The MP reacted in this way to the decision of the judges of the highest judicial forum on this Caribbean island arguing that the Office of Court Administration (OAT) had not been notified of the appeal within the specified period.
Given this situation, the ruling issued by Judge Anthony Cuevas of the Court of First Instance on 17 November 2023 to retroactively increase the salaries of members of the judiciary enters into force.
“All parties were duly notified within the period set by our legislation, and we are proving this before the court itself,” Hernandez-Montanez said.
The representative from the opposition People's Democratic Party said, “The direct impact of this ruling – without the signature of its speakers – is that the judiciary – especially the judges themselves who issued this ruling – have legislated for themselves privileges and advantages.” .
He stressed that this is happening “at the expense of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which they swore to defend, at a historical moment when the credibility of public institutions has become fraught with danger.”
Hernandez-Montanez warned that the judiciary itself is not exempt from these questions given the profound deficiencies in its work that have caused those affected by crime to constantly re-victimize themselves in the face of the wave of murders of women covering the country.
He attributed to the judges “the unjustified loss of (women’s) lives due to the inefficiency of that system, which today compensates for itself with rewards and privileges.”
He explained that on Friday he received notification from the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico that its members had rejected the appeal submitted by the House of Representatives in defense of constitutional privileges and the principle of separation of powers due – allegedly – to the failure to complete the appeal within the court. Term. Jurisdiction.
Differing from this approach, the leader of the Puerto Rican deputies called for “caution”, while stressing that “our lawyers are preparing an appeal for reconsideration, on the basis of the law – so that the higher judicial forum can decide this controversy on the basis of its merits.”
He stated that the House of Representatives “will not surrender to defend its constitutional powers in the face of the excessive use of unimportant technology to obtain personal benefit at the expense of the legislative authority.”
Hernandez-Montanez expressed confidence that “the Supreme Court will abandon this disastrous precedent.”
DFM/NRM
“Award-winning alcohol trailblazer. Hipster-friendly internetaholic. Twitter ninja. Infuriatingly humble beer lover. Pop culture nerd.”