The National Board of Justice (JNJ) approved today to suspend the supreme judge for 60 days Elvia Barrios for not communicating that her ex-husband contracted with the National Elections Jury (JNE) between 2015 and 2018.
Luz Tello, a member of the JNJ plenary, explained in a hearing that Barrios was obliged to notify the JNE and the Judiciary that Eduardo Laca Rivadeneira, her partner at the time, had signed service orders with the electoral body.
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Article 11 of the State Procurement Law establishes that relatives of senior officials, including supreme magistrates, are prevented from contracting with public entities.
“The conduct of a Supreme Court judge that consists of not informing, omitting that his partner is hired to provide services to an entity that is part of the Judiciary, through service orders, is subject to a significant degree of ethical and consequently of the corresponding disciplinary sanction”, argued Tello. The rest of the members adhered to this conclusion, with the exception of María Zavala.
Initially, the rapporteur for the case, Henry Ávila, proposed sanctioning the former president of the Supreme Court with a reprimand, but he changed his mind when he warned that the conduct was classified as a serious misdemeanor.
