Libro Primero · Título II Capítulo I. El Órgano Jurisdiccional

Criminal jurisdiction has cognizance of crimes and misdemeanors.

The tribunals have the public power, exclusively, to hear criminal proceedings, decide them and execute their decisions.

Criminal jurisdiction shall extend to criminal acts committed in the national territory in whole or in part, and to those whose effects occur therein, except as prescribed by other laws and by international treaties.

Criminal jurisdiction is non-waivable and non-delegable.

Criminal jurisdiction is non-extendable.

The territorial jurisdiction of a tribunal may not be challenged or modified on its own initiative once the trial has begun; excepted are those cases governed by a constitutional provision that distributes jurisdiction among different tribunals.

In the judgment, the tribunal with jurisdiction to try more serious punishable acts may not declare itself without jurisdiction because the case belongs to a tribunal with jurisdiction to try less serious punishable acts.

When two or more crimes are charged against a person, the jurisdiction over which corresponds to different tribunals, the respective procedures shall be processed simultaneously and judgment shall be rendered, where possible, without regard to any order of precedence.

Such tribunals shall afford one another due judicial assistance, unless practical inconveniences arise in that regard, especially those derived from the defense at trial. In that case the proceedings shall be processed and adjudged successively, with precedence for the tribunal of higher rank, the other procedures being suspended until the inconveniences disappear or the judgments are rendered.

Between tribunals of equal rank, when simultaneous processing is not possible, the tribunal trying the most serious crime shall have precedence; where gravity is equal, the tribunal trying the case whose commencement date is earliest.

When several judgments of conviction have been rendered against the same person or when after a final conviction the same person must be tried for another act prior or subsequent to the conviction, a single tribunal shall unify the penalties, as applicable.

When a person is convicted by different tribunals and the penalties are to be unified, the tribunal shall request or forward a copy of the judgment depending on whether it imposed the greater or lesser penalty.

They have jurisdiction in criminal matters:

1)The peace judges;

2)The first-instance judges;

3)The single-judge sentencing judges;

4)The sentencing tribunals;

5)The first-instance judges for high-risk proceedings;

6)The sentencing tribunals for high-risk proceedings;

7)The chambers of the court of appeals;

8)The Supreme Court of Justice; and,

9)The execution judges.

The Criminal Justice of the Peace judges shall have the following powers:

a)They shall adjudicate misdemeanors, crimes against traffic safety and those whose principal penalty is a fine in accordance with the specific misdemeanor trial procedure established by this Code.

b)They shall be responsible for the jurisdictional control of the investigation conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the manner established by this Code, with respect to crimes punishable by imprisonment not exceeding five years, with the exception of the crimes covered by the Law Against Narcoactivity. They shall also, personally, conduct the procedural steps specifically assigned to them.

They shall be in charge of the processing and disposition of the intermediate procedure and the abbreviated procedure. They shall also hear the procedure for assessment of costs in the proceedings within their jurisdiction.

c)They shall exercise preventive jurisdiction in places where there is no Trial Court of First Instance, or where it is closed due to scheduling matters, or for any other cause, in cases of crimes punishable by penalties exceeding five years of imprisonment.

d)They shall carry out urgent procedural steps and hear detainees within the time limit mandated by the Political Constitution of the Republic.

e)They may also authorize, under the terms defined in Article 308 of this Code, the investigative acts requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office.

f)They shall authorize the application of the opportunity criterion in the cases established by law.

g)They shall carry out the procedural steps for which they are commissioned by the judges of first instance, provided that the latter do not have their seat in the same municipal district.

h)They shall perform the acts relating to conciliation, in the cases and manner provided in this Code, and shall decide on requests for approval of agreements reached through mediation.

i)They may only decide on preventive imprisonment, the liberty of the accused, and substitute measures, in the proceedings submitted to their jurisdiction as established in this Code.

j)The Criminal Justice of the Peace judges shall exercise jurisdictional control over the investigative acts carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the proceedings submitted to their jurisdiction.

In municipalities where there is no delegation of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the exercise of criminal prosecution shall continue to be carried out by the corresponding district prosecutor's office, in accordance with the administrative designation of that jurisdiction. Within the time limits established by this Code, the Criminal Justice of the Peace Judge in charge of controlling the investigation shall transfer the case file to the Criminal Justice of the Peace Sentencing Judge for the decision and processing of the trial phase in the proceedings.

