Attorney at Law: Venezuelan rule of law is adrift

In a video-chat with daily newspaper El Universal, the director of non-governmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal Venezolano (Venezuelan Criminal Forum), Alfredo Romero, said that the rule of law in Venezuela "is adrift" upon the ruling of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), which consents the Government's administrative continuity.

Romero asserted that the top court's decision is ambiguous and for such a reason he filed a request to elaborate on the TSJ decision that was eventually refused. "Upon this procedure, the Constitutional Court's magistrates said that I was disrespectful for having said that the January 9 ruling was a judicial aberration. The court misinterpreted the Constitution and it must be cleared out."

"Having the Constitutional Court determined that the permission granted by the National Assembly to President Hugo Chávez to undergo a surgery in Cuba did not represent a temporary absence is by no means in compliance with the Laws." Moreover, the decision supports the thesis that temporary absences are decided by the president. Hence, we requested an explanation to understand their legal basis," Romero stated.