Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze the conduct of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court – GCC – in its own context and history, and how it has positioned itself as a valuable political player in defining public policies and elections in Guatemala. As this paper shows, the growing influence of the GCC led to the politization of the appointment of its many benches throughout its history. This politization has resulted in radical shifts of its case law and a sacrifice of predictability. Yet, this historical analysis illustrates how the GCC, regardless of the many changes in the benches, has created constitutional judicial culture of value for indeterminism. It is through this indeterminism that the GCC has acted as a sort of political arbiter to maintain social and economic stability in a post-conflict reality.
The Guatemalan Constitutional Court: Political Arbiter or Political Servant?
Constitutional Reasoning in Latin AmericaCarlos Arturo Villagrán Sandoval**I want to give thanks to Anna Dziedzic, Johanna Fröhlich, Juan Pablo Gramajo, Edgar Ortiz and Sofia Milian for their insightful comments and great editing skills.ZÖR 2023, 463 Heft 3 v. 9.10.2023
Inhalt
- I. Introduction
- II. The Guatemalan Constitutional Court in Law: Designing a Legal Hegemon to Preserve a Political Stalemate in a New Constitutional Moment
- III. The GCC in History: Becoming a Political Key Player
- IV. Evaluation of the Court’s Reasoning: Some Initial Thought and the Need to Study Design with Politics
- V. Conclusion
- References