The Mobile Peace judges shall have the jurisdiction assigned by the Supreme Court of Justice, which shall determine it based on amount, territory and in accordance with the procedure established by specific laws. * (Agreements of the Supreme Court of Justice: a) 5-2003 26/02/2003 Establishes the First and Second Mobile Peace Trial Courts; b) 13-2003 12/05/2003 Jurisdiction of the Mobile Peace Trial Courts; c) 4-2009 25/03/2009 Creates the Third, Fourth and Fifth Mobile Peace Trial Courts, which shall operate in the municipalities of the department of Guatemala; d) 26-2009 14/09/2009 Creates the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Mobile Peace Trial Courts, which shall operate in the municipalities of the departments of Huehuetenango, Izabal, Zacapa, Jalapa, El Progreso, San Marcos and Suchitepéquez).

The judges of narcoactivity shall specifically hear the crimes related to trafficking, possession, production and processing of drugs, pharmaceuticals or narcotics and connected crimes. The judges of crimes against the environment shall hear crimes against the environment. Both are divided into:

a)Judges of first instance of narcoactivity and judges of crimes against the environment, who shall be in charge of the jurisdictional control of the acts of investigation related to the crimes within their jurisdiction, shall personally conduct the proceedings assigned to them by this Code.

b)Tribunals of judgment of narcoactivity and tribunals of crimes against the environment, which shall hear the oral trial and pronounce the corresponding ruling. These tribunals shall be composed of three judges appointed by lot conducted by the Supreme Court of Justice from among the judges of the tribunals of judgment, three days after the order opening the oral trial, issued by the respective first-instance judge, is notified to it.

The Public Prosecutor's Office, through the agents it designates, shall have the power to conduct the investigation for the crimes assigned to it by this Code, with the intervention of the judges of first instance as jurisdictional controllers. Likewise, it shall exercise the criminal action in accordance with the terms of this Code.

The First Instance judges shall have charge of the jurisdictional control of the investigation conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the manner established by this Code, for crimes whose minimum penalty exceeds five years of imprisonment and for all those crimes contemplated in the Law Against Narcoactivity or any other law regulating this class of criminal acts. In addition, they shall personally carry out the procedural steps specifically assigned to them by law.

They shall be in charge of the processing and resolution of the intermediate procedure, and shall also hear the procedure for assessment of costs in the proceedings within their jurisdiction.

The judgment tribunals, composed of three judges of the same judicial seat, shall hear the trial and pronounce the respective judgment in proceedings for crimes covered in Article 3 of Decree Number 21-2009 of the Congress of the Republic, when the Prosecutor General does not request the transfer of the case to a tribunal or Trial Court for high-risk proceedings.

The judges who make up the judgment tribunal shall hear sitting alone all proceedings for crimes other than high-risk crimes and which are not within the jurisdiction of the collegiate tribunal.

The chambers of the court of appeals shall hear appeals from final orders and from the judgments of the abbreviated procedure provided for in this Code.

Likewise, they shall hear special appeals against final decisions issued by the sentencing tribunals.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall hear the appeal in cassation that lies against the judgments issued by the chambers of the Court of Appeals ; it shall also hear the review proceedings. It shall also hear the other cases indicated by this Code.

The execution judges shall be in charge of the execution of penalties and everything related thereto, as established by this Code.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall distribute territorial jurisdiction and shall regulate the functioning, organization, administration and distribution of the Judges of Peace, of Narcoactivity and Crimes against the Environment, of First Instance, Judgment Tribunals, Chambers of the Court of Appeals and Enforcement Judges in a suitable manner.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall determine the seat, district, municipality or department corresponding to each Criminal Peace Judge and to each Judgment Peace Judge; and where there is more than one Peace Trial Court, it shall also fix their jurisdiction by reason of subject matter, amount and territory.

The foregoing is not applicable to the Community Peace Trial Courts regulated by this Code, to which specific functions are assigned by law.

The first-instance judges and sentencing tribunals shall be competent to hear crimes committed outside the territory of the Republic, in accordance with the distribution made by the Supreme Court of Justice.

If the crime was committed only in part abroad, the tribunal of the place where the criminal acts were carried out within the national territory shall be competent, pursuant to the general rules.

Where the matter involves cases for related crimes of public action, a single tribunal shall hear, namely:

1)The one with jurisdiction to try more serious crimes.

2)In case of identical jurisdiction, the one trying the case whose initiation date is earliest.

3)In case of conflict, the one designated in accordance with the law.

Nevertheless, the tribunal may order separate or joint processing, in order thereby to avoid serious delay for any of the cases, or as suits their nature.

In case of joint processing, and while the joinder lasts, the most serious charge determines the procedure to be followed.

There shall be connection:

1)When two or more punishable acts are imputed to the same person.

2)When the punishable acts were committed simultaneously by several persons gathered together or, even if they were committed in different places or times, if a common purpose or prior agreement intervened.

3)When one of the imputed punishable acts was committed to perpetrate or facilitate the commission of another, or to procure for a participant or for others the profit or impunity.

4)When the imputed punishable acts were committed reciprocally.

