SUPREME COURT INITIATES ANOTHER JUDICIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000398 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2029 TAGS: KJUS PGOV KDEM PHUM VE SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT INITIATES ANOTHER JUDICIAL "RESTRUCTURING" CARACAS 00000398 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: A/POLITICAL COUNSELOR DANIEL LAWTON, FOR REASON 1.4(D) ¶1. (C) Summary: The pro-Chavez Venezuelan Supreme Court (TSJ) has announced an "integral restructuring" to combat corruption, although it is almost certainly a measure to remove judges or court officials who have not sufficiently demonstrated their "revolutionary" credentials. Judicial experts point out that the TSJ has not set out legal parameters and lacks the technical capacity to do a thorough evaluation of the 22,000 judicial employees. This is yet another case of the TSJ brazenly flouting the laws it is constitutionally obliged to protect, and highlights the continued weakening of government institutions and rule of law in Venezuela. End Summary. -------------- "RESTRUCTURING" LACKS PARAMETERS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The TSJ's Plenary Chamber announced March 18 that it would initiate an "integral restructuring" of the judicial system to combat corruption, insecurity, and impunity. Most likely, it will involve the removal or replacement of a number of judges and court officials. Only one magistrate of the 32, Blanca Marmol de Leon from the Penal Chamber, objected to the proposal. Former President of the Judicial Restructuring Commission Elio Gomez Grillo criticized the initiative, calling it "not the third nor fourth restructuring, but rather is the same initiative that began in 1999. What changed is simply who is leading it forward." ¶3. (SBU) Former Tribunal Inspector General Rene Molina criticized the restructuring March 24 to the local press. He pointed out that the TSJ's announcement did not mention the due process required for any disciplinary acts or set out parameters for how it intends to conduct its review of the magistrates and court employees. He added that the six members of the Judicial Commission simply lack the manpower to technically evaluate the 22,000 court employees, and that the restructuring will erase "any trace of (judicial) independence." The president of the judicial worker's union (Suontraj),Luis Galviz, claimed that the TSJ has refused to discuss the restructuring with court workers -- including secretaries, clerks, and other judicial officials. Galviz assessed that the TSJ's initiative aims to "get along well with the National Assembly," because it has the authority to revise the laws that govern the TSJ. -------------- JUDICIAL CORRUPTION AN ENDURING PROBLEM -------------- ¶4. (C) Molina told Poloff March 26 that Venezuela has never had a strong tradition of judicial independence. He assessed that Chavez was originally elected in 1998 in part due to his platform of anti-corruption, specifically within the judicial system. His Constituent Assembly, which oversaw the drafting of the 1999 Constitution, subsequently initiated an emergency judicial decree to remove 40 percent of the nation's judges. Of those 491 who were removed, 365 were either suspended or fired, and the rest were forced to retire. Molina said that he was involved in overseeing the creation of new legal standards that set forth a rigorous and transparent process for judge selection and confirmation. ¶5. (C) Despite these new legal standards, however, Molina contended that the "fourth republic" corrupt magistrates were simply swapped with a new cadre of suspect judges. He said that most magistrates currently do not meet the legally stipulated career and academic standards for holding a judgeship, but received their positions through patronage. Many have also been appointed as "provisional" or "substitutes" who, apart from often being unqualified, also lack the legal protection of a formal disciplinary process that "official" judges should, in theory, enjoy before being dismissed -- leaving them extremely susceptible to political pressure. (Note: In 2005, the Structural and Modernization Reform Plan (PREMIUS) was initiated to purge the largely provisional judicial corps; at the time, just 20 percent of judges had "official" status. Currently, they are split about half and half. End Note.) ¶6. (C) Molina opined that currently, there remain just a handful of judges at any court level who could be considered independent, and they are likely to be removed in this CARACAS 00000398 002.2 OF 002 restructuring. He pointed out that TSJ President Luisa Estella Morales had previously called for judges to remember their "revolutionary" duty to the central government. Molina lamented that over the past few years, it was the justice system itself -- through its rulings and leadership -- which undercut its own independence. -------------- SALARIES A TOUCHY ISSUE -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Responding to Chavez's calls to end public officials' excessively large "super-salaries," an unnamed TSJ official told pro-opposition daily El Universal March 26 that "if we are in (financial) crisis and should be saving, then why doesn't the President suspend his upcoming trips to Qatar, Iran, and Japan." The TSJ's Plenary Chamber, however, pointedly has not discussed the call for salary reductions. The local press has focused particularly on the comparatively high salaries of judicial officials, which according to the national budget average around 35,000 BsF monthly ($16,280 USD at the official rate). In comparison, CNE rectors make 24,000 BsF and the President of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) about 60,000 BsF -- salaries often doubled or tripled by unspecified "bonuses." In February 2008, the TSJ received a 1,150 BsF bonus and in December, another bonus of between six and eight months of salary, according to pro-opposition daily El Nacional. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) The TSJ appears to be following President Chavez's lead in taking aim at any potential source of opposition, using a new "restructuring" initiative to clean house and remove any judges who have not proven their complete loyalty to the Venezuelan President. Although the 32 TSJ justices are nearly all personally beholden to Chavez, what independence remains among lower-court magistrates is likely to be eliminated. Given the long history of judicial officials using their positions for illicit gain, Chavez's push to cut public salaries as a cost-saving measure is likely to create no small amount of consternation. Nevertheless, the culture of impunity and Chavez's emphasis on loyalty over competence (or scruples) suggests that judges will have few incentives not to supplement their lowered salaries through unsavory means. End Comment. CAULFIELD