Supreme Court of Honduras
Encyclopedia
The Supreme Court of Honduras is the Supreme Court
and Constitutional Court of Honduras
. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in Honduras.
s:
, involving the participation of various sectors of civil society. Judges are elected by the National Congress
from a list of candidates proposed by a 7-member Nominating Board consisting of:
Each entity submits a list of twenty candidates to a “Nominating Panel, of 7 members, each representing one nominating entity, which scrutinizes the qualifications of each submitted nominee on the 7 nomination lists (140 total), and any “self-nominated” candidates. The Nominating Panel selects 45 of these candidates to be included in a nomination list submitted to Congress. The National Congress selects the new 15 Supreme Court members from this list.
to surround the congressional building with tanks should members fail to comply with the request to reseat Dubón. An angry retort from President of the National Congress
Roberto Micheletti
, who said that the legislature abided by democracy and rule of law, not military threats or pressure. Mejía later denied making such threats. President Manuel Zelaya appeared before Congress shortly after the standoff to quell rumors started by National Party opponents that he was attempting a coup over the issue. Finally, the two majority parties in Congress decided to split the court between eight Liberal Party
and seven National Party
candidates — a switch from the previous court, in which the National Party held a one-member majority.
The Democratic Unification
(or Unified Democracy) and Innovation and Unity
parties abstained from the final vote in protest of the system used to select the court. Instead of voting on a block of candidates pre-selected by the two majority parties, they would have preferred to vote on each candidate individually. Unified Democracy Congresswoman Doris Gutiérrez lamented the low numbers of women, saying, “We now have a scant 20 percent of women on the court, where we’ve always had seven or eight [of 15].” Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio and several evangelical leaders said the new court would be less partisan and politicized than it had been in the past, despite Congress' final selection method. U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens
called the selection "a great step forward for democracy, the judiciary and transparency in Honduras."
The fifteen members of the Supreme Court are appointed by agreement between the two main political parties for a seven year term.
An organization claims that the highest judicial offices still being distributed between the two main parties. By requiring them to be re-elected it makes them subject to policies of their sponsoring party. Eight of the judges were selected by the Liberal Party and seven by the National Party.
An international mission in 2008, organized by the International Commission of Jurists
and the Due Process of Law Foundation, admired the inclusive nature of the selection process, but received information from multiple sources about alleged irregularities in the elaboration of certain lists, and information concerning alleged political influence, which might serve to undermine the selection process. The Mission verified widespread distrust in the selection process, more specifically, a belief that the candidate lists are a result of political and powerful interest groups interferences. The Mission recognized the interest expressed by, and opening up of, many key actors and groups within the Honduran society towards the selection process and invited the international community to become more involved and to promote a transparent process that leads to the election of Justices with the stature required by a Supreme Court.
Manuel Zelaya
for the purposes of taking a statement. This precipitated some of the most dramatic events of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
.
The court was criticized by several UN experts for the dismissal of several judges in relation to the crisis. They noted the dismissals appeared related only to the public expression of opposition to events during the crisis and that the accused judges were not given the opportunity to participate in the proceedings.
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
and Constitutional Court of Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in Honduras.
Structure, power, and duties
There are four chambers — civil, criminal, constitutional, and labor — with a certain number of justices assigned to each chamber as established in the 316th article of the Constitution. It has fourteen constitutional powers and duties, including:- Organize and direct the Judiciary;
- Knowledge of legal proceedings involving senior officials of State, when the National Congress has declared to lead to formation of the facts;
- Identifying the second instance of matters Courts Appeals have met in the first instance;
- To hear extradition cases and the other to be judged according to international law;
- To hear appeals under, review and unconstitutional under this constitution and the Law;
- Authorize the exercise of notary who have obtained the law degree;
- Meet the preliminary hearing at first instance against the Judges of the Appellate Courts;
- To appoint and dismiss judges and judges on a proposal Council of the Judiciary;
- Publish the Judicial Laws (Gaceta Judicial);
- Prepare the draft budget of the judiciary and send to Congress;
- To set the division of territory for jurisdictional purposes;
- Create, delete, merge or transfer the Courts, Courts Appeals and other units of the Judiciary;
- To issue its own internal regulations and other necessary things to fulfill their duties and;
- The other powers conferred by the Constitution and Laws.
