Héctor Carvajal is elected by the Senate to be the new judge of the Constitutional Court.

Unsurprisingly, Héctor Carvajal was elected by the Senate as the new Constitutional Court justice, replacing Justice Cristina Pardo Schlesinger. The plenary session elected him with a vote of 66 in favor. Didima Rico and Karena Caselles were also among the nominees.

Neither of them stood a chance against Carvajal. Not only was Carvajal seen as President Gustavo Petro's candidate, but he also made a strong push in recent weeks. According to senators from various sectors, he was canvassing for votes in the Senate every day. He was also allegedly assisted by Luis Eduardo Parra, a former comptroller delegate close to the Historic Pact, who was seen making moves on Carvajal's behalf.

The other candidate who finally made a move and put up a fight was Karena Caselles, but it wasn't enough. Carvajal won thanks to a hypothetical nod from President Petro—whose lawyer he was until recently—his past as a defender of former President Álvaro Uribe, and a campaign that was notorious in the halls of Congress.

With his arrival, there are several issues that have been controversial in the run-up to the election and were ultimately ignored by the senators. The first, and most important, is independence from the executive branch, as the new judge is very close to the president.

Carvajal was specifically questioned by the senators about this close relationship. Although he acknowledged that he has been the current President's lawyer, he emphasized that he has also defended other politicians sitting in Congress.

However, the close relationship is clear, and with Carvajal, the Colombian president has at least two magistrates of his own ilk, the other being Vladimir Fernández, former legal secretary of the Casa de Nariño. In both cases, the president's tendency to include people from his circle among the nominees was questioned.

The other area of ​​criticism was the mandatory retirement age, as Carvajal would not be able to serve an eight-year term as a judge because he is 66, while the legal age limit for the judiciary is 70. However, he has submitted a statement seeking to refute these claims, stating that this age would not affect him, but other judges on the same court have had to leave their positions early due to this condition.

The latest objection raised during these days was that Carvajal is replacing a woman, which ultimately goes against gender parity on the Constitutional Court. Representative Jenifer Pedraza emphasized this point before Tuesday's session. She distributed letters asking senators to support Rico or Caselles. Currently, there were four women and five men. With the new judge, that number increases to three women and six men. Therefore, it has been suggested that the next list should definitely be women.

Carvajal's victory speech was brief. "Rest assured that you were not mistaken. You elected an independent person, a lover of life, open to dialogue," the new judge told the Senate.

"You will always have a helping hand, even if we don't share a legal opinion," Carvajal said. He emphasized that he would not be biased, given the doubts he has generated due to his closeness to the president.

Héctor Carvajal is expected to study at least three issues directly related to the executive branch. The full chamber of the Constitutional Court will now begin to debate Judge Jorge Enrique Ibáñez's motion to dismiss the pension reform due to procedural flaws.

Likewise, the high court must assume responsibility for the review of the writ of protection that states that the CNE would not be competent to investigate President Petro for the alleged irregular financing of his 2022 campaign. A peculiarity in this case is that Carvajal was the president's representative in said process, so it is expected that he will declare himself impeded from reviewing said dossier.

The final case in question is the study of the constitutionality of each of the decrees on the state of internal unrest in Catatumbo. Several are still in effect and must be reviewed to determine whether they are consistent with the grounds accepted by the high court.

Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado