Domestic application of international criminal law
Republic of El Salvador
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Crimes Crime of Aggression
No specific provision. However, El Salvador ratified the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on the Crime of Aggression on 3 March 2016:
El Salvador ratifies the Rome Statute and the Kampala Amendments on war crimes and the crime of aggression.
ICC-ASP-20160304-PR1193, Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court, New York, 04 March 2016. [ENG]El Salvador ratifie le Statut de Rome et les Amendements de Kampala sur les crimes de guerre et les crimes dagression.
ICC-ASP-20160304-PR1193, Assemblée des États Parties de la Cour pénale internationale, New-York, 04 mars 2016. [FRA]El Salvador ratifica el Estatuto de Roma y las Enmiendas de Kampala sobre crímenes de guerra y el crimen de agresión
ICC-ASP-20160304-PR1193, Asamblea de los Estados Partes en el Estatuto de Roma, Nueva York, 04 marzo 2016. [ESL/SPA]Canciller Martínez presentó instrumento de adhesión de la República de El Salvador al Estatuto de Roma, incluidas las enmiendas de Kampala sobre crimen de agresión.
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de El Salvador, 03 marzo 2016. [ESL/SPA]Crimes Against Humanity
Article 363 of the Criminal Code of El Salvador concerns "violation of the duties of humanity" and punishes any inhuman act perpetrated against civilian population:
"VIOLATION OF THE DUTIES OF HUMANITY
See:
Art. 363.- A civilian who is not subject to military jurisdiction who violates the duties of humanity in respect of prisoners or hostages of war or casualties of war, or in respect of those who are in hospitals or other places intended for the injured and who commits any inhumane act against the civilian population before, during or after acts of war will be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to twenty years."
Translation by Equipo Nizkor.
Código Penal de la República de El Salvador. (Criminal Code of El Salvador).
Decreto No. 1030, Diario Oficial No. 105, Tomo No. 335, 26 abril 1997. [SPA]Genocide
Genocide is defined in Article 361 of the 1997 Criminal Code of El Salvador:
"GENOCIDE
See:
Art. 361.- Whoever, with the intention to destroy in whole or in part a specific human group, on the basis of its nationality, race or religion, commits homicide or physical or mental injury to members of the group or subjects it to conditions which make subsistence difficult or imposes measures intended to prevent reproduction or effects violent displacement of persons to other groups, shall by punished by imprisonment for a term of ten to twenty-five years.
The punishment may be increased up to thirty years if the person responsible for any act of genocide is a public or military official.
Any proposal or conspiracy to commit acts of genocide is punishable by imprisonment for six to twelve years; public incitement to commit genocide is punishable by imprisonment for four to eight years."
Translation by Equipo Nizkor.
Código Penal de la República de El Salvador. (Criminal Code of El Salvador).
Decreto No. 1030, Diario Oficial No. 105, Tomo No. 335, 26 abril 1997. [SPA]War Crimes
War crimes are included in Articles 362 and 363 of the 1997 Criminal Code of El Salvador:
"VIOLATION OF THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR
Art. 362.- Whoever during an international or civil war, violates international laws or customs of war or in any manner causes physical or mental injuries, deportation of the civilian population for forced labour in occupied territory, unnecessary destruction of cities or towns or devastation not justified by military necessities, will be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to twenty years.""VIOLATION OF THE DUTIES OF HUMANITY
See:
Art. 363.- A civilian who is not subject to military jurisdiction who violates the duties of humanity in respect of prisoners or hostages of war or casualties of war, or in respect of those who are in hospitals or other places intended for the injured and who commits any inhumane act against the civilian population before, during or after acts of war will be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to twenty years."
Translation by Equipo Nizkor.
Código Penal de la República de El Salvador. (Criminal Code of El Salvador).
Decreto No. 1030, Diario Oficial No. 105, Tomo No. 335, 26 abril 1997. [SPA]
Related Documents
Informe de la República de El Salvador sobre la situación de los Protocolos Adicionales a los Convenios de Ginebra de 1949. SNU-0029/12, A.550.TRA. (Report of El Salvador on the status of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 relating to the protection of victims of armed conflicts).
Misión Permanente de El Salvador ante las Naciones Unidas, New York, 14 marzo 2012. [SPA]
Jurisdiction ➤ Jurisdiction ratione personae and ratione loci is provided for in Articles 8-11 of the Criminal Code of El Salvador. Article 10 concerns the principle of universality. It provides that the Salvadoran criminal law shall also apply to crimes committed by any person in a place not subject to Salvadoran jurisdiction, as long as they affect property internationally protected by specific agreements or rules of international law or if such offences involve a serious impairment of universally recognized human rights:
"PRINCIPIO DE UNIVERSALIDAD
➤ Non-applicability of statutory limitations:
Art. 10.- También se aplicará la ley penal salvadoreña a los delitos cometidos por cualquier persona en un lugar no sometido a la jurisdicción salvadoreña, siempre que ellos afectaren bienes protegidos internacionalmente por pactos específicos o normas del derecho internacional o impliquen una grave afectación a los derechos humanos reconocidos universalmente."
Article 99 of the Criminal Code states that war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity (including political persecution) are not subject to any statute of limitations provided that the facts involved were initiated after the enter into force of the Criminal Code:"PRESCRIPCIÓN DE LA PENA
➤ Non compliance with manifestly illegal superior orders is exempt from criminal prosecution according to Article 322 of the Criminal Code.
[...]
No prescribe la pena en los casos siguientes: tortura, actos de terrorismo, secuestro, genocidio, violación de las leyes o costumbres de guerra, desaparición forzada de personas, persecución política, ideológica, racial, por sexo o religión, y los delitos cometidos contra la libertad sexual de menor o incapaz, siempre que se tratare de hechos cuyo inicio de ejecución fuese con posterioridad a la vigencia del presente código."
