CAPE VERDEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTS TWO JUSTICES, DISCUSSES NEW

UNCLAS PRAIA 000022 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL KJUS PGOV CV SUBJECT: CAPE VERDEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTS TWO JUSTICES, DISCUSSES NEW MONEY LAUNDERING LAW REF: A) 08 PRAIA 277; B) PRAIA 006 ¶1. (U) Summary. During the first parliamentary session of the year, ruling party PAICV and lead opposition party MpD reached agreements on a number of important issues, including choosing two Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) justices. Parliament also approved the composition of a commission to consider proposed amendments to the constitution and agreed in principle to a new anti-money laundering law. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) The Supreme Court of Justice (by function actually an appellate court) until recently was composed of five justices each with a fixed term on the bench of five years. A political crisis erupted recently when the terms of all currently serving Supreme Court justices expired and no agreement could be reached on replacing them. Some justices continued to serve for years after their terms had officially run out, casting in some doubt the legitimacy of the bench as constituted. Resolving this crisis was further blocked by each of the parties maneuvering for advantage in recent elections. Each decried the sorry state of the justice system, while quietly blocking efforts to reform the system. The recent decision by MpD to break the deadlock and support reform was a key turning point. That move, however, was taken by MpD leader Jorge Santos without broad support of the party leadership, and might very well cost him the party presidency. Santos aspires to be Prime Minister, but in the wake of what some in his party view as at least reckless if not an outright betrayal, rumors abound that the party leadership is courting alternative candidates for the 2011 national election. ¶3. The key element of reform agreed upon in the parliamentary session expanded the bench from five to seven members, and allows them to serve as both the constitutional court and the SCJ. The two justices chosen by parliament were approved by a 2/3 majority. The MpD re-nominated current justice Raul Querido Varela, who has been on the SCJ since 1992 and whose term actually ended in 2003, while the governing PAICV nominated Helena Barreto, currently a family court judge. As for the remaining five justices, the President of the Republic appointed one and the Superior Court of Magistrates elected four. From among the seven justices, President Pedro Pires has chosen Justice Arlindo Medina as president of the Supreme Court. For the time being, these justices are also serving as the constitutional court. This unorthodox arrangement will last until a separate constitutional body -- which is already permitted under the constitution but which has never been formally created or filled -- is appointed by the Parliament. ¶4. (U) During the current session, the Parliament also created a commission which will consider proposals for amendments to the constitution. The commission has been given up to 6 months to consider all proposals and submit its recommendations to the full parliament. The 12 member commission - seven parliamentarians from PAICV and five from MpD -- includes respected jurists from both sides of the aisle. The two-seat minority party, Cape Verdean Independent and Democratic Union (UCID) has also been allowed to designate one non-voting member. One notable member is David Hoppfer Almada, a respected lawyer and Parliamentarian, and a possible PAICV presidential candidate in the 2011 elections. ¶5. (U) MpD and PAICV also reached agreement in principle on a new money-laundering law. If passed, the bill would allow for more stringent measures to combat money laundering, including changing banking secrecy laws to give authorities access to personal accounts of money laundering suspects. During the presentation of the bill, Minister of Justice Marisa Morais explained that `it is of little use to seize drugs if the traffickers continue to have huge balances in their bank accounts' to continue financing their criminal activities. ¶6. (U) Comment. The PAICV and MPD had previously agreed that the number of justices should be increased and that the SCJ would exercise the functions of a constitutional court until the new Constitutional Court is formed. The official creation of a constitutional court is already contemplated under the constitution but still requires implementing legislation from Parliament. However, there is some confusion even within the parliament as to what effect the current five-year mandates of the combined Supreme Court/Constitutional Court Justices will have on the future nomination of separate constitutional court justices. When the new court is formed, perhaps in as little as six months, the issue of the status of the current justices will need to be resolved. ¶7. (SBU) Comment (continued). Each party has vocally criticized the other's choice for the Supreme Court, but the election of the justices is a step forward in the judicial reform process. With more justices officially on the job, there is hope that some of the case backlog will be eliminated. Laws to make money laundering more difficult also show movement in a positive direction, and will support efforts on the broader issues of protection of territorial waters and of drug trafficking. While Cape Verde continues to strengthen its laws on money-laundering, its practical capacity for investigation and prosecution remains very limited. Post is currently working with INL and the Department of Treasury to conduct a baseline assessment of GOCV money laundering capacity, with a view towards structuring a technical assistance program that would dramatically improve their ability to prosecute these and related crimes. End Comment. DUNN