Overview
- The Sala Penal Permanente declared the recusation unfounded and endorsed Judge Juan Carlos Checkley’s prior decision rejecting it, so he remains on the case.
- Justices concluded there was no objective evidence to question impartiality and emphasized that nullified rulings do not, by themselves, warrant disqualification.
- The resolution highlights that Checkley immediately carried out the Constitutional Tribunal’s order to release Betssy Chávez, which the court viewed as proper judicial conduct.
- The defense filed the recusation on September 26 as the judge prepared to weigh tighter conduct rules, including embassy access bans, limits on contacts with foreign officials, and a S/20,000 bond.
- Chávez has already been convicted and faces national and international capture orders, yet she remains at the Mexican Embassy residence in Lima under diplomatic asylum.