DILI, 08 May 2025 (TATOLI) – On 29 April 2025 the Superior Council of the Judiciary wrote to the President of the Republic regarding the appointment of the Honorable Judge, Afonso Carmona, as President of the Court of Appeal.
The Presidential Decree in question stated that the appointment was made under the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the law as currently in force.
“It is important to note that there is nothing in the Constitution of Timor-Leste that states or even implies that the judges of the Court of Appeal are to be appointed in the same manner as the judges of the yet to be established Supreme Court of Justice,” read a statement.
The relevant article of the Law on the Organisation of the Judiciary is article 76A. That article clearly states that, while the current Court of Appeal exercises the powers that the Constitution and the law attribute to the Supreme Court of Justice, its President shall be appointed by the President of the Republic for a term of four years. In order to be appointed the judge must have been a member of the judiciary for at least 20 years.
Factual Misrepresentations
The Superior Council of the Judiciary’s letter falsely states that Dr. Afonso Carmona, has only served for 16 years. The Superior Council’s assertion is directly contradicted by its own official publication in the Jornal da República (Série II, No. 2/2025, 17 January 2025, Page 43), which confirms that he has in fact served as a member of the judiciary for 24 years, 9 months, and 19 days. Dr Carmona therefore fully satisfies the 20-years service requirement stipulated in Article 76A(2) of the Law on the Organisation of the Judiciary.
To make the facts patently clear, Dr. Carmona was initially nominated by UNTAET in early 2002. That is the date from which his service is counted. This is the same for all other judges. It appears that the Superior Council has for some reason forgotten this.
The President notes that the Dra. Maria Natércia Gusmão Pereira’s time of service under UNTAET has always been counted and never questioned. The former President of the Court of Appeal Dr. Deolindo dos Santos seems also to have forgotten that he was appointed on the same day and alongside Dr. Afonso Carmona and has served as a judge for exactly the same period of time.
It is not clear on what basis the Superior Council have come to their conclusion regarding Dr Carmona’s time of service as it contradicts the facts.
The Superior Council’s loss of memory concerning this and its own publication in the Jornal da República are a serious lapse of judgment on their part.
The President is concerned about the institutional capacity of this very important body. He understands that some members of the the public might question the intention of this body and its members holding an extraordinary meeting to misrepresent Dr Carmona’s time of judicial service. The President notes in this context that in holding this extraordinary meeting the relevant Superior Council’s members did not question their own, or their peers’ periods of service.
If it is true, as alleged by certain members of the national parliament, that there exists a scandal in the appointment of Judge Dr. Carmona, then that scandal consists of the way in which members of the Superior Council have used their authority to misrepresent and distort the facts. Whether this was for personal self-interest or other political motives is unclear.
Conduct such as this can only undermine public confidence in the integrity of those involved. It raises questions about professional ethics, potential abuse of functions, and violation of duties. This incident confirms that it is time to start to establish the Supreme Court of Justice as required by our Constitution and to undertake a comprehensive review of judicial organisation. Everything possible must be done to prevent similar confusion from undermining the nation’s confidence in the judicial system in the future.
TATOLI