Members
The court has 15 JudgeJudge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s:
- Jorge Alberto Rivera Avilés (President)
- José Tomás Arita Valle
- Rosalinda Cruz Sequeira
- Raúl Antonio Henríquez Interiano
- Víctor Manuel Martínez Silva
- Jorge Reyes Díaz
- Rosa de Lourdes Paz Haslam
- José Francisco Ruiz Gaekel
- Oscar Fernando Chinchilla Banegas
- José Antonio Gutiérrez Navas
- Jacobo Antonio Cálix Hernández
- Carlos David Cálix Vallecillo
- Marco Vinicio Zúniga Medrano
- Gustavo Enrique Bustillo Palma
- Edith María López Rivera
Election Process
The process of selecting new members of the Supreme Court of Honduras is sui generisSui generis
Sui generis is a Latin expression, literally meaning of its own kind/genus or unique in its characteristics. The expression is often used in analytic philosophy to indicate an idea, an entity, or a reality which cannot be included in a wider concept....
, involving the participation of various sectors of civil society. Judges are elected by the National Congress
National Congress of Honduras
The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. The current President of the National Congress of Honduras is Juan Orlando Hernández. Its members are 128 deputies, who are elected on a proportional representation...
from a list of candidates proposed by a 7-member Nominating Board consisting of:
- A representative of the Supreme Court elected by the votes of two thirds of the judges;
- A representative of the Honduran Bar Association, elected in Assembly;
- The Honduran Commissioner for Human Rights;
- A representative of the Honduran Council of Private EnterpriseHonduran Council of Private EnterpriseThe Honduran Council of Private Enterprise is a business trade organization in Honduras. COHEP is the largest such trade organization in the country, and is one of the three private organizations in Honduras proposes candidates for the Supreme Court of Honduras...
(COHEP), elected in Assembly; - A representative of the faculty of the School of Law, whose proposal will be made through the National Autonomous University of HondurasNational Autonomous University of HondurasThe National Autonomous University of Honduras is the national public university of Honduras. It was founded in 1847 and has many campuses throughout the country.-Autonomy:...
(UNAH); - A representative elected by civil society organizations; and
- A representative of the trade unions.
Each entity submits a list of twenty candidates to a “Nominating Panel, of 7 members, each representing one nominating entity, which scrutinizes the qualifications of each submitted nominee on the 7 nomination lists (140 total), and any “self-nominated” candidates. The Nominating Panel selects 45 of these candidates to be included in a nomination list submitted to Congress. The National Congress selects the new 15 Supreme Court members from this list.
2008-2009 Supreme Court election crisis
Following months of political wrangling that dominated news in Honduras, the National Congress selected 15 new judges to ascend to the Supreme Court of Justice shortly before midnight on January 25, 2009, as the previous court’s term was set to expire that same day. The final issue was an attempt by the executive branch to re-elect a sitting member of the court who wasn’t on the slate of 45 candidates, Sonia Marlina Dubón de Flores. The standoff included alleged threats from Defense Minister Arístides MejíaArístides Mejía
Arístides Mejía Carranza served as the Vice President Commissioner of Honduras from 1 February 2009 until 28 June 2009. The position of "Vice President Commissioner" was created by former President Manuel Zelaya after then-Vice President Elvin Santos resigned in late 2008...
to surround the congressional building with tanks should members fail to comply with the request to reseat Dubón. An angry retort from President of the National Congress
President of the National Congress of Honduras
The President of the National Congress of Honduras is the presiding officer of the National Congress of Honduras. The current President of the National Congress is Juan Orlando Hernández.- Presidents of the Congress 20th Century :...
