The new Constitutional Court (CC) was installed at dawn on April 14, but he is already facing a first challenge due to an amparo action against the Nomination Commission for Attorney General.
The amparo action was presented by lawyer Raúl Falla, a member of the Foundation Against Terrorism. The document exposes a possible risk that the applicant does not respect the requirements to be a candidate.
This document is not new, it has been in the CC for a few weeks now, but the previous presidency, which was headed by Leyla Lemus, did not schedule the protection in time, according to sources from that court, who prefer not to be cited.
To this end, three magistrates of the ninth constitutional magistrate sent a note to Anabella Morfín, the first president of the new CC, requesting that said protection be prioritized.
The petition of the magistrates seeks to define the rules of the candidate for Attorney General before the commission prepares the list of six candidates, which according to its schedule will be this Friday, April 17, 2026
The magistrates’ request is based on article 180 of the Law of Amparo, Exposure Personal and Constitutionality, which allows at least two magistrates to request that a plenary session be convened.
Anabella Morfín’s first challenge as president of the new @CC_Guatemala is to respond to a request from 3 titular magistrates who ask to know about a protection related to the candidate for Attorney General. The action seeks to define whether the judges are suitable or not to be candidates pic.twitter.com/hoJq7I5WVJ
—Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_pl) April 14, 2026
“The above, in consideration, is that it is public and general knowledge that the matter of merit acquired relevance within the Nomination Commission for the Election of Attorney General and Head of the MP, which is why the action of this Court as guarantor of the constitutional postulates is necessary to provide certainty within the framework of the aforementioned process,” says the letter.
The note is signed by Judge Dina Ochoa, appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ); Roberto Molina Barreto, elected by the full Congress; and Julia Rivera, appointed by the Higher University Council (CSU) of the USAC.
The discussion
The document presented by Falla states that there is a risk that the Nomination Commission for the Election of Attorney General does not respect all the legal requirements necessary for applicants.
Emphasizing that among the requirements it must be respected that the applicants have the necessary experience, including at least one period completed as a judge of the Court of Appeals or court of equal category, or having at least 10 years of professional practice as a lawyer.
Currently, the postulator is debating whether the 10 years of practicing law are compatible with the role of career judge, having a heated discussion in the last session of the commission.
Some commissioners sought to put the issue to a vote, but the resistance of another group of commissioners prevented reaching that moment, but it was mentioned that there was a pending protection on the issue, which three CC magistrates are now seeking to hear about.
The action becomes relevant due to the date, since for this Friday, April 17, the postulator plans to prepare the list of six candidates, which will be sent to President Bernardo Arévalo, who must make the appointment of the new head of the MP for the period 2026-2030.
A provisional protection could order that the exercise of a judge is not taken into account in the grading table, which would affect those applicants who have experience as trial judges on their resume.
The protection against the Candidate for MP was presented by Raúl Falla, the action seeks to respect the requirements for the candidates, including professional experience. The commission debates whether the job of a judge is equivalent to the lawyer experience required by law. pic.twitter.com/opqdb91h1V
—Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_pl) April 14, 2026
Currently, the commission is grading files using a grading table, a tool that measures applicants and assigns them a grade that can reach 100 points.
But professionals who do not reach the minimum grade established by the commission, which is 75 points, would not be taken into account as options when the commission draws up the list of six candidates for Attorney General.