In a repudiation note to which the Lusa agency had access, the AJA "vehemently" condemned the appointment of judges as presidents of the districts of Benguela, Huambo and Lobito, by the Permanent Commission of the CSMJ.
The AJA stressed that it became aware “with great surprise and concern” of the aforementioned act by deliberation of the CSMJ, on the 25th of this month.
"The AJA considers it to be an established assumption, in a rule of law such as Angola, that the institutions' actions must be guided by strict respect for the rule of law and the duty to justify their decisions", emphasizes the note.
According to the association, the bodies of the judiciary, “who, as a result of the Constitution and the Law, have the task of resolving conflicts, applying and respecting the law, have a redoubled duty to abide by and comply with the law, especially in their legal attributions in the management and discipline of judicial magistrates, which was not observed at all by the Permanent Commission of the CSMJ, in its deliberation of 25 July, when it appointed the Presidential Judges of the Districts of Benguela and Huambo, under the terms in which it did so”.
The CSMJ acted, he adds, "in flagrant affront and violation of the law, insofar as the CSMJ Law, Law No. to appoint presiding judges of the District Courts, a matter that is now expressly regulated in the LOFTJC [Organic Law on the Organization and Functioning of the Courts of Common Jurisdiction], Law No. effect an objective legal regime of appointment for the exercise of the function of Judges President of the District Court, based on a criterion of rotation based on and prevalence of the seniority of the Judicial Magistrates in the category, in the respective region”.
In this sense, “by statutory duty, the AJA vehemently repudiates the position taken by the Permanent Commission of the CSMJ by the aforementioned deliberation and urges the plenary of the CSMJ to revoke the referred deliberation, making the law crease and prevail”.
To associates and judges in general, AJA “urges and challenges them to be guided by an upright and ethical posture in defense of the rule of law, the image of the judiciary and the rule of law and encourages them to reject any action that distorts the criterion of the law, whether for the exercise of functions within the bodies of the CSMJ, in the courts and in career promotion contests, as in the exercise of the function in general”.
“The AJA reaffirms, finally, its firm and uncompromising commitment to fight for the defense of legality, whatever the circumstances, and for the case of the deliberation in reference does not rule out the possibility of activating the judicial means to reverse the situation, if in a reasonable time, the Plenary of the CSMJ does not sanction it and restore legality”, underlines the document.
