Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González Colón signed Senate Project 1096, authored by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, into law. The measure repeals Law Number 201-2003, known as the Judiciary Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and amends other laws, establishing the Judiciary Act of Puerto Rico. Chief Justice Maite D. Oronoz Rodríguez of the Supreme Court issued a statement on the signing, saying she deeply regrets the Governor’s decision.
She said that during the legislative process and directly to the Governor, she had raised serious constitutional and operational concerns the measure raises, but the bill became law without the fundamental questions about the structure and functioning of the courts being addressed. According to Oronoz Rodríguez, the new legislation redistributes the authority to make essential decisions in judicial administration without changing the responsibility the Constitution assigns to the Supreme Court presidency, a mismatch she said raises serious questions about administrative direction and the judicial system’s response capacity.
She warned the changes could introduce uncertainty in decisions on resources, personnel and services across the judicial regions and affect the courts’ ability to serve the public. She said she will continue fulfilling her constitutional duties, examine the law’s scope and available legal and institutional alternatives from the presidency, and defend the individual and organizational independence of the courts and the continuity of services.