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Uruguay The Judiciary
Like all previous charters, the 1967 constitution
established
the judicial branch as an independent power of the state.
The
Supreme Court of Justice headed the judiciary, both
civilian and
military. Lower civilian courts included six appellate
courts
(for civil matters, criminal matters, and labor matters),
courts
of first instance (sometimes referred to as lawyer courts
[juzgados letrados]), and justice of the peace
courts.
During the military regime (1973-85), the Ministry of
Justice
administered the courts, and military officers were
appointed to
the highest courts. As a result of the 1984 Naval Club
Pact,
which clipped the powers of the military courts, the
judicial
branch regained its autonomy when Sanguinetti assumed
office on
March 1, 1985. That May the General Assembly, despite the
opposition of the Colorado Party, declared all posts of
the
Supreme Court of Justice vacant on the grounds that none
of the
justices had been legally appointed. Accordingly, all of
the
military officers appointed by the military regime to the
high
court or the appellate courts retired from their
positions.
Sanguinetti then formally abolished the Ministry of
Justice,
retaining only the minister of justice post. Nevertheless,
there
was a continuing public debate during his administration
over the
need to reform the legal and judicial systems.
Located in Montevideo, the Supreme Court of Justice
managed
the entire judicial system. It prepared budgets for the
judiciary
and submitted them to the General Assembly for approval,
proposed
all legislation regarding the functioning of the courts,
appointed judges to the appellate courts, and nominated
all other
judges and judicial officials. It had the power to modify
any
decisions made by the appellate courts and was the only
court
allowed to declare the unconstitutionality of laws passed
by the
General Assembly. It alone decided on conflicts affecting
diplomats and international treaties, the execution of the
rulings of foreign courts, and relations among agencies of
the
government. The president of the Supreme Court of Justice
was
empowered to attend meetings of the committees of both
chambers
of the General Assembly and had a voice in discussion but
had no
vote.
A conference of the two chambers of the General
Assembly
appointed the five members of the Supreme Court of
Justice. The
justices had to be between forty and seventy years of age,
native-born citizens in full possession of their civil
rights, or
legal citizens with ten years' exercise of their rights
and
twenty-five years of residence in the country. They also
had to
have been a lawyer for ten years or to have been a judge
or
member of the Public Ministry for eight years. (The Public
Ministry consisted of the public attorneys, headed by the
"attorney general of the court and attorney of the
country," who
acted independently before the Supreme Court of Justice.)
Members
served for ten years and could be reelected after a break
of five
years. At the appointment of the president, two military
justices
served on the Supreme Court of Justice on an ad hoc basis
and
participated only in cases involving the military
(see Military Justice
, ch. 5).
Each of the appellate courts, also located in
Montevideo, had
three judges appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice
with the
consent of the Senate. To be a member, one had to be at
least
thirty-five years of age, a native-born citizen or legal
citizen
for seven years, and a lawyer with at least eight years of
experience or otherwise engaged in a law-related
profession for
at least six years. An appellate court judge was obliged
to
retire by age seventy. These courts did not have original
jurisdiction but heard appeals from lower courts. The
appellate
courts divided responsibilities for civil matters
(including
matters concerning commerce, customs, and minors), as well
as for
criminal and labor affairs.
In Montevideo Department, the judges of first instance,
sometimes referred to as lawyer judges (jueces
letrados),
decided on the appeals to lower-court rulings. In 1990
Montevideo
Department had forty judges of first instance, including
eighteen
who decided on civil matters, four on minors, three on
customs,
ten on criminal cases, and five on labor cases.
Outside Montevideo Department, the first decision on
all
cases of civil, family, customs, criminal, or labor law
was
submitted to the municipal judges of first instance. Each
department had up to five municipal judges of first
instance,
located in the major cities. They could rule on most minor
cases,
with the exception of those that were within the
competence of
the justices of the peace. Both municipal judges of first
instance and the Montevideo Department judges of first
instance
had to have previously served as justices of the peace.
At the lowest level, each of the country's 224 judicial
divisions had a justice of the peace court. The Supreme
Court of
Justice appointed the 224 justices of the peace for
four-year
terms. They had to be at least twenty-five years of age,
nativeborn citizens or legal citizens for two years, and in full
possession of their civil rights. Those who served in
Montevideo
Department and the capitals and major cities of other
departments
had to be lawyers; those in rural areas had to be either
lawyers
or notaries. Their jurisdiction was limited to cases
involving
eviction, breach of contract, collection of rent, and all
smallclaims commercial and business cases.
The law recognized only one category of lawyer. In
order to
practice law, an individual had to first obtain the degree
of law
and social sciences from the Faculty of Law and Social
Sciences
of the University of the Republic (also known as the
University
of Montevideo). The degree was granted by the university
after
the successful completion of six years of studies.
Candidates had
to be at least twenty-one years of age, listed in the
Register of
Lawyers maintained by the Supreme Court of Justice, not be
under
indictment for a crime penalized by corporal punishment,
and not
have been convicted of a crime. A public defender system
was
established in 1980 with the placing of lawyers in all
courts to
assist those unable to pay for their services. Public
defenders--
appointed jointly by the president and the minister of
justice--
protected the society's interests.
Data as of December 1990
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