Illegal and arbitrary dismissal of judges of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras

Abstract

On December 12, 2012, in the early morning hours (at 04:00 am), with the building surrounded by members of the Armed Forces of Honduras, the Congress agreed to the dismissal of four of the five judges of the Chamber, members of the Supreme Constitutional Court. This dismissal was made arbitrarily and illegally due to the Congress’ lack of competence and powers to do so (the dismissal was executed without invoking legal grounds, without due process and was conducted by Congress, a body that was not competent to do so) and in clear violation of the principle of separation of powers and independence of the judiciary. The victims were judges Jose Antonio Gutierrez Navas, Gustavo Enrique Bustillo Palma, Rosalinda Cruz Sequeira and José Francisco Ruiz Gaekel. The four judges had been duly appointed to hold office for a period of seven years, from January 25 2009 to January 25, 2016.