Judiciary of Uruguay

The Constitution declares Uruguay to be a democratic republic,[1] and separates the government into three equal branches, executive, legislative and judicial.

[6] At the lowest tier are justices of the peace and courts of first instance specialized in administrative, civil, criminal, customs, juvenile, and labour cases.

[8]: 123 The Judiciary of Uruguay is possibly the most independent in Latin America,[9]: 83  in part due to having its own budget.

[12] Between 1905 and 1977, and from 1989 onwards, the selection of judges involved the legislature rather than the executive branch of government.

It also includes Conciliation Courts, Mediation Centers,[13] and dependencies such as Public Defender Office and Forensic Technical Institute.

[14] The Courts of Appeals (Spanish: Tribunales de Apelaciones) are collective bodies made up of three members each one, called "Ministers".

[18] They are not created by the Constitution itself but its existence is preempted by the article 241, which leaves their creation to a law.

[19] The Supreme Court of Justice has the power to appoint, with the approval of the Senate or the Permanent Commission, the members of the Courts of Appeals by three out of five for candidates who are members of the Judiciary or the Attorney General's Office, or four out of five for other candidates.