Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 370, October 2013

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 107. At its June 2011 meeting, the Committee made the following recommendations on the matters still pending concerning the Single Organized National Trade Union of Workers of the Judiciary (SUONTRAJ) [see 360th Report, para. 129]:
   • The Committee deeply regrets that the Government has not provided the information requested on report No. 138 and therefore once again requests the Government to explain for what purpose report No. 138 of 14 July 2009 was drawn up identifying persons attending the meeting organized by the complainant organization, which according to the latter was possibly intended to enable action to be taken that would be prejudicial for the participants.
2. 108. In its communication of 17 October 2011, the Government explained in relation to the preparation of report No. 138, dated 14 July 2009, to which the Committee refers that: at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 14 July 2009, the members of the SUONTRAJ called on the court workers to hold an extraordinary general assembly in the vicinity of the seat of the municipal courts during working hours, of which neither the Executive Directorate of the Magistracy, nor the judicial coordination department was aware, however, some workers responded to the invitation and grouped at the main entrance to the building. The officials’ participation in this activity meant that they were unexpectedly absent from the job, which affected the normal operation of work within the institution responsible for the administration of justice. This was neither the fault of the judges nor the will of the state institutions, but was a sudden, unplanned situation which was unexpected by the judicial authorities, and hence it was necessary to make a record of the event as a new situation which disrupted citizens’ timely access to justice. This was the sole purpose, as is evident in one of the paragraphs, which is quoted from the report: “It is noted that at around 8.30 a.m. this morning a group of officials of the Judicial Circuit assembled on the ground floor of the courthouse building in response to the invitation from the Steering Committee of the East Caracas branch of SUONTRAJ … However, the Municipal Courts with their seat in the building agreed to perform [the work], even though the document reception and distribution unit and the records management department, which are very important support services in the work of the courts, did not have all their full complement of staff.”
3. 109. The Government adds that highly sensitive areas of the court’s activity were obviously disrupted as a result, but that there is no evidence in the full report of any intimidation by the judicial authority, still less of threats or coercion, of the officials identified in the report or of the complainant trade union organization.
4. 110. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations concerning the preparation of the report.