NewsWhore
05-18-2010, 04:20 PM
With its sweep in Congress, the ruling PLD party will now have full control of the National Council of Magistrates (CNM), reports El Dia. The newspaper explains that this means the ruling party will now choose the Supreme Court judges who will replace the ones retiring because of age, regardless of who wins the presidential election in 2012.
Article 178 of the Constitution establishes that the CNM is made up of eight members: the President of the Republic or in his absence the Vice President, the president of the Senate, a senator chosen by the Senate of a block of parties different from that of the president of the Senate, which in this case would be the PRSC, the only party outside of the PLD to get a Senate seat. Also the president of the Chamber of Deputies and another deputy of a block different from the party of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, which in this case would be the PRD. Other members are the president of the Supreme Court of Justice and another judge from Supreme Court and the state prosecutor.
El Dia reports that the PRSC, despite only having one seat in the CNM, the same as the PRD, will be in better state to negotiate with its ally the PLD. "In the hypothetical case that the two representatives of the Supreme Court and the PRD would form a block of three, the PRSC vote would be necessary for the correlation of forces. If the PRSC allies with the PLD, then the other faction will not have a say. But if the PRSC allies with the PRD, it will force the PLD to reach an agreement with them".
The CNM is in charge of appointing the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, the new judges of the Constitutional Court, the judges of the Higher Electoral Court and replacements. These two courts have not yet been created.
"This means that by controlling the CNM, the purple party will have in its hands the appointment of members of all the above mentioned courts that are precisely those that will take and make the greater decisions in judicial, electoral and constitutional matters," reports El Dia.
The newspaper concludes: "With all that power concentrated in its hands, the PLD has the opportunity to make a custom-made government, either in favor of the population, more of the same, or cause the country to "cry tears of blood."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Article 178 of the Constitution establishes that the CNM is made up of eight members: the President of the Republic or in his absence the Vice President, the president of the Senate, a senator chosen by the Senate of a block of parties different from that of the president of the Senate, which in this case would be the PRSC, the only party outside of the PLD to get a Senate seat. Also the president of the Chamber of Deputies and another deputy of a block different from the party of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, which in this case would be the PRD. Other members are the president of the Supreme Court of Justice and another judge from Supreme Court and the state prosecutor.
El Dia reports that the PRSC, despite only having one seat in the CNM, the same as the PRD, will be in better state to negotiate with its ally the PLD. "In the hypothetical case that the two representatives of the Supreme Court and the PRD would form a block of three, the PRSC vote would be necessary for the correlation of forces. If the PRSC allies with the PLD, then the other faction will not have a say. But if the PRSC allies with the PRD, it will force the PLD to reach an agreement with them".
The CNM is in charge of appointing the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, the new judges of the Constitutional Court, the judges of the Higher Electoral Court and replacements. These two courts have not yet been created.
"This means that by controlling the CNM, the purple party will have in its hands the appointment of members of all the above mentioned courts that are precisely those that will take and make the greater decisions in judicial, electoral and constitutional matters," reports El Dia.
The newspaper concludes: "With all that power concentrated in its hands, the PLD has the opportunity to make a custom-made government, either in favor of the population, more of the same, or cause the country to "cry tears of blood."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)