GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala’s freshly appointed Constitutional Court faces the challenging task of restoring faith among citizens who have grown skeptical of a judicial system that many believe favors a select few, according to legal experts speaking Thursday.
The nation’s top court, chosen every five years through various institutional processes, will retain four of its 10 total members, including backup judges. The departing court drew sharp criticism for rulings in high-stakes cases that seemed to shield individuals connected to narcotics trafficking, human rights violations, and graft.
Legal observers note that the incoming court shows signs of greater equilibrium, though its future rulings will ultimately determine its true character.
“What it has to do is recover the concept of a legal and technical court and not issue decisions tailored for anyone,” said Carlos Luna Villacorta, a former alternate magistrate on the court. “It must inspire more confidence above all with its most controversial decisions.”
The court selection process concluded Wednesday when President Bernardo Arévalo revealed his picks: Gladys Annabella Morfín, who previously served as solicitor general, and her backup María Magdalena Jocholá, a Kaqchikel Maya attorney and scholar focused on Indigenous legal matters.
Guatemala’s Constitutional Court has played a central role in the nation’s anti-corruption struggles. The tribunal has weighed in on major cases involving an international corruption-fighting body and the freedom of a former president facing graft charges.
As Guatemala’s supreme judicial authority, the Constitutional Court’s rulings cannot be challenged. Backup members serve when primary judges face conflicts of interest or when constitutional matters require a seven-judge panel.
In 2019, when ex-President Jimmy Morales ended the mandate of the anti-corruption body called CICIG, the Constitutional Court served as a crucial democratic check by declaring his action unconstitutional.
However, the court shifted direction after new members took office in 2021.
The tribunal demonstrated this change in April 2024 when it approved the prison release of former President Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015), who had been found guilty in two separate corruption proceedings.
Beyond Arévalo’s appointments, the Supreme Court of Justice, Congress, University of San Carlos, and the national bar association each chose one primary judge and one alternate.
The incoming court will feature four women among its five main judges when it begins work in April.
Political commentator Renzo Rosal described the new tribunal as appearing “relatively balanced.”
“The court leans conservative, but nothing else can be expected of the (Constitutional Court),” since its essence is applying the Constitution, he said. “What we need is a group of magistrates who must stabilize (the court) and allow it to be an institution that halts the mistrust of justice, that serves the people and not the spurious spaces like now.”
