WASHINGTON, USA – The Special Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) for the Strengthening of Democratic Institutions in Guatemala expresses its concern over the use of judicial actions to attempt to halt the swearing-in of attorney Astrid Lemus as a magistrate of the Constitutional Court, based on allegations arising from her participation before the OAS Permanent Council on February 18.
The Mission considers it necessary to emphasise that the participation of Guatemalan individuals before bodies of the inter-American system, within the framework of established institutional mechanisms, constitutes a legitimate exercise of democratic dialogue and cannot be turned into grounds for disqualification, stigmatisation, or political-legal punishment. Using appearances before inter-American bodies as an automatic indication of lack of suitability or integrity is incompatible with democratic principles and with the very spirit of the inter-American system.
Without prejudice to the right of any person to resort to legal mechanisms provided for under the legal system, the Mission stresses that such remedies should not be instrumentalised to alter, block, or distort constitutional processes, nor to exert undue pressure on the composition and functioning of constitutional justice bodies. In a democratic rule-of-law state, legal controls must serve to protect institutions, not to undermine them.
The Mission recalls that safeguarding the constitutional order requires that standards of suitability, integrity, and independence be assessed by the competent authorities based on objective, legally grounded criteria that respect due process, and not on expansive interpretations that could open the door to arbitrary or politically motivated exclusions.
At a particularly sensitive moment for the country’s democratic institutions, all actors must act responsibly and in strict adherence to the Constitution. Guatemala needs its constitutional bodies to be able to be formed and to function normally, free from undue interference or manoeuvres that compromise their autonomy or legitimacy.
In the context of the process of forming the Constitutional Court, the Special Mission calls for respect for the applicable constitutional and legal framework and for ensuring that the high court can be sworn in and begin exercising its functions normally, in accordance with the Constitution, the law, and legally established timelines. Legal certainty and respect for the rules governing the formation of constitutional bodies are essential to safeguard institutional stability, judicial independence, and public trust in the rule of law.
The OAS Special Mission will continue to closely monitor this process and reiterates its commitment to defending the rule of law, the independence of constitutional bodies, and the strengthening of democratic institutions in Guatemala.
