Colombian Courts Willing to
Collaborate with President-Elect
BOGOTA - The Supreme Court on Monday saluted
the election of Juan Manuel Santos as
president of Colombia and expressed interest
in collaborating with the new
administration.
The judicial branch was most willing to
create collaboration and a clear mutual
respect, Supreme Court president Jaime
Arrubla said in an interview with El Tiempo
newspaper, adding "not only because of the
function that each carries out but because
of the powers and autonomy of the branch."
Asked if he expected a different treatment
of justice by the new administration,
Arrubla said that had to be resolved not
only with the new government but also with
the present one.
That is in accordance with the Constitution;
the public power branches must be on the
same side, he emphasized.
The Supreme Court and outgoing president
Alvaro Uribe have clashed in recent months,
with each side criticizing the other.
The Supreme Court even asked for the
intervention of the international community
due to what it called Uribe administration
interference in court decisions, endangering
the country's institutions.
Meanwhile, Santos, of the National Unity
Social Party said he wanted to end the
clashes between the executive and judicial
branches.
"We will work on a coordinated reform of the
justice system to draw boundaries and
provide it with the tools and mechanisms
that will make it more dynamic," he told the
courts.
He also called on magistrates to speak about
the limits needed to reestablish the harmony
that was broken recently by Uribe's constant
and angry complaints against judges and
their sentences.
The former defense minister of the outgoing
government won the second electoral round
with 69 percent, 40 points ahead of his
rival, Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus,
in elections marked by a high rate of
abstention (55 percent). |
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