CARACAS – Venezuela’s National Assembly unanimously approved a partial reform of the Organic Law of the Supreme Court of Justice on September 1, changing the structure of the body responsible for evaluating and preselecting candidates for the country’s highest court.
The legislation was approved in its second debate, completing its passage through the National Assembly. It must now be sent to the Executive for promulgation and publication in the Official Gazette before taking effect.
The central change involves the Judicial Nominations Committee, which plays a key role in the process of selecting magistrates for the Supreme Court of Justice.
Under the reform, the committee will expand from 21 to 23 members. Eleven will be members of the National Assembly, while 12 will represent civil society.
That structure gives civil society representatives a numerical majority on the committee, potentially increasing their influence over the initial evaluation and selection of candidates for the Supreme Court.
The reform is particularly significant because the committee is expected to oversee a process leading to a new composition of Venezuela’s highest court. Reform of the judiciary has emerged as one of the central issues in political negotiations that began in August between the interim government and sectors of the opposition.
A transitional provision in the legislation requires the National Assembly to establish the new Judicial Nominations Committee once the reform is published in the Official Gazette.
The committee would then begin the procedure for selecting principal and alternate Supreme Court magistrates, as well as members of the court’s auxiliary bodies.
The legislative change modifies the mechanism through which candidates will be considered, but its practical impact will depend heavily on how the process is implemented.
Particular attention is expected to focus on the selection of the 12 civil society representatives, the criteria used to evaluate candidates for the Supreme Court and the transparency of the nomination process.
The broader question will be whether the new procedure produces a Supreme Court viewed as more independent and credible, especially as Venezuela moves through a politically sensitive transition.
With the legal framework now approved by the National Assembly, attention will shift from changing the rules to determining who will participate in the selection process — and ultimately who will occupy the seats on Venezuela’s highest court.