A/HRC/43/3/Add.1 4251-2019 and 4862-2019).20 In the case of the nominating commission for the Supreme Court of Justice, it ordered that the selection of commission members be repeated owing to concerns regarding transparency. The Constitutional Court also ordered the Judicial Career Council to carry out a pre-screening of judicial performance of the more than 500 candidates before submitting the list to the nominating commissions for evaluations, in accordance with the Judicial Career Law. 31. On 2 December, the Constitutional Court issued a final and unanimous judgment spelling out a road map for the election of high court judges, ordering that evaluations of candidates occur within 30 days and that the list of nominations be presented to Congress thereafter (file No. 6528-2019). On 7 December, the Court issued a press statement further clarifying the judgment.21 Thus, on 9 December the nominating commission for the Supreme Court was established and on 11 December, the nominating commission for the Appeals Court was established. 32. A number of measures are still necessary to consolidate the progress made since the signature of the 1996 Peace Accords in order to strengthen the independence of the justice system and the rule of law. This includes the approval of the by-law to the Judicial Career Law and the selection of new members of the Judicial Career Council’s auxiliary bodies.22 B. Judicial independence 33. The patterns of attacks, reprisals and intimidation against judges and public prosecutors documented by OHCHR in previous years persisted in 2019. Judges of the Constitutional Court and those in the High-Risk Courts who preside over cases related to transitional justice and corruption have been particularly targeted. Attacks have come from sectors of society that could benefit from continued impunity. 34. On 9 January, following an injunction blocking the Executive’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement establishing CICIG, banners were hung around Guatemala City with photos of three judges of the Constitutional Court, labelling them as traitors. In August, workers of the Fenix mine of the Guatemalan Nickel Company in El Estor, Izabal, blocked the exit of the judges of the Constitutional Court for an entire day. These workers had been mobilized to protest against the temporary injunction issued by the Court suspending the company’s mining licence owing to a lack of consultation with affected indigenous communities and possible environmental impacts. 35. In October, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights issued precautionary measures for four judges of the Constitutional Court (two acting judges and two alternates), bringing the total number of Constitutional Court judges benefiting from such measures to five.23 36. Judges in the High-Risk Courts C and D, which have jurisdiction over complex corruption cases, have faced various attacks linked to their work, including requests to lift their immunity so they can be criminally prosecuted, smear campaigns in social media, and the appointment of support personnel who leaked information and documents from the courtrooms. Owing to these actions, Erika Aifán, the judge of High-Risk Court D, received precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights on 23 October.24 20 21 22 23 24 Civil society and judge of the Appeals Court filed the injunction request. Constitutional Court, COM 25-2019. Available at cc.gob.gt/2019/12/07/comunicado-de-prensacomisiones-de-postulacion-magistrados-organismo-judicial/ (in Spanish). Decree No. 32-2016 (Judicial Career Law), arts. 6 (d), 32 and 76. Resolution 34-2017, precautionary measure 431-17, August 2017. Available at oas.org/es/cidh/decisiones/pdf/2017/34-17MC431-17-GU.pdf (in Spanish). See also resolution 56/2019, precautionary measure 28-19, October 2019. Available at oas.org/es/cidh/decisiones/pdf/2019/56-19MC28-19-GU.pdf (in Spanish). Resolution 55/2019, precautionary measure 682-18, October 2019. Available at oas.org/es/cidh/decisiones/pdf/2019/55-19MC682-18-GU.pdf (in Spanish). 7