Justice Fernando Ramon Vegas Torrealba

Justice Fernando Ramon Vegas Torrealba (an event sponsored by the Hispanic Law Students Association, the International Law Society, and Hablando Del Derecho) - Justice Torrealba is the first vice president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela and president of the division of the court known as the Electoral Board (la Sala Electoral). The Supreme Tribunal of Justice is the highest court in Venezuela, consisting of 32 justices in six divisions. The Electoral Board is the division that oversees the election process in Venezuela. Justice Vegas was born in 1946 in Caracas, Venezuela; obtained his primary and secondary school education in Caracas and at the Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, Pennsylvania; holds a bachelor's and master's degree in law from the Central University of Venezuela; was a professor of the sociology of law at that institution for several years; and also is the author of two novels and numerous essays in political and literary journals. He was appointed to the Supreme Tribunal in 2004 by the late President Hugo Chavez at a time when the Chavez government expanded the size of the court from 20 to 32 justices. 12:15 to 1:15pm