodrigo Uprimny, focused on access to justice and legal remedies for victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights.
It engaged in discussions with members of the legal profession, civil society and various authorities including the public prosecutor office (the Procuradoria General de la Republica and the Procuradoria para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos), as well as with the Constitutional Chamber.
Following recent attacks against the independence of the judiciary in several Central American countries, the ICJ issued today a strong position statement (in Spanish).
La CIJ ante los últimos acontecimientos que afectan seriamente la independencia de los differentes poderes judiciales en países de la región centroamericana, expresa:
La CIJ considera que todos estos hechos constituyen injerencias y ataques a la independencia del Poder Judicial; tratándose de magistrados de diferentes Cortes Supremas y de una Fiscal General, estos actos evidencian por sí mismos, la precariedad de la garantía de independencia judicial en dichos países. A esta situación, hay que agregar que varios de los países mencionados, carecen de sistemas de carrera judicial y de mecanismos de protección adecuados para garantizar a los funcionarios el ejercicio independiente de la función jurisdiccional; además, en ellos existen fenómenos de impunidad generalizados y de cuerpos ilegales, aparatos clandestinos de seguridad y crimen organizado.
Frente a estos hechos, la CIJ recomienda:
La CIJ continuará cumpliendo con su mandato de promover y garantizar la independencia de jueces, abogados y fiscales; en ese sentido, le dará seguimiento a estas situaciones y continuará observando y proponiendo soluciones a esta problemática.
Para mayor información :
Ramón Cadena Rámila, Director de la Comisión Internacional de Juristas para Centro América, t + 502 30441818
With the support of ICJ Commissioner Justice Philippe Texier, the ESCR Programme and the Central America Regional Office organized a two-day workshop in San Salvador on August 16 and 17, 2012.
A group of 25 representatives of human rights and development NGOs as well as trade unions, lawyers and academic experts participated in a first consultation on access to justice for victims of violations of economic, social and cultural rights.
The discussions tackled obstacles and advances in the field of access to justice with regard to the legal and institutional frameworks, as well as in the administration of justice and material issues.
Coming from very different backgrounds, the participants valued the opportunity to work together and share their experience related to economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) of a variety of rights-holders and their attempts to seek justice.
This first consultation and workshop will be followed by other activities in the course of the national project.
Background of the workshop
With national projects such as the one in El Salvador, the ICJ programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights aims at contributing to improve accountability for human rights violations and access to justice for all, including for victims of threats against and violations of economic, social and cultural rights.
The ICJ has embarked on research processes at national level to identify obstacles and opportunities for access to justice, as well as on consultation and collaboration processes with national allies to define strategies to address gaps.
Depending on the needs identified, the ICJ will support the implementation of recommendations and steps that includes trainings and legal interventions.