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Supreme Tribunal of Justice Tribunal Supremo de Justicia
TSJ building in Caracas
Location	Caracas
Authorised by	Constitution of Venezuela
Website	Official website
President
Currently	Gladys María Gutiérrez Alvarado

The Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Template:Lang-es or TSJ) is the highest court of law in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is the head of the judicial branch.

The Supreme Tribunal may meet either in specialized chambers (of which there are six: constitutional, political/administrative, electoral, civil, criminal, and social) or in plenary session. Each chamber has five judges, except the constitutional, which has seven. Its main function is to control, according to the constitution and related laws, the constitutionality and legality of public acts.

The Supreme Tribunal's 32 justices (magistrados) are appointed by the National Assembly and serve non-renewable 12-year terms. Appointments are made by a two-thirds majority, or a simple majority if efforts to appoint a judge fail three times in a row. Under article 265 of the 1999 Constitution, judges may be removed by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly, if the Attorney General, Comptroller General, and Human Rights Ombudsperson have previously agreed a "serious failure" and suspended the judge accordingly.

History

The Tribunal was created under the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela, replacing the Supreme Court of Venezuela. For some years provisional statutes regulated the number of judges - initially 20, with three in each chamber except the constitutional, which had five - and their selection. The statutes were replaced in 2004 by an "organic law" (a law required to clarify constitutional provisions). The law also permitted the National Assembly to revoke the appointment of a judge, by a simple majority, where a judge had provided false information as to his/her credentials.

Criticisms

Venezuela's judicial system has been deemed the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International in 2014. Human Rights Watch claimed that in 2004, Hugo Chávez and his allies took over of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, filling it with supporters of Chávez and made new measures so the government could dismiss justices from the court. In 2010, legislators from Chávez’s political party appointed 9 permanent judges and 32 stand-ins, which included several allies. They claim that some judges may face reprisals if they rule against government interests.

It has also been alleged that the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with the majority supporting Chávez elected officials to the supposedly non-partisan National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) despite the 1999 Constitution stating that the National Assembly of Venezuela were to perform the action. This resulted with the CNE board having a majority consisting of Chavistas.

References

1. ^ Venezuelanalysis, 17 May 2004, “The Venezuelan Judicial System always was the Cinderella of the State Powers”
2. "CORRUPTION BY COUNTRY / TERRITORY: VENEZUELA". Transparency International. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
3. "World Report 2012: Venezuela". Report. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
4. ^ Hawkins, Kirk A. (2010). Venezuela's Chavismo and populism in comparative perspective (1. publ. ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521765039. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

External links

• Template:Es icon Tribunal Supremo de Justicia web site
• Template:Es icon magistrados

v t e Landmarks of Caracas
Museums	Alejandro Otero Museum Birthplace of Simón Bolívar Bolivarian Museum Boulevard of Sabana Grande, open-air museum Children's Museum William Phelps Ornithological Museum Contemporary Art Museum Fine Arts Museum La Estancia Art Center National Art Gallery National Pantheon Science Museum Simón Bolívar Center Soto Sphere Arturo Michelena Museum
Religion	Bet-El Synagogue Tiféret Israel Synagogue Caracas Cathedral Iglesia de San Francisco La Chiquinquirá Church Mosque of Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim Church of St. Constantine and Helena Caracas Venezuela Temple
Culture and sport	Aula Magna — UCV Brígido Iriarte Stadium Caracas Athenaeum Estadio Olímpico Estadio Simón Bolívar Estadio Universitario La Rinconada Hippodrome National Library National Theater Parque Cristal Poliedro de Caracas Teatro Municipal Teatro Simón Bolívar Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex University City
Government	Miraflores Palace Palacio de Justicia de Caracas Palacio de las Academias Palacio Federal Legislativo Palacio Municipal de Caracas Supreme Tribunal of Justice Yellow House
Public art	María Lionza (1951 statue) Paseo Los Próceres
Other	Boulevard of Sabana Grande Aerial Tramway Avenida Bolívar Correo de Carmelitas Centro Sambil Centro San Ignacio El Recreo Shopping Mall El Calvario El Hatillo El Silencio Humboldt Hotel La Casona La Pastora Las Mercedes Los Caobos Park Los Conductores del País Mural Metro Nuevo Circo Parque Central Complex Parque del Este Plaza Bolívar Plaza Francia Plaza Venezuela Quinta de Anauco Villa Planchart

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