Colombian Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will reconsider the President’s shortlist of Prosecutor General candidates.
The court will meet Tuesday “to consider several hypotheses” Supreme Court president Augusto Ibañez said in an interview with Caracol Radio.
“The court has its own dynamic, and its dynamic is to listen to all its judges and then arrive at a conclusion. Obviously, all the circumstances, statements, proposals, etc., etc, must be taken into account, and we will arrive at a conclusion, but count on the fact that the court, with total independence and autonomy, with careful ponderation, will arrive to a conclusion because the court is fully committed to its duty and the desire to judge fairly,” the Court president said.
Ibañez rejected the possibility that Guillermo Mendoza, current interim Prosecutor General, be elected if the Supreme Courts rejects the president’s shortlist once more.
“It is not possible to elect (the new Prosecutor General), but from a three-candidate shortlist,” Ibañez explained.
Last week the Supreme Court rejected the President’s shortlist because it considered the President’s candidates unqualified.
The government’s short list is composed of a former ambassador to the U.N., a former state councilor, and a lawyer.
Some NGO and members of the opposition consider that the candidates are morally impaired to become Colombia’s Prosecutor General and lack experience in penal law.
President Uribe stated Monday that the government will not send a new shortlist to the Supreme Court as he thinks his three candidates are qualified professional with the required skills and experience be the new Prosecutor General.
