New York/San Salvador.- The newly elected Legislative Assembly of El Salvador dismissed the top five judges of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Attorney General on May 1^st, their first day in office. Nuevas Ideas, the political party of President Nayib Bukele that holds a parliamentary supermajority, nearly 80% of the 84-member Legislative Assembly, must ensure representation of all sectors of society and uphold human rights and inclusive participation instead of leading their country towards authoritarianism.

Democratic institutions and principles should be respected by all. The Executive has a mandate to ensure the proper functioning of institutions and guarantee their independence. The Judiciary is essential to ensure that there is no impunity for violations of fundamental human rights, as well as civil and political rights. An infringement on its independence is a strong sign of democratic decline, illustrating the slide of El Salvador toward an authoritarian regime. The Parliament is a body representing the will of the people and not a body that merely grants a veneer of legality to actions of the government regardless of their unconstitutionality of illegalityDip. Jorge Cálix, PGA Board Member

At the beginning of his mandate, El Salvador’s President Bukele has already taken measures in flagrant violations of the separation of powers, constitutional order, democracy, and the rule of law, under the pretense of state emergency measures to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. A similar concentration of power in the hands of the Executive branch has been observed only in a few States throughout Latin America. These increasingly authoritarian governments are irresponsibly taking advantage of the health crisis to subvert human rights, undermine democratic institutions by designing oppressive rules that favor their purported ideological priorities.

In light of the unconstitutional dismissal of the five Supreme Court of Justice judges, many observers have expressed their profound concern and condemnation:  In this respect, critical statements have been issued by the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and Members of the U.S. Congress such as Representative Jim McGovern, PGA member, who stressed in a tweetthat the Legislative Assembly’s move to dismiss judges is “[…] not democracy, this is the destruction of an independent judiciary and the rule of law.”

I am disturbed and angered by President Bukele’s new National Assembly majority voting to remove all judges of the Constitutional Chamber.

Let us be clear: this is not democracy, this is the destruction of an independent judiciary and the rule of law.

— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) May 2, 2021

On June 10, 2020, PGA’s Democratic Renewal and Human Rights Campaign issued an Urgent Action Alert on El Salvador expressing grave concern at President Bukele’s disregard of check and balances underpinning democracy and the fear several then legislators articulated about their independence to conduct their legislative prerogatives.

The government of El Salvador should respect democracy and the rule of law, which hinge inter alia on the separation of powers. Democratic principles, starting with the independence and autonomy of the judicial branch, shall be safeguarded against any types of attacks.

PGA stands in solidarity with the unconstitutionally removed Judges and calls upon all relevant actors in the International Community, including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, to take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure that the Government of El Salvador reinstates the Constitutional (Supreme) Court Judges unlawfully dismissed by Parliament and respects the rule of law and the principle of legality, in compliance with its international legal obligations under the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other applicable treaties regarding which El Salvador has taken the sovereign and free decision to become a State Party.