The Public Prosecutor's Office and any of the parties may raise a question of jurisdiction, by inhibitoria, before the tribunal they consider competent, or by declinatoria, before the tribunal hearing the procedure and which they consider incompetent.

Without prejudice to the power of the tribunal to examine on its own initiative its own jurisdiction, whoever uses any of these means may not abandon it to resort to the other, nor employ them successively or simultaneously.

When raising the question, the proponent shall state, as a requirement for admission of the request, that he has not used the other means. If the contrary proves true, even if the question is decided in accordance with his request or is abandoned, he shall be ordered to pay costs.

Issues of territorial jurisdiction or those based on the connection of cases may only be raised before the commencement of the trial hearing.

Lack of subject-matter jurisdiction shall be declared even on its own initiative at any stage of the proceedings. The tribunal declaring it shall remit the case file to the one it considers competent and shall place at its disposal any detained persons there may be.

Procedural acts performed in disregard of the rules for determining subject-matter jurisdiction shall have no validity, except those that cannot be repeated.

This provision shall not apply when a judge of higher jurisdiction has acted in a case assigned to another of lower jurisdiction.

The declinatoria or the inhibitoria shall be processed by way of incidents.

In both cases, the request shall be filed in writing. Documentary evidence in the possession of the proponent shall be attached, or the place where it is located and the office to be requested shall be indicated. On that occasion, all evidence intended to be used shall also be offered.

If the request is granted, the tribunal shall request or remit, as the case may be, the proceedings to where appropriate.

If a conflict over jurisdiction should exist among several tribunals, the Supreme Court of Justice, through the respective chamber, shall determine the tribunal that must intervene.

Jurisdictional issues shall not suspend the preparatory procedure, nor affect those acts, without prejudice to their subsequent renewal or expansion, if deemed necessary. Nor shall they suspend the processing of the intermediate procedure, but they shall suspend final decisions.

When the jurisdictional issue is raised during the trial, the proceedings shall be suspended until it is resolved, without prejudice to a supplementary act being ordered.

When it involves a crime of public prosecution, once the declaration of incompetence is final, the tribunal shall refer on its own initiative the records to the one deemed competent, placing at its disposal any detainees there may be, without prejudice to carrying out urgent acts that admit no delay.

The same procedure shall be followed in crimes of private prosecution, at the request of the complainant.

The causes for impediment, excuse and recusal of judges are those established in the Law of the Judicial Branch.

The judge falling within any of the grounds indicated in said law shall immediately recuse himself and withdraw from cognizance and decision of the proceedings.

The Public Prosecutor's Office, the parties or their representatives, as well as defense counsel, may recuse a judge when one of the grounds indicated in the law exists.

The recusal shall be filed in writing, indicating the grounds on which it is based and the pertinent evidence, and shall be decided on the following occasions:

1)During the preparatory procedure, before its conclusion.

2)In the intermediate procedure, within the prescribed time limit of six days.

3)At trial, also within the prescribed time limit of six days; and

4)In appeals, upon filing them, mentioning the members of the tribunal affected by the recusal.

However, a recusal based on a ground that arose or became known after the fixed time limits shall be filed within twenty-four hours of the arising or becoming known of the ground, explaining this circumstance. Furthermore, in the event of subsequent composition of the tribunal, the same time limit shall govern, from the moment at which such new composition becomes known.

During hearings, the recusal may be filed orally, under the same admissibility conditions as those filed in writing, with its grounds entered into the record.

The jurisdiction over impediments, excuses, and recusals shall be governed by the provisions of the Law of the Judicial Branch.

The procedure for impediments and excuses shall be governed by the provisions of the Law of the Judicial Branch.

Recusals and incidents that are not those indicated in the preceding paragraph shall be processed in accordance with Article 150 Bis of this Code.

The excuse and the recusal shall not suspend the processing of the procedure. The judge who disqualifies himself on its own initiative or the recused shall be replaced, in accordance with the regulations to be issued by the Supreme Court of Justice, by means of immediate communication to the new judge, to the Public Prosecutor's Office and to the parties. In the intermediate procedure, the issue shall be resolved before proceeding. In the trial, prior to the commencement of the debate.

When the inhibition or the recusal occurs during a hearing or in the processing of an appeal, it shall be considered as a preliminary question to the continuation of the hearing. If it is rejected, as manifestly inadmissible, the hearing shall continue.

Upon the occurrence of the inhibition or the filing of the recusal, the judge may not perform any act, except for those urgent acts that admit no delay and that, according to the circumstances, cannot be carried out by the substitute.

The same rules apply to tribunal personnel and collaborators who perform any function in the procedure. The tribunal before which they act shall summarily inquire into the invoked ground and decide as appropriate, without any appeal.