Uruguay
The Supreme Court called on the Senate for support to collect debts from municipalities and reiterated its request for more resources
Judicial authorities told the committee that several departmental governments owe fines and outlined alternatives to settle them. They also insisted on the need to strengthen the budget, especially for courts linked to gender-based violence.
The Supreme Court of Justice told senators that it needs political support to find a way to collect the debts that several municipalities owe for fines, according to la diaria based on the stenographic record of the committee analyzing the Accountability Bill.
According to that outlet, the SCJ’s legal secretary, Juan Pablo Novella, said that every year the Judiciary requests resources, but it also carries unpaid credits from departmental governments. He mentioned, among other cases, that the Canelones municipality owes nearly $3,000,000 and Cerro Largo about $500,000.
SCJ President Doris Morales said the largest debts correspond to Canelones and Rocha, although she indicated that there are other cases as well, such as Durazno. As she explained, these are high amounts for the Judiciary’s current situation.
Novella explained that those debts arise when a state agency fails to comply with a court order and a daily fine is imposed. However, he stressed that the non-seizability of state assets prevents coercive collection from being enforced against municipalities. For that reason, he said, the Court asked for help to work out a solution with the departmental governments.
Among the alternatives mentioned, judicial authorities said they are not necessarily seeking to collect everything in cash and all at once. According to la diaria, Novella said the transfer of unused buildings or facilities could be considered to house courts and expand services.
Morales said there had already been talks with some municipalities to explore that possibility, but said they did not move forward. In that context, she asked that the matter be brought before the Congress of Mayors.
National Party Senator Carlos Camy requested a breakdown of the debts department by department and asked whether a new legal framework is needed to facilitate collection. Morales replied that she sees a solution as difficult because state assets cannot be seized.
Broad Front Senator Bettiana Díaz said the proposal will be taken to the Congress of Mayors and considered it advisable to evaluate some type of agreement.
In the same appearance, the SCJ reiterated its budgetary demands. Among other points, it called for the creation of specialized courts in gender-based violence, family appeals courts, and first-instance trial courts in the interior for enforcement and supervision.
Legal secretary Gabriela Figueroa said, according to la diaria, that today there are only gender courts in San Carlos, Salto and Rivera. She added that between 2013 and 2024 hearings of this type increased 30%, complaints filed with the Police rose 42%, and cases of sexual violence went up 64%.
Novella also said that family, specialized family and gender-based violence account for around 44% of the Judiciary’s workload. He also warned that the agency’s budget share is the lowest in the past 15 years and lamented that the Accountability Bill arrives without allocations for the sector.
During the debate, Broad Front Senator Constanza Moreira confirmed that the governing coalition decided not to introduce changes to the bill already approved in the Chamber of Deputies. According to la diaria, Morales had said at the start of the session that she saw little chance of a change to the text.
Moreira expressed support for the call for more funds to address gender violence cases, but said the Broad Front will not open the debate in the Senate. Colorado Senator Robert Silva, by contrast, said that if there were political will, funds could be reallocated and noted that what the SCJ is requesting amounts to around $3,500,000.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do any original reporting on this fact.
