Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CARACAS306
2009-03-10 21:07:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:
SUPREME COURT ASSESSMENT UNDERSCORES REFLEXIVE
how-toVZCZCXRO5690 PP RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHCV #0306 0692107 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 102107Z MAR 09 FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2721 INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000306
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2029
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS KDEM VE
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT ASSESSMENT UNDERSCORES REFLEXIVE
PARTISANSHIP
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ,
FOR REASON 1.4(D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000306
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2029
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS KDEM VE
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT ASSESSMENT UNDERSCORES REFLEXIVE
PARTISANSHIP
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ,
FOR REASON 1.4(D)
1. (C) Summary: A legal study quantifying the level of
partisanship in the Venezuelan Supreme Court (TSJ) was
released the week of March 2 to a number of local Venezuelan
dailies. The study, conducted by legal scholar Antonio
Canova, finds that the court has been unwilling to rule in
favor of private citizens who have sued the Government of the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) or its state-owned
entities, even when the cases include clear government
infractions or are over minor, non-political issues. The
findings describe a debilitated judiciary that reflexively
protects the state and offers no legal recourse to
Venezuelans seeking to challenge the government. End Summary.
--------------
TSJ REFUSES TO RULE AGAINST THE STATE
--------------
2. (C) Lawyer and TSJ expert Antonio Canova told poloff
March 6 that he had conducted a case-by-case assessment of
every decision made by the TSJ's Political-Administrative
chamber over the past few years. (Note: The
Political-Administrative chamber reviews cases of private
citizen plaintiffs who bring complaints against BRV officials
or government-owned institutions, such as the PDVSA state oil
company. End Note.) Canova's research concluded that out of
hundreds of cases since 2005, just a handful had been decided
in favor of the plaintiff, and the number was decreasing. In
2007, the government lost just a solitary case, out of 325
reviewed by the Political-Administrative chamber in total.
3. (C) Canova noted that many of the cases were over
trivial issues or small contract violations, and did not
represent "political cases." He opined that this indicates
that the TSJ magistrates are unwilling to be perceived as
going against the BRV even in trivial matters and/or where
the government is clearly at fault. The single individual
who won her case in 2007 had been struck by a municipal bus
in 1992 which caused serious physical injury. Because her
settlement was not adjusted for inflation since the incident
15 years prior, she came away with the 2008 equivalent of
about USD $1,000.
4. (C) Canova contended that the TSJ was made up of roughly
three groups: a large Chavista militant contingent who are
essentially politicians; a group of underqualified
magistrates who have received their positions due to
political patronage; and a few impartial magistrates -- no
more than three -- who have not yet been weeded out. He
added that nearly all the judges who were appointed before
Chavez increased the size of the bench in 2003 have been
forced into retirement or otherwise removed by pressure from
the BRV and the National Assembly. Of the second group, some
do not even meet the legally stipulated career requirements
for a judgeship and so have little standing or incentive to
do more than rubber-stamp the orders of the BRV.
5. (C) Canova argued that the wording of Chavez's 1999
Constitution actually offered more protection to private
citizen plaintiffs against the government than the previous
Magna Carta. He suggested that the publication of his
findings could lead to a decline in the number of cases
brought before the TSJ, as it represents the first widely
publicized quantitative proof of the Court's bias. Canova
said that even his legal colleagues found the research's
conclusions surprising.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
6. (C) Canova's highly-publicized findings quantify for the
first time the ongoing weakening of the judiciary and its
subservience to the GBRV, even in trivial, non-political
issues. His investigation indicates that Venezuelans have
virtually no legal recourse against infractions large or
small by the state or its entities -- a particularly salient
issue given the millions of Venezuelans who work in the
public sector. The passage of Chavez's February 15
referendum to remove term limits, which has been interpreted
to apply to TSJ magistrates as well, suggests that there is
little incentive for the courts to reverse this trend. End
Comment.
CAULFIELD
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2029
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS KDEM VE
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT ASSESSMENT UNDERSCORES REFLEXIVE
PARTISANSHIP
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ,
FOR REASON 1.4(D)
1. (C) Summary: A legal study quantifying the level of
partisanship in the Venezuelan Supreme Court (TSJ) was
released the week of March 2 to a number of local Venezuelan
dailies. The study, conducted by legal scholar Antonio
Canova, finds that the court has been unwilling to rule in
favor of private citizens who have sued the Government of the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) or its state-owned
entities, even when the cases include clear government
infractions or are over minor, non-political issues. The
findings describe a debilitated judiciary that reflexively
protects the state and offers no legal recourse to
Venezuelans seeking to challenge the government. End Summary.
--------------
TSJ REFUSES TO RULE AGAINST THE STATE
--------------
2. (C) Lawyer and TSJ expert Antonio Canova told poloff
March 6 that he had conducted a case-by-case assessment of
every decision made by the TSJ's Political-Administrative
chamber over the past few years. (Note: The
Political-Administrative chamber reviews cases of private
citizen plaintiffs who bring complaints against BRV officials
or government-owned institutions, such as the PDVSA state oil
company. End Note.) Canova's research concluded that out of
hundreds of cases since 2005, just a handful had been decided
in favor of the plaintiff, and the number was decreasing. In
2007, the government lost just a solitary case, out of 325
reviewed by the Political-Administrative chamber in total.
3. (C) Canova noted that many of the cases were over
trivial issues or small contract violations, and did not
represent "political cases." He opined that this indicates
that the TSJ magistrates are unwilling to be perceived as
going against the BRV even in trivial matters and/or where
the government is clearly at fault. The single individual
who won her case in 2007 had been struck by a municipal bus
in 1992 which caused serious physical injury. Because her
settlement was not adjusted for inflation since the incident
15 years prior, she came away with the 2008 equivalent of
about USD $1,000.
4. (C) Canova contended that the TSJ was made up of roughly
three groups: a large Chavista militant contingent who are
essentially politicians; a group of underqualified
magistrates who have received their positions due to
political patronage; and a few impartial magistrates -- no
more than three -- who have not yet been weeded out. He
added that nearly all the judges who were appointed before
Chavez increased the size of the bench in 2003 have been
forced into retirement or otherwise removed by pressure from
the BRV and the National Assembly. Of the second group, some
do not even meet the legally stipulated career requirements
for a judgeship and so have little standing or incentive to
do more than rubber-stamp the orders of the BRV.
5. (C) Canova argued that the wording of Chavez's 1999
Constitution actually offered more protection to private
citizen plaintiffs against the government than the previous
Magna Carta. He suggested that the publication of his
findings could lead to a decline in the number of cases
brought before the TSJ, as it represents the first widely
publicized quantitative proof of the Court's bias. Canova
said that even his legal colleagues found the research's
conclusions surprising.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
6. (C) Canova's highly-publicized findings quantify for the
first time the ongoing weakening of the judiciary and its
subservience to the GBRV, even in trivial, non-political
issues. His investigation indicates that Venezuelans have
virtually no legal recourse against infractions large or
small by the state or its entities -- a particularly salient
issue given the millions of Venezuelans who work in the
public sector. The passage of Chavez's February 15
referendum to remove term limits, which has been interpreted
to apply to TSJ magistrates as well, suggests that there is
little incentive for the courts to reverse this trend. End
Comment.
CAULFIELD