Two constitutional law experts yesterday analyzed the proposed reform to the Magna Carta proposed by the president Luis Abinaderagreeing on the unification of presidential, congressional and municipal elections, as well as presidential re-election for two consecutive terms and never more, but differing on other aspects such as the method of election of the Attorney General of the Republic and the inclusion of a stone clause on the rules of presidential election.
The jurists Nassef Perdomo and Olive Rodriguez Huertas They addressed the issue during their appearance at the Corripio Communications Group’s Weekly Luncheon.
Regarding the independence of the Public Ministry that the government argues to promote the reform, Perdomo specified that this aspect is already established in the Constitution as a self-governing body, with the career of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and with budgetary autonomy.
You can read: Abinader excludes article 174 from discussions on constitutional reform
He said that the Attorney General cannot give orders to a prosecutor, although he can give instructions because prosecutors, within the body, have autonomy.
Regarding immobility, he considers that it is the worst thing that can happen.
“And we don’t have to go too far back in time and space, or make many other theories. Right now there is a political crisis in Guatemala caused by a Prosecutor who does not accept the results of the elections. She tried to prevent the president-elect from being a candidate, she tried to prevent him from going to the second round and on the day of the inauguration, she tried to prevent him from being sworn in. So, it is not possible that Dominican Republicwhich played a stellar role in the partial solution of this political crisis, now wants to import to the country the institution that caused it. And beware, the immobility of the Attorney Generals in Guatemala was also done with the issue of anti-corruption in mind and look what it has become,” he said.
According to him, it is worse than it seems, “because what happened is that the first irremovable Attorney General left the position to be a political candidate, that is, wanting to distance this position from politics, look what happened.”
The democratic stability of that country was affected because the attorney general could not be removed, he said.
“We can’t have a Attorney General of the Republic With all the power that comes with the ability to administer the criminal prosecution of the State, with legal institutions such as the law on money laundering, the law on the extinction of domain, the law on crime, that is…, we are with that, praying to God to send us a big problem, without being able to solve it afterwards,” he added.
During his narrative, the doctor in constitutional law congratulated the idea of excluding the Attorney General of the Republic from National Council of the Judiciary (CNM).
“That was a mistake from the beginning; it was said, and it was warned…, and what happened in March 2019 happened.” One of the reasons why I understood that it was not prudent to have the Attorney General of the Republic in the National Council of the Judiciary, is that you cannot have attorneys participating in the designation of judges who will hear the cases that he (the attorney) handles. That does not make sense, it cannot be,” he pointed out. Nor does it favor the CNM choosing the Attorney General.
In this context, he proposes that the highest representative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office be proposed by the President of the Republic and approved or rejected by the Senate, as is already done with ambassadors.
Support
On his side, Olive Rodriguez Huertas expressed his support for the constitutional reform proposal presented by the government.
As regards the State’s prosecution body, he believes that what has been proposed will continue to strengthen this system of autonomy of the State. Public Prosecutor’s Office widely enshrined in the 2010 Constitution.
“I sympathize with the idea that the Attorney General of the Republic with each presidential term, which is also a very prudent political proposal on the part of the President of the Republic,” he said.
He is in favor of being chosen by the CNM, although the candidates must have a series of qualities that guarantee their suitability. “Apart from the constitutional conditions, including the distance from politics, other issues must also be taken into account to avoid the same thing happening as in Guatemala,” said Rodríguez Huertas.
Regarding re-election, he views the American model in a positive light.
“The president, despite having the possibility of establishing a system that would allow him to run again in the future, has decided to guarantee political alternation in the exercise of power,” said the renowned legal professional and former diplomat.
Similarly, the academic defended the proposed modification to the “stone clause” enshrined in article 268 of the Magna Carta, in order to avoid future modifications in favor of the president in office.
