Honduras: Firings Undercut Judicial Independence

[Judi Lynn]

Honduras: Firings Undercut Judicial Independence
Supreme Court Should Reinstate Judges Immediately
May 19, 2010

(Washington, DC) - The firing of judges who opposed the 2009 coup is a serious blow to judicial independence in Honduras, Human Rights Watch said today.

On May 12, 2010, the Honduran Supreme Court ratified its May 5 vote to dismiss four lower-court judges who are members of Judges for Democracy, a group that has challenged the legality of the coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya last year.

"The Honduran judiciary should be working to re-establish the rule of law and remedy the damage done by last year's coup," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "By firing these judges, the Supreme Court is doing precisely the opposite."

Judge Ramón Barrios was removed for publicly criticizing a June 2009 Supreme Court ruling that validated the coup. Barrios issued his critique at an academic conference at the University of San Pedro Sula, where he teaches law. According to the judiciary's personnel office, the reason for dismissing Barrios was that his criticism "undermined the dignity" of the judiciary.

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/05/19/honduras-firings-undercut-judicial-independence

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4389625

[Wilms]

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