VZCZCXYZ0038
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #0623 1831727
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021727Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1340
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000623 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ES PGOV PREL KJUS
SUBJECT: ASSEMBLY FAILS TO ELECT SUPREME COURT JUSTICES 
 
¶1.  Summary: The Salvadoran Legislative Assembly failed to 
elect Supreme Court Justices by the June 30 deadline mandated 
by law.  Every three years, the Legislative Assembly is 
required to elect (or re-elect) five of the 15 Supreme Court 
justices and some alternate justices.  While the full 
implications of the Assembly's failure to act are unclear, 
the impasse could lead to an institutional crisis and bring 
the Salvadoran judicial system to a standstill. End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Every three years, the Legislative Assembly must elect 
(or re-elect) five of the 15 justices of the Supreme Court 
from a list of 30 names provided by the National Judiciary 
Council (CNJ) and the National Association of Lawyers.  A 
total of nine names must be selected from the list: four 
justices for the Constitutional Chamber of the Court, one 
justice for the Civil Chamber, and four alternates. The 
justices must be elected by a two-thirds majority, thus 
requiring the two major parties, (conservative) ARENA and the 
(ruling, left-wing) FMLN, to be in agreement. 
 
¶3. On May 13, a challenge was filed with the Constitutional 
Chamber of the Supreme Court contesting three of the names 
submitted by the CNJ.  The complaint alleged that three of 
the names, David Gonzolo Cabezas, Efrain Campos, and Nora 
Montoya, were unethical, since those individuals were members 
of the CNJ and their "self-nominations" violated the spirit, 
if not the letter, of the law.  The Court asked the 
Legislative Assembly to stop the election until it could 
consider the complaint.  On June 30, those individuals 
withdrew their names from consideration. However, the 
election deadline has passed, so there is currently no 
judicial authority in place to lift the injunction and 
legally resume the election. 
 
¶4. The Legislative Assembly was scheduled to vote at 4 PM on 
June 30; however, party leaders continued to negotiate 
several hours beyond this scheduled vote. Despite the delays, 
FMLN deputies told us that they were optimistic and confident 
that the election would occur before midnight. Once it became 
clear that negotiations were deadlocked, FMLN deputies were 
worried, but calm. 
 
¶5. Through the course of the evening of June 30, most 
Assembly deputies waited in their offices, eager to meet the 
deadline. As the impasse became clear, the deputies moved to 
repeal a law that would have automatically renewed the 
mandates of the incumbent judges for an additional nine 
years. Clearly, the Assembly deputies preferred to leave the 
seats vacant, rather than have the seats filled by the 
incumbents. (Note: The Constitution does not offer legal 
avenues to temporarily extend the incumbents, mandates for a 
period of time shorter than nine years.) 
 
-------------- 
MOVING FORWARD 
-------------- 
 
¶6.  A possible course of action has emerged in response to 
the crisis. First, vacancies in the Supreme Court will likely 
be temporarily filled by judges from the three other 
chambers.  Those judges will have to lift the injunction 
issued by the Supreme Court that has prevented the Assembly 
from voting on justices. After that, the election of the 
justices by the Assembly can legally resume. There is no new 
formal deadline for a resolution. 
 
¶7. Comment: Even though the Supreme Court impasse is 
potentially problematic, it appears to have done little more 
than generate confusion thus far.  However, that could change 
if this situation drags on for more than a week or two, as 
the centralized and top-heavy Salvadoran judicial system will 
slowly grind to a halt.  While conspiracy theories abound as 
to ARENA's and the FMLN's ulterior motives in failing to 
appoint magistrates to the Court on time, the truth seems to 
be that the CNJ's initial move to nominate its own officers 
has led to a Keystone Cops-style comedy of errors and 
missteps resulting in the current impasse.  Whatever the 
cause, it is risky for El Salvador to be without a 
functioning Supreme Court and we will continue to urge 
Assembly Deputies to resolve this impasse.  A similar impasse 
has prevented the naming of a new Attorney General, although 
in that case the acting AG has been able to serve in a 
caretaker capacity.  End Comment. 
BLAU