See:
Código Penal de la República de El Salvador. (Criminal Code of El Salvador).
Decreto No. 1030, Diario Oficial No. 105, Tomo No. 335, 26 abril 1997. [SPA]
See also:
Information provided by El Salvador on the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction in accordance with General Assembly resolution 64/117.
The scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction (Agenda item 86), General Assembly of the United Nations, Sixth Committee (Legal), sixty-fifth session (4 October to 11 November 2010). [ENG]
[General Assembly resolution 64/117 (A/RES/64/117) of 15 January 2010, "[R]equests the Secretary-General to invite Member States to submit, before 30 April 2010, information and observations on the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, including information on the relevant applicable international treaties, their domestic legal rules and judicial practice, and to prepare and submit to the General Assembly, at its sixty-fifth session, a report based on such information and observations." This document contains the reply provided by El Salvador to the said request.]
Información remitida por El Salvador sobre el alcance y la aplicación del principio de jurisdicción universal al amparo de la Resolución 64/117 de la Asamblea General .
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de El Salvador, Dirección General de Asuntos Jurídicos, mayo 2010. Publicado por: Sexta Comisión (Jurídica) de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas, 65a. sesión (4 octubre a 11 noviembre 2010). [SPA]
Complementary Legislation
Impunity laws:
Ley de Amnistía General de El Salvador.
Diario Oficial Nš 56, Tomo Nš 318, Asamblea Legislativa, República de El Salvador, 22 marzo 1993. [SPA]
Please note, the General Amnesty Law of El Salvador was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Justice in a ruling dated 13 July 2016 (full text available under the "Judicial Decisions" section).
Statutes and laws concerning the disappeared:
Decreto Nš 45 sobre reformas al Decreto de Creación de la Comisión Nacional de Búsqueda de Niñas y Niños Desaparecidos Durante el Conflicto Armado Interno.
Diario Oficial Nš 75, Tomo Nš 387, San Salvador, República de El Salvador, 26 abril 2010. [SPA]
Decreto de creación de la Comisión Nacional de búsqueda de niņas y niños desaparecidos durante el conflicto armado interno en la República de El Salvador.
Diario Oficial Nš 11, Tomo Nš 386, San Salvador, República de El Salvador, 18 enero 2010. [SPA]
Other legal texts:
Ley de Reconciliación Nacional de El Salvador.
Decreto Legislativo Nš 147, Diario Oficial Nš 14, Tomo Nš 314, 23 enero 1992. [SPA]
International Criminal Court
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: The Republic of El Salvador acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 03 March 2016.
➤ Upon accession the Republic of El Salvador made the following notification under article 87 (1) and (2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court:"In accordance with article 87 (1) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Republic of El Salvador declares that all requests for cooperation must be transmitted through diplomatic channel.
➤ Also, El Salvador ratified the Kampala amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on the Crime of Aggression on 3 March 2016:In accordance with article 87 (2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Republic of El Salvador declares that the requests for cooperation and any documents supporting the request must be written in the Spanish language or be accompanied by a translation into Spanish."
El Salvador ratifies the Rome Statute and the Kampala Amendments on war crimes and the crime of aggression.
ICC-ASP-20160304-PR1193, Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court, New York, 04 March 2016. [ENG]El Salvador ratifie le Statut de Rome et les Amendements de Kampala sur les crimes de guerre et les crimes dagression.
ICC-ASP-20160304-PR1193, Assemblée des États Parties de la Cour pénale internationale, New-York, 04 mars 2016. [FRA]El Salvador ratifica el Estatuto de Roma y las Enmiendas de Kampala sobre crímenes de guerra y el crimen de agresión
ICC-ASP-20160304-PR1193, Asamblea de los Estados Partes en el Estatuto de Roma, Nueva York, 04 marzo 2016. [ESL/SPA]Canciller Martínez presentó instrumento de adhesión de la República de El Salvador al Estatuto de Roma, incluidas las enmiendas de Kampala sobre crimen de agresión.
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de El Salvador, 03 marzo 2016. [ESL/SPA]
Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador. (1983, rev. 2014).
Comparative Constitutions Project, University of Texas at Austin. [ENG]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Constitución de la República de El Salvador. 15 diciembre 1983. (Diario Oficial No. 234, Tomo No. 281).
Asamblea Legislativa, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Código Penal de El Salvador. 26 abril 1997. (Actualizado/Updated). (Decreto No. 1030, Diario Oficial No. 105, Tomo No. 335)
Asamblea Legislativa, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Código Penal de El Salvador comentado.
Consejo Nacional de la Judicatura, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Código Procesal Penal de El Salvador. 22 octubre 2008. (Actualizado/Updated). (Decreto No. 733, Diario Oficial No. 20, Tomo No. 382)
Asamblea Legislativa, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Código Procesal Penal de El Salvador comentado.
Consejo Nacional de la Judicatura, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Código de Justicia Militar. (Decreto No. 562, 05 mayo 1964)
Centro de Información Judicial, Corte Suprema de Justicia, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Leyes y Decretos por Aņo. (Laws and decrees from 1897 onwards)
Asamblea Legislativa, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Base de datos de jurisprudencia, legislación, instrumentos internacionales y doctrina. (Legislation and Case Law database maintained by the Supreme Court of El Salvador)
Centro de Información Judicial, Corte Suprema de Justicia, República de El Salvador. [SPA]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
Human Rights in El Salvador.
Equipo Nizkor. [SPA/ENG]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]
List of International Humanitarian Law Treaties to which El Salvador is a State party
International Committee of the Red Cross. [ENG]. [Last accessed 03Oct17]. [External Link]