American Expatriate Costa Rica

Justice Forum calls for transparency in the selection of prosecutors

The Justice Forum called on the magistrates of the Full Court to assume the appointment of the new Attorney General of the Public Prosecutor’s Office with responsibility.

This forum is composed of the Costa Rican Judiciary Association (Acojud), the Center for Justice and International Law (Cejil), the State of the Nation Program (PEN), and the Master of Criminal Sciences of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), the Faculty of Law of the University of Costa Rica and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).

The five candidates to the position are: Emilia María Navas Aparicio (current fiscal general ai), Manuel Gerardo Fallas Calderón, Guillermo Antonio Hernández Ramírez, Alberto Ramón Montero Loaiza, and Ronald Eduardo Safe Mena.

It is important that the head of the Office of the Prosecutor stands out for their suitability, independence, impartiality, and tenacity to face the great challenges of the position and for the justice system,”

said the forum, through a letter published this Sunday.

In the petition, the Justice Forum recommended that those magistrates who may have possible conflicts of interest in certain matters due to ongoing criminal investigations be precluded from voting in the election.

On Friday, the appointments committee concluded with the interviews of four of the candidates. However, Emilia Navas must still complete that process. Her appointment was rescheduled for next Friday due to the death of her father.

The participating magistrates are Carmen María Escoto Fernández (Vice President of the Court), Julia Varela Araya, Luis Guillermo Rivas Loáciga, Jesús Ramírez Quirós and Paul Rueda Leal.

crhoy.com