The full bench of the Supreme Court of Justice decided to summon Judge of Liquidation and Sentencing of Pedro Juan Caballero, Librada Peralta, for a hearing next Tuesday, May 26. The magistrate was reported by the Public Prosecutor's Office for allegedly using non-authentic documents to add points and gain an advantage in a competition of the Council of the Judiciary.
In the session this Wednesday, Minister Manuel Ramírez Candia proposed that the report on the complaint be requested so that a decision on a possible suspension be made next week. The President of the Court, Alberto Martínez Simón, authorized that the judge may appear by telematic means, considering that she resides in Pedro Juan Caballero.
The case also involves employees of the Council of the Judiciary and other applicants for positions of judges, prosecutors, and defenders, who allegedly presented false documents to increase their scores in competitions. The investigation is under the responsibility of Guarantees Judge Miguel Palacios, who must admit the complaint and, in the case of the magistrate, request her removal from the Jury for the Prosecution of Magistrates.
During the same session, Minister César Garay proposed that the Court send a note to the Council of the Judiciary to specify from which universities, institutions, or countries the members of the triple lists sent obtained their doctorates. Garay, who is part of the Jury for the Prosecution of Magistrates, expressed concern about the legality and veracity of the law degrees, stating that the Jury has already been a victim of invocation of non-existent academic degrees. He questioned how a judge active in the interior of the country could pursue a doctorate, given the requirements. Martínez Simón responded that the matter will be addressed with the Council.
On another agenda item, the Secretary of the Constitutional Chamber, Julio Pavón, presented a partial report on the intervention in the Civil Statistics Directorate of the Judiciary. Pavón reported that the teams have already completed 70% of the tasks established after the weaknesses detected in an audit. Among the measures adopted in the first two months are the implementation of new forms for delivery and withdrawal of procedural acts, the operational redistribution of all employees — since a single person performed the control of the process verification stages — and the implementation of a new computerized system developed by the ICT Directorate for better traceability of files.