R 131931Z FEB 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY PRAIA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1653
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
AMEMBASSY LISBON 
AMEMBASSY MADRID 
AMEMBASSY PRAIA

UNCLAS PRAIA 000022 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PREL KJUS PGOV CV
SUBJECT: CAPE VERDEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTS TWO JUSTICES,   DISCUSSES NEW 
MONEY LAUNDERING LAW 
 
REF: A) 08 PRAIA 277; B) PRAIA 006 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  During the first parliamentary session of the 
year, ruling party PAICV and lead opposition party MpD reached 
agreements on a number of important issues, including choosing 
two Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) justices.  Parliament also 
approved the composition of a commission to consider proposed 
amendments to the constitution and agreed in principle to a new 
anti-money laundering law.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Supreme Court of Justice (by function actually an 
appellate court) until recently was composed of five justices 
each with a fixed term on the bench of five years.  A political 
crisis erupted recently when the terms of all currently serving 
Supreme Court justices expired and no agreement could be reached 
on replacing them.  Some justices continued to serve for years 
after their terms had officially run out, casting in some doubt 
the legitimacy of the bench as constituted.  Resolving this 
crisis was further blocked by each of the parties maneuvering 
for advantage in recent elections.  Each decried the sorry state 
of the justice system, while quietly blocking efforts to reform 
the system.  The recent decision by MpD to break the deadlock 
and support reform was a key turning point.  That move, however, 
was taken by MpD leader Jorge Santos without broad support of 
the party leadership, and might very well cost him the party 
presidency.  Santos aspires to be Prime Minister, but in the 
wake of what some in his party view as at least reckless if not 
an outright betrayal, rumors abound that the party leadership is 
courting alternative candidates for the 2011 national election. 
 
¶3.  The key element of reform agreed upon in the parliamentary 
session expanded the bench from five to seven members, and 
allows them to serve as both the constitutional court and the 
SCJ.  The two justices chosen by parliament were approved by a 
2/3 majority.  The MpD re-nominated current justice Raul Querido 
Varela, who has been on the SCJ since 1992 and whose term 
actually ended in 2003, while the governing PAICV nominated 
Helena Barreto, currently a family court judge.  As for the 
remaining five justices, the President of the Republic appointed 
one and the Superior Court of Magistrates elected four.  From 
among the seven justices, President Pedro Pires has chosen 
Justice Arlindo Medina as president of the Supreme Court.  For 
the time being, these justices are also serving as the 
constitutional court.  This unorthodox arrangement will last 
until a separate constitutional body -- which is already 
permitted under the constitution but which has never been 
formally created or filled -- is appointed by the Parliament. 
 
¶4.  (U) During the current session, the Parliament also created 
a commission which will consider proposals for amendments to the 
constitution.  The commission has been given up to 6 months to 
consider all proposals and submit its recommendations to the 
full parliament.  The 12 member commission - seven 
parliamentarians from PAICV and five from MpD -- includes 
respected jurists from both sides of the aisle.  The two-seat 
minority party, Cape Verdean Independent and Democratic Union 
(UCID) has also been allowed to designate one non-voting member. 
 One notable member is David Hoppfer Almada, a respected lawyer 
and Parliamentarian, and a possible PAICV presidential candidate 
in the 2011 elections. 
 
¶5. (U) MpD and PAICV also reached agreement in principle on a 
new money-laundering law. If passed, the bill would allow for 
more stringent measures to combat money laundering, including 
changing banking secrecy laws to give authorities access to 
personal accounts of money laundering suspects.  During the 
presentation of the bill, Minister of Justice Marisa Morais 
explained that `it is of little use to seize drugs if the 
traffickers continue to have huge balances in their bank 
accounts' to continue financing their criminal activities. 
 
¶6. (U) Comment.  The PAICV and MPD had previously agreed that 
the number of justices should be increased and that the SCJ 
would exercise the functions of a constitutional court until the 
new Constitutional Court is formed.  The official creation of a 
constitutional court is already contemplated under the 
constitution but still requires implementing legislation from 
Parliament.   However, there is some confusion even within the 
parliament as to what effect the current five-year mandates of 
the combined Supreme Court/Constitutional Court Justices will 
have on the future nomination of separate constitutional court 
justices.  When the new court is formed, perhaps in as little as 
six months, the issue of the status of the current justices will 
need to be resolved. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment (continued).  Each party has vocally criticized 
the other's choice for the Supreme Court, but the election of 
the justices is a step forward in the judicial reform process. 
With more justices officially on the job, there is hope that 
some of the case backlog will be eliminated.  Laws to make money 
laundering more difficult also show movement in a positive 
direction, and will support efforts on the broader issues of 
protection of territorial waters and of drug trafficking.  While 
Cape Verde continues to strengthen its laws on money-laundering, 
its practical capacity for investigation and prosecution remains 
very limited.  Post is currently working with INL and the 
Department of Treasury to conduct a baseline assessment of GOCV 
money laundering capacity, with a view towards structuring a 
technical assistance program that would dramatically improve 
their ability to prosecute these and related crimes.  End 
Comment. 
 
 
DUNN