Supreme Court Network

The Magistrates and Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, Venezuela

The Magistrates and Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice are elected by the National Assembly. They have a duration in their positions of twelve (12) years, for a single period.

Article 263. To be a magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice, the following is required:

1.- Have Venezuelan nationality by birth and not have another nationality.
2.- Be a citizen of recognized honor.
3.- Be a lawyer of recognized competence, enjoy a good reputation, have practiced law for a minimum of fifteen years and have a postgraduate university degree in legal matters; or have been a university professor or university professor in legal science for a minimum of fifteen years and have the category of tenured professor or professor; or be or have been a superior judge or judge in the specialty corresponding to the Chamber for which they are applying, with a minimum of fifteen years in the exercise of the judicial career, and recognized prestige in the performance of their duties.
4.- Any other requirements established by law.

Those who are linked to each other by marriage, adoption, kinship in a straight line or in a collateral line within the fourth (4th) degree of consanguinity or second (2nd) of affinity cannot be simultaneously Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice. Nor may the Magistrates exercise other positions, professions or activities that are incompatible with their functions and that do not constitute remunerated public purposes, such as being members of codifying commissions, editors or reviewers of laws, ordinances or regulations. They can hold academic and teaching positions, unless these are full-time and are incompatible.

Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Chamber Supreme Court of Justice Venezuela

It is within the competence of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice:

1. Declare the total or partial nullity of national laws and other acts with the force of law of the National Assembly, which collide with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

2. Declare the total or partial nullity of the Constitutions and state laws, municipal ordinances and other acts of the deliberative bodies of the States and Municipalities that are issued in direct and immediate execution of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and that collide with her.

3. Declare the total or partial nullity of the acts with the rank of law that are dictated by the National Executive, which collide with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

4. Declare the total or partial nullity of the acts in direct and immediate execution of the Constitution, dictated by any other state body in the exercise of Public Power, when they collide with it.

5. Verify, at the request of the President of the Republic or the National Assembly, the conformity with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, of the international treaties that are signed by the Republic, before their ratification.

6. Review, in any case, even ex officio, the constitutionality of the decrees that declare states of exception that are issued by the President of the Republic.

7. Declare the unconstitutionality of the omissions of the Municipal, State or National Legislative Power, when it has stopped issuing the essential rules or measures to guarantee compliance with the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, or has dictated them incompletely, as well as the omissions of any of the bodies of the National, State or Municipal Public Power, and establish the term and, if necessary, the guidelines or measures for their correction.

8. Resolve the collisions that exist between various legal provisions and declare which should prevail.

9. Settle the constitutional controversies that arise between any of the organs of the Public Power.

10. Review the definitively firm sentences that are dictated by the Courts of the Republic, when they have ignored any precedent dictated by the Constitutional Chamber; made an improper application of a constitutional rule or principle; or produced a serious error in its interpretation; or due to lack of application of any constitutional principle or norms.

11. Review the sentences issued by the other Chambers that are subsumed in the cases indicated in the previous numeral, as well as the violation of fundamental legal principles that are contained in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, international treaties, pacts or conventions signed and validly ratified by the Republic or when they incur in violations of constitutional rights.

12. Review the definitively final sentences in which diffuse control of the constitutionality of the laws or other legal norms has been exercised, which are dictated by the other Chambers of the Supreme Court of Justice and other Courts of the Republic.

13. Resolve conflicts of any nature that may arise between the Chambers that make up the Supreme Court of Justice or between officials of the Court itself, due to their functions.

14. Determine, before their promulgation, the constitutionality of the organic nature of the laws that are sanctioned by the National Assembly, or of the decrees with the rank and force of law that are issued by the President of the Republic in Council of Ministers .

15. Know the request made by the President of the Republic, within the ten days he has to promulgate it, about the unconstitutionality of a law that is sanctioned by the National Assembly or some of its articles, of accordance with article 214 of the Constitution.

16. Avocate the cases in which a violation of constitutional public order is presumed, both from the other Chambers and from the other courts of the Republic, provided that no final judgment has been handed down.

