In a new chapter of Al Pan Pan with Mirna Schindler, Lawyer Davor Harasic, professor of procedural law and former dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile (2015 and 2018), addressed the questionable practices that have permeated the process of appointing judges in Chile.
The recent revelation of conversations between the former Minister of the Court of Appeals Juan Antonio Poblete and political figures such as the former Defense Minister of the Piñera government, Mario Desbordes, to influence—for example—the appointment of Judge María Teresa Letelier to the Court Supreme Court, has generated a heated debate about the integrity of the judicial system. According to Harasic, these revelations are “aberrant” and exemplify how “the system of appointment of magistrates was prostituted“.
The academic severely criticized political intervention in a process that should be impartial and based on professional merits. “When the system of prior appointment with competition and subsequent proposal to the Senate was established, it seemed like it was a good system,” said Harasic, stating that it was the politicians who diverted it from its original purpose.
The lawyer pointed to partisan polarization in the selection of judges, a dynamic that, according to him, does not correspond to the ideal of an independent and fair judicial system. “There is a saying in the judiciary: Is it cheese or pine? Because we go one and one,” he said, referring to an alternation between judges of different political orientations that does not favor the stability or impartiality of the Judiciary.
Harasic stressed the urgency of reforming the current system, characterized by its opacity and the undue influence of political actors in judicial decisions. “This appointment system needs to be urgently changed.“He insisted, calling to maintain transparency as an unbreakable principle. “You can’t get there without going through the politicians. It is not known what is being discussed there. We can think anything,” she warned.
It is worth mentioning that the case that has generated the most controversy is that of the numerous conversations that the questioned former judge Poblete had with right-wing politicians so that Letelier could reach the Supreme Court. In this case, the efforts for her promotion become relevant, because she participated in the Chamber that in June 2023 granted “immediate freedom” to her promoter in office, Poblete himself, when he was serving preventive detention for the investigation. of the crimes of falsification of public instruments and interception of communications in the Surveyor case.
“A chat, a WhatsApp, cannot occur between a judge and a minister of State,” stated Davor Harasic.
Finally, the procedural law expert emphasized that although the Chilean Judiciary has mostly honest judges, the need for reform is imminent to restore public confidence in justice. “There are many systems, but there is only one thing that we must not give up: transparency,” concluded Harasic, urging a deep and transparent review of the system for appointing judges in Chile.
Acampes at the University of Chile: “They mark teachers like animals are marked at the fair”
In the midst of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, students from the University of Chile have occupied the historic Central House as a form of protest and solidarity with the Palestinian people. This action, which began in mid-May, has generated intense debate within and outside the university community.
Davor Harasic, as former dean of the Law School of the University of Chile, offered a critical analysis of the situation. In dialogue with Mirna Schindler, he emphasized that while he supports the Palestinian cause and condemns the actions of the Israeli government, he considers unacceptable the method used by the students to “mark” the teachers who enter the building, comparing it to an animal control mechanism. .
“He has fallen into unacceptable situations,” Harasic said. “This marking teachers is like marking animals at the fair.” His criticism focuses on the fact that the “camps” in the Central House do not have clear institutional support, since, according to him, they do not represent a formally constituted university establishment. Harasic stressed that the action is carried out by a specific group of students, without a democratic mandate or clear support from the student centers of the University of Chile.
The main objective of the occupation is to demand that the House of Bello end its agreements with Israeli educational institutions, a demand that until now has only been complied with by the Faculty of Philosophy. Meanwhile, the Student Federation (FECh) and other pro-Palestinian groups have made an “urgent call to the community to resist at Casa Central,” since they claim to have received a request to evict the classroom, which is why the installation of more students “is essential for student resistance to the cause.”
On the other hand, Harasic highlighted the strong position of President Gabriel Boric, who recently described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war criminal.” This reflects, according to Harasic, that the majority of Chilean society rejects the actions of the Israeli government.
However, he said that “any negative rating is not enough,” in front of a canvas that shows an illustration of Netanyahu kissing rector Rosa Devés. The participants of the “camp” at the Central House issued a statement, pointing out that it was a “political satire” that alluded to an iconic mural and that they do not agree “with the use of feminism and the position of women of the guiding principle as a tool to divert focus.”
