members of the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court, who will be chosen in the first half of 2018. The IACHR urges the State of Guatemala to push through the constitutional reform in the area of justice and enact it as soon as possible, while seeing to it that international standards in that regard are met. The Commission believes that the proposal to create a body in which the adjudicatory and administration functions of the Supreme Court of Justice are separate and which is independent from other branches of government could effectively better safeguard the independence of judges from pressures aimed at influencing or controlling their decisions. It also considers it important that the amendment of the Judicial Career Law be approved soon in order to completely and effectively integrate the operations of the Judicial Career Council. As to appointment and selection processes, as well as performance evaluation, the State should ensure that selection is based on merit and professional capacity and that the principle of non-discrimination and equal access to opportunities is observed. The Commission notes that in response to public demands to fight corruption and enhance judicial independence, the Congress adopted a number of amendments to laws, including the Organic Law of the Public Prosecution Service and the Judicial Career Law. According to the human rights ombudsman, one of the most important advances of the new provisions is the incorporation of guiding principles and the creation of the Judicial Career Council, whose functions will include convocation, appointment, performance evaluation, and the disciplinary regime for justices of the peace and lower court judges; the appointment of disciplinary boards and of the Director of the School of Legal Studies; approval of the policies and programs of the School of Legal Studies; and notification of the Congress of the expiration of the constitutional term of office of members of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. On June 29, 2016, the Public Prosecution Service, CICIG, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed the adoption by the Congress of Decree No. 32-2016 (Judicial Career Law), saying that it would help to strengthen and ensure judicial independence and impartiality consistent with international human rights standards. The Law is designed to ensure that the procedures for selection, promotion, transfer, and performance evaluation of judges is done based on objective and transparent criteria, merit and expertise, as well as establishing guarantees for due process in disciplinary proceedings. CICIG and the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also welcomed the reform of the Organic Law of the Public Prosecution Service, saying that it would help strengthen the institutional framework of the
Murders of Journalists and Reporters, and Impunity for these Crimes In 2016, and thus far in 2017, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression received information about the murder of 10 journalists in Guatemala. Eight journalists were reported to have been murdered in 2016; nevertheless, it has not been determined whether their murders were connected to the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. According to the information available, the authorities opened investigations in those cases, but no answers have yet been provided with respect to the logical line of investigation into whether these crimes were connected to the work the victims were performing as journalists and media workers. The Office of the Special Rapporteur has received information about two other cases in 2017, which it is monitoring in order to establish whether they are related to the victims’ journalistic work. In its comments to the draft of this report, the State indicated that between 2012 and June 2017, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received 372 reports related to threates, violent attacks and murders of journalists, which lead to 17 judicial sentences: two acuittals and six convictions for crimes against life, as well as one acquittal and eight convictions for other crimes. Journalist Manuel Salvador Villagrán, who worked with different local media outlets in the municipality of San Jorge, Department of Zacapa, was murdered on January 19, 2017. He was also reportedly the head of the Department of Public Relations of the Municipality of San Jorge. Sources revealed that the journalist was shot several times while riding his motorcycle. According to publicly available information, significant progress has been made in the investigation of this crime. Also, on July 8, 2017, journalist and presenter Johnny Javier Guardado’s body was found in the municipality of El Chal, Department of Petén. According to the information available, he had been stabbed. Additionally, according to the information gathered by the Office of the Special Rapporteur and received during the on-site visit, Guatemala continues to have high levels of impunity for crimes involving the murder of journalists. Given the slow pace of the investigations, in most cases the authorities reportedly have not been able to determine whether these crimes are related to the journalistic work of the victims. According to Guatemalan freedom of expression organizations, that situation gives rise to self-censorship among journalists who do not know why they might be attacked.