Uruguay
The opposition presented amendments to strengthen the Judiciary in the Accountability Bill
Senators from the National Party and the Colorado Party promoted changes linked to gender courts and other positions for the judicial system. Government officials told la diaria that most of the proposals would not be viable because of their impact on spending.
The Senate Budget Committee, together with the Finance Committee, continues its review of the Accountability Bill and this Monday received, among other delegations, the Judiciary. According to la diaria, the committee is scheduled to vote on the bill’s articles over the weekend.
In its budget proposal, the Judiciary requested measures to sustain and improve the justice service, with a focus on assisting people in vulnerable situations, access to justice and the strengthening of specialized offices. Among the requests are specialized courts in Montevideo and in the interior, with positions for magistrates, public defenders, court clerks, psychologists, social workers, forensic doctors, forensic psychiatrists and administrative staff, with the aim of effectively implementing Law 19,580 on gender-based violence.
Two new family appeals courts, a labor appeals court and two first-instance court judgeships in the interior for enforcement and supervision were also requested.
According to la diaria, the bill drafted by the Executive Branch did not include any of those requests. The president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Doris Morales, told the outlet that the body was granted only “the no-cost articles” and warned that the Judiciary’s budget share fell from 1.09% to 1.06%.
Morales also stressed the need to update the operating expenses of the Supreme Court of Justice, which, she said, have not been adjusted for 15 years. In addition, she proposed creating a technical safety officer position, in the context of requirements from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
In that context, National Party and Colorado Party senators on the committee presented additional articles on the judicial system. According to la diaria, the proposals include the creation of 38 new positions, among them four public defenders, one trial judge, three doctors and one psychologist, financed with nearly $2 million from General Revenues.
The amendments also include allocations to put into operation first-instance trial courts provided for in Law 19,580, operating expenses to hire cleaning services in all judicial offices, resources to install a first-instance court in the interior, funds for two magistrate positions, technical and administrative staff, as well as a specific allocation for operations and the technical safety officer position.
From the governing coalition bench, officials told la diaria that “almost all” of those articles are “improper,” since they imply an increase in spending charged to General Revenues and the Legislative Branch does not have the authority to authorize it.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
