The Oversight Commission received Jorge Peñafiel, proponent of the impeachment trial, and Wilman Terán, Xavier Muñoz and Maribel Barreno, former president and former members of the Judiciary Council (CJ), respectively, who presented their arguments for prosecution and defense arguments, within the framework of the substantiation of the request for political prosecution of the former officials, for failure to fulfill their duties.
In his indictment, Jorge Peñafiel said that Terán used this space, not to defend himself, but to confuse citizens; He is being prosecuted in the criminal cases that he has acknowledged, because there are sufficient arguments, he stressed.
He reiterated that there was a breach of duty when making decisions with the use of the casting vote, in the face of an alleged tie between two affirmative votes and two abstentions, when the abstentions do not constitute a statement that contributes to a resolution; there was a lack of transparency in the judge selection processes; and, in the illegal extension of national judges, so the commission should suggest to the Plenary that the impeachment trial continue.
For his part, Wilman Terán defended each of his actions as president of the CJ. He assured that the decisions were made in accordance with the provisions of the Law and the Regulations of Council Sessions. He defended the transparency of the process for the selection of judges of the National Court of Justice.
Meanwhile, Maribel Barreno detailed the steps followed regarding the call for a competition of merits and opposition for the selection of judges and co-judges of the National Court of Justice. He assured that his management in the CJ sought to improve the justice system and the services it offers to citizens.
In this way, the Oversight Board concluded the substantiation of the impeachment request against the former members of the CJ. All that remains is the call for the evaluation of evidence and the issuance of the non-binding report for the knowledge of the Plenary Session of the National Assembly.