A political trial is carried out to determine the responsibility of a public official in a certain event.
Before entering fully into the meaning of the term political trial , we are going to proceed to discover the etymological origin of the two words that give it shape:
– Judgment , first of all, derives from Latin. Specifically, it emanates from the noun iudicium , which can be translated as "verdict" and which is the result of the union of two lexical components of said language: the term ius , which means "right" or "law", and the verb dicare , which can translated as "indicate."
– Political , secondly, has its etymological origin in Greek. Exactly it emanates from the expression politiké techne , which is equivalent to "art of living in society" or "art of the things of the State."
What is a political trial
A political trial is a judicial process that is carried out to determine the responsibility of certain public officials in different events or situations. In a democracy, impeachment and trial are generally the exclusive powers of the legislative branch .
Through a political trial it is possible to judge the president of a nation , the vice president, the ministers and the magistrates themselves for a crime or for poor performance of their duties. The usual thing is that the sentence is limited to ordering the dismissal of the accused: if there is civil or criminal liability, it is subsequently judged by an ordinary court.
US President Donald Trump was subjected to two political trials, being acquitted on both occasions.
How it develops
The scope and limits of political trials depend on each country. The properties of these processes are defined by the Constitution .
The usual thing is that the impeachment trial is a single-instance and summary process promoted by a legislative body. The accused are high-ranking public servants who, if found guilty, are dismissed and disqualified from assuming office again.
Political trial: the case of Fernando Lugo
An example of a political trial is the process to which Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo was subjected in 2012 . The Chamber of Deputies of said South American nation accused the president for poor performance of his duties , focusing above all on his responsibility in the tragic clashes between police and farmers that caused 17 deaths in Curuguaty .
Lugo was found guilty, dismissed, and replaced by Vice President Federico Franco . When Franco completed the constitutional mandate, elections were held and Horacio Cartes was elected.
The accusations against Donald Trump
Likewise, it must be taken into account that, in 2020 , the president of the United States Donald Trump was subjected to a first impeachment trial for considering, among other things, that he had abused power and, at the same time, obstructed Congress for a scandal of pressure on Ukraine . Political trial in which he was acquitted, since the majority of the Senate , which is the one judging this case, is from his political faction, that is, Republican. Then, in 2021 , he was acquitted in another impeachment trial.
In the United States, this political trial is called impeachment , it is included in Article I of the Constitution and was established by the "fathers" of the Constitution to prevent the powers of the State from abusing what are its prerogatives.