Corrupt judges to be fired soon

The Fourth Court of General Business after receiving the preliminary results of the judicial audits decided to adopt a series of measures aimed at improving the ailing system.

A commission formed by the Supreme Court Judges Jerónimo Mejía, Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño and Adán Arnulfo Arjona was appointed to investigate why the files of the bankruptcy case of ADELAG stayed in the office of the General Secretariat for nearly three years.

ADELAG was a fraudulent bankruptcy case, in which the directors accumulated more than $100 million in debts. Banks and private individuals are still awaiting resolution. Nobody knows why it has taken so long.

The Fourth Tribunal also authorized through an agreement, the director of the Judicial Audit department to formally accuse the judges Ricardo Mazza, Second Judge of the Criminal Circuit of Chorrera and Violeta Soto, Municipal Judge of Chorrera of crimes against ethics, so they can be separated from their office and eventually dismissed.

Mazza acquitted Rodolfo “Charro” Espino, uncle of President Martin Torrijos when he was accused of destroying hectares of mangroves in Punta Chame, breaking environmental laws and a crime against the country. There is also in process a petition to dismiss four court employees from different courts of the Criminal Circuit.

The analyses of the judicial audits aim to determine the involvement of court employees with irregularities that breach the norms of judicial ethics or of other kinds. The Fourth Tribunal will sanction those found guilty of any misdemeanors.

The presidents of the Civil, Criminal, Administrative Litigation and Labor Courts form the Fourth Tribunal. They are Harley Mitchell, Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño and Víctor Leonel Benavides.

Recently the Judicial Audit Department appointed four new auditors and more personnel to continue carrying out its investigations all over the country and at the same time collaborate with the different tribunals to improve the administration of justice.

The idea is for the department to become a support unit for the public administration of justice in a fair and transparent manner for the benefit of society.

The Judicial Audit department is responsible for maintaining a statistical register and follow up the disciplinary proceedings and lack of ethics that may occur in the processes of the different tribunals of the country.