GENEVA/PANAMA - The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua denounced the Government's sudden revocation of credentials for numerous lawyers and notaries, warning the move effectively erased a vital part of the nation's legal profession overnight and stripped citizens of their right to legal defence.
Testimonies from those affected indicate that, in general, no prior notification was given, no legal basis was provided, and no official explanation was issued. Most only learned of the measure when they tried to enter courthouses, file legal papers or type their names into the Supreme Court's digital registry and found it was no longer there.
"Over the past week, corroborating evidence has mounted, providing reasonable grounds to believe that the Nicaraguan Government is systematically stripping numerous lawyers of their legal licenses," said Jan-Michael Simon, chair of the Group of Experts. "We have repeatedly condemned Nicaragua's Government interference with the judiciary, but eliminating a large part of the legal profession is a new escalation."
Interference into the legal profession in Nicaragua is not new. In 2023, authorities arbitrarily and permanently suspended at least 28 lawyers. Since then, the Supreme Court of Justice has arbitrarily refused to renew the mandatory five-year notarial commissions ("quinquenios") of other lawyers, effectively preventing them from continuing to perform notarial functions.
The latest measures come on the heels of a sweeping purge of the judicial system that has been underway since October 2023, when police took control of the Supreme Court of Justice and senior officials were removed. Since then, eight magistrates have resigned or been forced out, and more than a thousand judicial employees have been dismissed.
Constitutional reforms in 2025 completed the process, stripping the judiciary of its status as an independent power of the State; the reforms redefined the judiciary as an "organ" that the presidency "coordinates" and reduced the Court from 16 to 10 justices, all appointed at the proposal of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
"This silent purge of the legal profession is one more nail in the coffin of the independence of justice in Nicaragua: first they took the judges, now they are taking the lawyers," said Reed Brody, member of the Group. "International standards are unequivocal: no one may be barred from the practice of law without a fair hearing before an independent body. Here there was no hearing, no independent body - just a delete key."
Any unjustified interference with credentials gravely undermines justice institutions and creates significant obstacles to the provision of legal services.
Among the reported victims are former magistrates and lawyers in exile, former members of the ruling Sandinista party, and others with no clear political affiliation.
"Lawyers have been among the victims of political persecution in Nicaragua since 2018," said Ariela Peralta, member of the Group of Experts. "They have faced threats, harassment, detention, and exile. They have been systematically denied access to their clients - and now, to the exercise of the profession itself."
The Group of Experts emphasized that arbitrary removal of lawyers and notaries from official records has serious implications for the right to a fair trial and access to justice. It may prevent individuals from obtaining legal representation, completing legal procedures and exercising their rights before the courts. These measures further weaken the administration of justice.
