Public Webinar via Zoom, Thursday 24 September at 15:00 CEST.
Guatemala’s independent and impartial judges have faced an increase in threats to their professional integrity and personal safety since the closing of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The indepdendent judges overseeing high-level corruption and human rights cases are the primary targets of such threats. Undermining the independence of Guatemala’s judiciary has contributed to the lack of trust in the judiciary and the rule of law backsliding which began during CICIG’s closure. Further support from international actors is needed to protect Guatemala’s independent judges.
This webinar will highlight the personal and professional threats Guatemala’s judges have recently faced due to their independent and impartial rulings in high-level corruption and human rights cases. It will include a discussion on how reforming the judicial nominations process is vital to strengthening the independence of Guatemala’s judiciary. It will conclude with recommendations on what international actors can do in both the short and long term to support an independent judiciary in Guatemala.
The event will be held in both Spanish and English.
Panelists:
ILAC (moderator)
Honorable Judge Yassmin Barrios (Guatemala), magistrate on the Court for High Risks Crimes
Honorable Carlos Ruano (Guatemala), magistrate on the Ninth Court for Criminal Sentencing, Drug Trafficking, Environmental Crimes of the Municipality and Department of Guatemala; President of the Association of Guatemalan Judges for Integrity (AGJI)
Ambassador Anders Kompass (Sweden), former Ambassador of Sweden to Guatemala
Álvaro Montenegro (Guatemala), Alianza por las Reformas
Commentators:
Brittany Benowitz, American Bar Association Center for Human Rights
Lizzette Robleto de Howarth, The Law Society of England and Wales
Jaime Chávez Alor, Cyrus R Vance Center for International Justice of the New York City Bar
