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Venezuela The Judiciary
Venezuela has no dual organization of national and
state
courts. Since 1945, all courts have been part of the
federal
system, even though at one point a parallel organization
of state
courts existed. Regardless of their form of organization,
the
courts have never exercised as much influence as the
executive or
even the legislative branch in Venezuela.
As is the case with the legislature, the judicial
branch in
Venezuela does not share equal status with the executive.
Although the law provides for the process of judicial
review and
for coequal status among the three branches of government,
the
reality is quite different. The Venezuelan brand of
federalism
does not provide for state courts. The law is perceived as
the
same, unitary, throughout the national territory. Thus,
all
courts and virtually all legal officers, from those who
arrest to
those who prosecute, are federal (i.e., central
government)
officials.
Broader implications stem from the fact that the
Venezuelan
legal system is essentially a code law system, and thus
the legal
system is relatively rigid and leaves little room for
judicial
discretion. In a system of code law, the jurist is seen as
a
confirmer of the written code rather than the finder or
maker of
the law, as is the case in common law systems.
The highest body in the judicial system is the
fifteen-member
Supreme Court of Justice, which is divided into three
chambers
that handle respectively, politico-administrative, civil,
and
penal matters
(see
fig. 8). Its members are elected by
joint
session of the Congress for nine-year terms. One-third of
the
membership is renewed every three years. Each justice is
restricted to a single term of nine years; this short
tenure
effectively limits how much a Supreme Court justice can
accomplish.
Below the Supreme Court are seventeen judicial
districts,
each district having its own superior court. Lower courts
within
a judicial district include courts of instruction,
district
courts, municipal courts, and courts of first instance.
The
superior courts are composed of either one or three
judges, a
bailiff, and a secretary. They serve as appellate courts
for
matters originating in courts of first instance in the
areas of
civil and criminal law. Some deal exclusively with civil
matters,
others with criminal matters, and others with all
categories of
appeals. The courts of first instance are composed of one
judge,
a bailiff, and a secretary. They have both appellate and
original
jurisdiction and are divided into civil, mercantile,
penal,
finance, transit, labor, and juvenile courts. District
courts are
composed of one judge, one bailiff, and a secretary; they
also
operate nationwide. They have original jurisdiction in
small
bankruptcy and boundary suits, and appellate jurisdiction
over
all cases from the municipal courts. Municipal courts,
consisting
of a judge, a bailiff, and a secretary, hear small claims
cases
and also try those accused of minor crimes and
misdemeanors. They
also perform marriages. Although they do not constitute
courts as
such, instruction judges issue indictments, oversee
investigations to determine whether a case merits the
attention
of the courts and, if so, issue an arrest warrant. Thus,
these
judges perform a crucial task in the initial stages of all
cases
that come before the courts.
In addition to the courts of ordinary jurisdiction,
several
courts of special jurisdiction operate under the Ministry
of
Justice. Military tribunals, fiscal tribunals, and
juvenile
courts all fall into this category. Although they operate
independently of the ordinary courts, the Supreme Court
also acts
as the highest court of appeal for the special courts.
Juvenile
courts throughout the country try those under eighteen
years of
age.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Venezuelan
judicial system is its carryover of medieval Castilian
traditions, such as the fuero militar (military
privilege). Under this centuries-old tradition, members of
the
military cannot be tried by criminal or civilian courts,
although
the military has at times intruded into the civilian
judicial
system. For example, the Armed Forces of Cooperation
(Fuerzas
Armadas de Cooperación--FAC)--also known as the National
Guard--
was charged with the function of protecting all national
territory and highways. Under this broad mandate, it could
and
did prosecute contraband cases and in effect became
involved in
the criminal prosecution of many suspected civilian
offenders.
This power was likely to increase as drug contraband
became a
greater problem in Venezuela, especially along its borders
with
Colombia
(see Threats to Internal Security
, ch. 5).
Generally speaking, the system for selecting judges
tended to
limit their independence. The Congress chooses the members
of the
Supreme Court, and the minister of justice names judges to
the
lower civilian courts. Neither category of judge enjoyed
life
tenure. Judges' salaries were submitted to Congress as
line items
in the Ministry of Justice's annual budget and were
therefore not
guaranteed. Thus, in a number of ways the judiciary was
subordinate to and dependent upon the good will of the
executive
and the legislative branches. Although Venezuelan jurists
occupied a highly regarded position in society, they did
not hold
nearly as much power as their counterparts in those
systems where
judicial review and common law are the basic determinants
of
procedures.
Data as of December 1990
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