17. Know the demand for interpretation of rules and principles that make up the constitutional system.

18. Hear in a single instance the lawsuits for constitutional protection that are filed against high-ranking national public officials of constitutional rank.

19. Know the appeals against the sentences that fall in the processes of autonomous constitutional protection that are dictated by the superior courts of the Republic, except against those of the Superior Courts in Administrative Litigation.

20. Hear the demands for autonomous constitutional amparo against the decisions handed down, in the last instance, by the superior courts of the Republic, except for those filed against those of the Superior Courts in Administrative Litigation.

21. Hear the claims and amparo claims for the protection of diffuse or collective interests when the dispute has national significance, except for what is provided by special laws and the claims that, by their nature, correspond to the litigation of public services or to the litigation electoral.

22. Hear the amparo claims against the acts, actions and omissions of the National Electoral Council, the National Electoral Board, the Civil and Electoral Registry Commission, the Political Participation and Financing Commission, as well as other subordinate bodies and subordinates of the Electoral Power.

23. The others established by the Constitution and the laws.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF UKRAINE

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is a body of constitutional jurisdiction, which ensures the supremacy of the Constitution of Ukraine, decides on conformity of laws of Ukraine to the Constitution of Ukraine and other acts in the cases provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine, provides official interpretation of the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as exercises other powers under the Constitution of Ukraine.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine was established on October 16, 1996, its operation based on the principles of the rule of law, independence, collegiality, publicity, openness, complete and comprehensive consideration of cases, reasonableness and binding effect of its decisions and opinions.

The Court adopts decisions, provides opinions, delivers rulings, and issues interim orders. Acts on matters which are not related to constitutional proceedings are  adopted in the form of resolutions. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine rendered its first decision on May 13, 1997.

The procedure of organisation and operation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the status of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the grounds and procedure for appealing to it, the procedure for considering cases and executing its decisions are determined by the Constitution of Ukraine (of June 28, 1996), by the Law of Ukraine “On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine” (of July 13, 2017), as well as by the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (of February 22, 2018).

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine is composed of eighteen judges. The President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Congress of Judges of Ukraine each appoint six judges of the Constitutional Court according to the results of competitive selection. Currently, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine consists of 15 judges.

The Court comprises the Grand Chamber, two Senates and six Boards.

The Grand Chamber, while operating, consists of all Judges of the Constitutional Court.

The Senate (the First and the Second) consists of nine Judges of the Constitutional Court.

The Board (six Boards) consists of three Constitutional Court Judges.

The Secretary of the Board is elected from among the Constitutional Court Judges who are members of this Board on the plenary session.

The Chairman of the Court is elected from among the Constitutional Court Judges by secret ballot at a special plenary session of the Court for a single three-year term. The Chairman acts in the representative, managerial and administrative capacity.

The Deputy Chairman of the Court is elected upon the proposal of the Chairman of the Court for a single three-year term by secret ballot in the manner prescribed for the election of the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. The Deputy Chairman of the Court, under instructions of the Chairman of the Court, exercises some of his/her powers.

To address issues associated with organisational activities of the Court special plenary sessions of the Court or sessions of the Court are convened.

Standing Commissions act as auxiliary bodies of the Court in the issues of managing internal operations.

Currently, the Constitutional Court has the following Standing Commissions: on Regulations and Ethics, on Budget and Personnel, on Scientific Support, on International Relations and on Legal Terminology.

Applications to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine are made in the form of constitutional petition, constitutional appeal, or constitutional complaint.

The Secretariat of the Court, led by the Head of the Secretariat, provides organisational, analytical, legal, information and logistics support for the Court’s operations.

The Regulations on the Secretariat, its structure and staff table are approved by the Court upon submission of the Head of the Secretariat.

During the first quarter of each year, the Court makes public annual information report of its activities and financial support in the previous year.

Research Advisory Council is formed at the Constitutional Court from highly qualified specialists in the field of law for the preparation of research opinions on the activities of the Constitutional Court.

The Court maintains cooperation with foreign bodies of constitutional jurisdiction, international courts and international organisations by concluding agreements on cooperation, mutual exchange of delegations, etc.

The official publication of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is “The Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine”.

SOURCE: Constitutional Court Ukraine