Título II. Disposiciones modificatorias

In order to adapt the norms of the Military Code to the rules and principles of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 2 of the Second Part of Decree Number 214-1878 is amended, whose text shall read as expressed below:

“Art. 2. Jurisdiction over essentially military crimes or misdemeanors corresponds exclusively to the tribunals designated by this law. In cases of common crimes or misdemeanors committed by military personnel, or military crimes connected with common crimes or misdemeanors, the following rules shall govern:

1)For the processing and decision of the cases, the Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply.

2)The preparatory investigation and the exercise of public criminal action before the tribunals shall be exercised by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Control of the investigation and the intermediate procedure shall be in charge of the military judges of instruction who must be lawyers.

3)The oral and public trial shall be conducted by a Council of War, composed of the Sentencing Tribunal with territorial jurisdiction and two senior officers of the Army of Guatemala.

4)The special appeal provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be decided by the criminal chambers of the Court of Appeals; and

5)The appeal in cassation shall be decided by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The norms of the Military Code relating to jurisdictional organization or to procedures shall govern exclusively for the processing and adjudication of essentially military crimes or misdemeanors.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall appoint the military judges for investigation and for intermediate procedure and military members of the sentencing tribunals, in accordance with lists of three candidates submitted by the Ministry of Defense.

The expenses proper to military justice shall be covered by the Ministry of Defense.”