URIBE-SUPREME COURT FEUD SPAWNS FEARS OF

id: 173270 date: 10/9/2008 20:07 refid: 08BOGOTA3718 origin: Embassy Bogota classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 08BOGOTA1722 header: VZCZCXYZ0000 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHBO #3718/01 2832007 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 092007Z OCT 08 FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5033 INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8430 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1143 RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 6628 RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 2479 RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 7320 RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY -------------- header ends -------------- C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003718 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KJUS CO SUBJECT: URIBE-SUPREME COURT FEUD SPAWNS FEARS OF POLITICIZED JUDICIARY REF: BOGOTA 1722 Classified By: Political Counselor John Creamer Reasons 1.4 (b and d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) The conflict between President Uribe and the Supreme Court spilled into the judiciary after the Superior Judicial Council (CSJ)--one of Colombia's four top courts--ordered the Supreme Court to delete all references to Social Protection Minister Diego Palacio from its ruling accepting the guilty plea of former Congresswoman Yidis Medina. The Court refused, arguing its rulings are not subject to modification. Colombia's Constitutional Court may now weigh in on the issue. Constitutional Court magistrate Manuel Cepeda told us Uribe's allies packed the CSJ with party loyalists to use it to head off the Supreme Court's parapolitical investigations. The judicial turf wars and charges of politicization are unlikely to end anytime soon, especially given the polarized political climate generated by the parapolitical investigations and a possible third term for President Uribe. End Summary. TWO HIGH COURTS DISPUTE FACTS, JURISDICTION -------------- ¶2. (U) Colombia's Superior Judicial Council on October 1 ruled that the Supreme Court should strike all references to Social Protection Minister Diego Palacio from the guilty plea of former Congresswoman Yidis Medina. Medina pled guilty to bribery in June, alleging Palacio and other officials in 2004 had arranged for plum jobs for her supporters in exchange for her vote to change the Constitution to allow Uribe's 2006 re-election (reftel). ¶3. (U) Using a constitutional mechanism known as a "tutela" (guardian plea) Palacio protested the inclusion of his name in the conviction, contending it violated his right to a presumption of innocence. The Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) is investigating Palacio and former Justice and Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt. The Council--one of Colombia's four high courts along with the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and State Council--ruled that the Supreme Court's wording took Palacio's involvement as a proven fact, not an unproven allegation. The Council noted this could prejudice Palacio's right to due process and a fair trial, though the body also stressed its ruling had no bearing on the Fiscalia's ongoing investigation. ¶4. (U) The Supreme Court responded that its rulings were "unchangeable," the Council's ruling "foolish," and suggested the Council was trying to distort the Court's motivations. A Supreme Court statement noting that it had not implied Palacio's guilt and "categorically" rejected efforts to interfere with its investigations. Further muddying the waters, Inspector General (Procurador) Edgardo Maya on October 2 asked the Constitutional Court to annul Medina's conviction on the grounds that bribery requires at least two parties. The absence of a conviction against someone for bribing Medina implied her innocence. AND A THIRD HIGH COURT MIGHT FAIL TO RESOLVE -------------- ¶5. (C) The "train wreck" between competing high courts will likely move to the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court has the final word on constitutional matters, but has been involved in its own jurisdictional battles with the Supreme Court. Constitutional Court Magistrate Manuel Cepeda told us he was unsure if/when his body would rule on the matter, as six of its nine members are due to be replaced by March 1, 2009. Still, he said President Uribe and his Congressional allies, under pressure due to the parapolitical investigations, packed the Superior Council with party loyalists rather than judicial experts. He voiced concern that the same would happen with the Constitutional Court. President Uribe, the Supreme Court, and the CSJ will each name two candidates to fill the six vacancies that must be filled by March 1, 20009. ¶6. (C) Cepeda said the Supreme Court recently altered its position on hearing tutelas in an effort to block the CSJ from receiving more tutelas challenging Supreme Court rulings. Still, it is unclear if the Council will accept the Supreme Court ruling. Council Magistrate Angelino Lizcano--a staunch Uribe ally and former Secretary General of the House of Representatives--told us the Council acted in response to "questionable and political" Supreme Court rulings. Lizcano noted that numerous media reports had detailed suspect ties between Supreme Court magistrates and known narco influences. The problem, Lizcano added, is that individual cases have become hostage to the Uribe-Court and intra-Court battles--with all sides accusing the other of "politicizing" the cases and rulings. ¶7. (C) The battles among the various courts could affect a possible third term for President Uribe, since a third term referendum to amend the constitution (now in Congress) must be approved by the Constitutional Court. In 2005, the Constitutional Court upheld the constitutionality of the amendment allowing a second Uribe term, but it said an amendment to permit a third term would violate the Constitution's essence and would be unconstitutional. Constitutional Court Magistrate and former Uribe legal advisor Mauricio Gonzalez told us the current Court would likely not approve a third term, but he expects the new Court members to be more friendly to Uribe. He predicted that the judicial turf battles and charges of politicization are not likely to end anytime soon. BROWNFIELD =======================CABLE ENDS============================