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
, who said that the legislature abided by democracy and rule of law, not military threats or pressure. Mejía later denied making such threats. President Manuel Zelaya appeared before Congress shortly after the standoff to quell rumors started by National Party opponents that he was attempting a coup over the issue. Finally, the two majority parties in Congress decided to split the court between eight Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Honduras
The Liberal Party of Honduras is a centre-left liberal political party in Honduras that was founded in 1891. The party is a member of the Liberal International...
and seven National Party
National Party of Honduras
The National Party is a centre-right conservative political party in Honduras and the main right-wing political party in the country. Founded in 1902 the PNH is identified with the color blue as its rival the Liberal Party of Honduras , is red. All the democratic elections in Honduras have been...
candidates — a switch from the previous court, in which the National Party held a one-member majority.
The Democratic Unification
Democratic Unification Party
The Democratic Unification Party is a left-wing political party in Honduras. PUD was founded on 29 September 1992 by the merger of four leftist clandestine or semiclandestine political parties, in the context of the changed political situation in Central America at that period, following the end...
(or Unified Democracy) and Innovation and Unity
Innovation and Unity Party
Innovation and Unity Party is a centre-left political party in Honduras, established in 1970. PINU was created by Miguel Andonie Fernández as a democratic, moderate left-wing alternative to the two major parties and the military régime.-2001 elections:...
parties abstained from the final vote in protest of the system used to select the court. Instead of voting on a block of candidates pre-selected by the two majority parties, they would have preferred to vote on each candidate individually. Unified Democracy Congresswoman Doris Gutiérrez lamented the low numbers of women, saying, “We now have a scant 20 percent of women on the court, where we’ve always had seven or eight [of 15].” Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio and several evangelical leaders said the new court would be less partisan and politicized than it had been in the past, despite Congress' final selection method. U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens
Hugo Llorens
Hugo Llorens Acosta is a United States diplomat, and the current United States Ambassador to Honduras. Posted to a variety of countries in his thirty-year career, in 2002-03 he was the principal advisor to the President and National Security Advisor on issues pertaining to Colombia, Venezuela,...
called the selection "a great step forward for democracy, the judiciary and transparency in Honduras."
The fifteen members of the Supreme Court are appointed by agreement between the two main political parties for a seven year term.
An organization claims that the highest judicial offices still being distributed between the two main parties. By requiring them to be re-elected it makes them subject to policies of their sponsoring party. Eight of the judges were selected by the Liberal Party and seven by the National Party.
An international mission in 2008, organized by the International Commission of Jurists
International Commission of Jurists
The International Commission of Jurists is an international human rights non-governmental organization. The Commission itself is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists , including members of the senior judiciary in Australia, Canada, and South Africa and the former UN High Commissioner for Human...
and the Due Process of Law Foundation, admired the inclusive nature of the selection process, but received information from multiple sources about alleged irregularities in the elaboration of certain lists, and information concerning alleged political influence, which might serve to undermine the selection process. The Mission verified widespread distrust in the selection process, more specifically, a belief that the candidate lists are a result of political and powerful interest groups interferences. The Mission recognized the interest expressed by, and opening up of, many key actors and groups within the Honduran society towards the selection process and invited the international community to become more involved and to promote a transparent process that leads to the election of Justices with the stature required by a Supreme Court.
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
On 27 May 2009, the Administrative Law Tribunal issued an injunction against holding the poll at the request of the Honduran Attorney General Luis Alberto Rubi. On 16 June the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the 27 May injunction. On 18 June, the Administrative Law Tribunal ordered Zelaya to comply with the ruling in writing within five days. On 26 June the Supreme Court unanimously found that the Presidency had not complied with the 18 June court order, and issued a sealed order to detain PresidentPresident of Honduras
This page lists the Presidents of Honduras.Colonial Honduras declared its independence from Spain on 15 September 1821. From 5 January 1822 to 1 July 1823, Honduras was part of the First Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide....
Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
for the purposes of taking a statement. This precipitated some of the most dramatic events of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in a coup d'état against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military...
.
The court was criticized by several UN experts for the dismissal of several judges in relation to the crisis. They noted the dismissals appeared related only to the public expression of opposition to events during the crisis and that the accused judges were not given the opportunity to participate in the proceedings.