It was necessary to install a second session so that he Senate of the Republic resolved the election of the next magistrate of the Constitutional Court. In the first, held on October 18, there were extra votes (the subject of allegations of an apparent bribery) and there was an unprecedented tie between two of the shortlists.
However, the election of the new magistrate went ahead and, after several setbacks, Miguel Polo Roserowith 57 votes, was chosen for this position.
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Polo Rosero disputed face to face with the lawyer Claudia Dangond this position on the Court. He has been an assistant magistrate of four positions of this corporation, among them, of Vladimir Fernández Andrade, former legal secretary of President Gustavo Petro. Due to this closeness and after being considered by several of the congressmen as “the least fat“, his candidacy gathered the support of the Historical Pact, the U, the liberals and the wink of the Minister of the Interior, Juan Fernando Cristo.
“I want to deeply thank the Council of State for having nominated me for this dignity and thank Congress for having appointed me as a magistrate of the Constitutional Court. I want to make a strong defense of what this court is and each of its judges, who have dedicated their entire lives, all their dedication and all their independence to the defense of the Political Constitution.“said the new magistrate in his speech before the Senate plenary session.
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The tight vote (57 in favor of Polo, against 47 for Dangond) It brought to light the strong struggle that is being fought in Congress between the Government and the opposition, which ended up being transferred to the judiciary. Vox populi was associated with Polo Rosero as the candidate for the head of state and Dangond as the candidate for the center-right. This tension would also have measured the oil for the processing of the social reforms of the current Government, whose implementation will be in the hands of the new man.
“Polarization does a lot of damage to the country and really what we experienced all these days was a series of demonstrations that contradict the role of the Constitutional Court, an entity that throughout its life has always dedicated itself to acting in law, in accordance to the Constitution“Polo added.
His election would maintain the progressive line of the Court, a decision-making court for government policies.
Who is Miguel Polo Rosero?
The new magistrate of the Constitutional Court He is a lawyer from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and a law specialist from the Universidad del Rosario. He is 47 years old. He was an advisor in the Senate of German Vargas Lleras and Rodrigo Lara Restrepobetween 2008 and 2009, and passed through the offices of the Constitutional Court, in addition to Fernández, of the magistrates Guillermo Guerrero, Alejandro Linares and Rodrigo Escobar Gil.
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However, despite having worked with the four men of different ideological lines, his proximity to Fernández, a supporter of President Petro, generated noise. as well as some harsh questions to the decisions of the high court; among these, to the rulings that it has issued against the other high courts.
“Faced with the role of the Court against other jurisdictions, I have been insistent, and I reiterate, it is necessary to vindicate the constitutional configuration of the Judicial Branch. We have a functional diffuse system with autonomous and independent jurisdictions where each of them has a function and a role to fulfill.“refuted the elected magistrate.
PORTFOLIO
*With information from EL TIEMPO – JUSTICIA