The president of the Judiciary, Javier Arévalo Vela He denounced that the cut in the budget of the Judiciary for the year 2025, which the General Directorate of Public Budget of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) intends to implement, will affect the fight against organized crime and the implementation of the Flagrancy Units against common crime.
Arévalo Vela made this complaint during the ceremony for the day of the judge, which this year coincided with the bicentennial of the creation of the Supreme Court of Justice. At the event, held in the Vidaurre hall of the National Palace of Justice, there was President Dina Boluarte is present and the head of Congress, Eduardo Salhuana.
“We cannot accept that mid-level officials of the MEF torpedo the fight against crime under the pretext of fiscal austerity. If this were true, millions of dollars would not be wasted on public-private companies that are only a burden on the national treasury. The resources exist, what happens is that they do not know how or do not want to distribute them properly,” said the president of the PJ.
He added that tackling crime requires leadership from the Executive Branch and a clear and effective strategy. “It is not enough to proclaim the intention to end crime, but to provide the necessary logistics and grant the institutions of the justice system (National Police, Public Prosecutor’s Office, Judicial Branch and Ministry of Justice) the adequate and necessary resources for that purpose,” he said.
President Dina Boluarte promised to restore the budget of the Judicial Branch
The PJ president explained that through letter No. 0086-2024-EF / 50.03, dated July 12, 2024, the General Directorate of Public Budget arbitrarily intends to assign them a budget for the year 2025 of S/ 3,549,210,288 soles, without respecting Law No. 28821, ““Law on coordination between the Judicial Branch and the Executive Branch for the programming and formulation of the institutional budget of the Judicial Branch.”
President Dina Boluarte, after greeting the judges on their institutional anniversary, offered to restore the budget to the Judiciary so that it can carry out its functions and fight corruption and organized crime.
Flagrancy Units
Arévalo Vela emphasized that the budget cut This will prevent the implementation of more Criminal Flagrancy Units next year which allow sentences to be handed down for common crimes within a short period of time.
He reported that in 2023 and so far in 2024 they have managed to implement 11 Flagrancy Units and in the coming years more units will be implemented in La Libertad, Cusco, Piura and Ica.
On this subject, he thanked the support he has received from local and regional governments by donating land. for the construction and implementation of such unitsin which the National Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defense and the Judiciary participate.
The Attorney General, Juan Carlos Villena, and various authorities participated in the ceremony for the day of the judge
“Here, prosecution and sentencing are carried out quickly, and I therefore urge these institutions, which have also received funds for the Flagrancy Units, to use this budget exclusively for the creation of public prosecutors’ offices, public defenders and specialized police,” requested the president of the Judicial Branch.
“If the president of the Judiciary and the presidents of the High Courts meet with regional and local governments, they do so with the utmost transparency, authorized by Law No. 31774, to obtain land or premises that the Judiciary does not have due to lack of resources,” he argued.
Organized crime
The Flagrancy Criminal Units allow sentences to be issued for common crimes in a short period of time
The head of the judiciary noted that the country’s main problems at the moment are crime and corruption.
“If we do not fight crime firmly, organized crime will soon take control of state institutions, and we should not be surprised if in the next elections candidates financed by drug trafficking, organized crime and illegal mining end up occupying a place in parliamentary representation to defend their nefarious interests,” he said.
He added that this critical situation obliges all judges in the country to act responsibly and firmly, and, above all, to give clear messages to the population that are a guarantee in the defense of their rights, “within a framework of full jurisdictional independence and institutional autonomy.”
“Our role is one of great responsibility based on the correct interpretation and application of the law. Judges must have a strong vocation for service and ethical commitment,” said the president of the Judiciary.
