Pre-Vetting: Evaluation of candidates for positions in the Superior Council of Prosecutors, in NUMBERS

The Pre-Vetting Commission completed the extraordinary evaluation of the 18 candidates who enrolled in the competition for membership in the main self-administration body of prosecutors – the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP). 17 prosecutors from the General Prosecutor’s Office, territorial and specialized prosecutor’s offices and one non-prosecutor, representative of civil society proposed by the Academy of Sciences, were evaluated. Following the checks of their financial and ethical integrity, the Pre-Vetting Commission issued eight decisions passing candidates and ten decisions failing candidates.

Among the ten failing decisions, three involved candidates who withdrew from the competition, one decision involved a failure to submit the 5-year Declaration within the time limit established by law, and six candidates failed following the full evaluation process. Therefore, the results indicate a 41% pass rate among prosecutors, and the only candidate from civil society submitted by the Academy of Sciences also passed the evaluation.

All candidates who met the criteria of ethical and financial integrity agreed to the publication of the Commission’s decision. Of the ten candidates who failed the evaluation, only five agreed to the publication of the Commission’s reasoned decision. All candidates except one chose to be present at the public hearings; the candidate who chose not to be present requested to be evaluated exclusively on the basis of the materials accumulated by the Commission.

Five of the ten candidates who failed the evaluation, or 27% of all candidates in the competition, exercised their legal right to appeal the decision of the Pre-Vetting Commission to the Supreme Court of Justice. At this time, the Court has not addressed any of the five appeals.