Capítulo III. Procedimientos

In the matters submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Family Tribunals, the procedure of the oral proceeding regulated in chapter II of title II of book II of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure applies.

JUDICIAL BRANCH OF GUATEMALA NATIONAL CENTER FOR JUDICIAL ANALYSIS AND DOCUMENTATION In the matters related to the right to maintenance, the Family Tribunals shall additionally employ the procedure regulated in chapter IV of title II of book II of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure.

The proceedings relating to recognition of pregnancy and childbirth, paternity and filiation, separation and divorce, annulment of marriage, declaration and termination of the de facto union and family patrimony shall be subject to the procedures that correspond to them according to the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure.

The procedure in all matters subject to the jurisdiction of the Family Tribunals must be conducted and driven ex officio, except in the cases to which the preceding article refers.

Legal advice at the hearings shall only be permitted when it is provided personally by licensed attorneys or by the students of the Faculties of Legal and Social Sciences of the Universities that legally operate in the country, who have passed the theoretical courses of Civil Procedure, being registered as interns of the People's Law Offices and in the exclusive exercise of their mandatory practice, reliably proving the status of intern by means of the credential issued to them and provided that they are under the direction and control of the respective Faculties. The advice of the students shall be free of charge.

The Social Services of the institutions of Social Welfare and Social Assistance may collaborate with the parties and attend the hearings.

The social workers may be called by the Tribunals to issue an opinion, as experts, on relationships of a family nature.

The conciliation proceeding of the parties, provided for in article 203 of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, may not fail to be held in the family proceedings, and the judges personally must employ the means of persuasion they deem adequate to achieve the settlement of the parties, of all of which record must be left in the proceedings.

The Family Tribunals have discretionary powers. They must procure that the weaker party in family relationships is duly protected; and for that purpose, they shall issue the measures they consider pertinent. Likewise, they are obliged to investigate the truth in the controversies brought before them and to order the evidentiary proceedings they deem necessary, and must even interrogate the parties directly about the disputed facts, and they shall assess the effectiveness of the evidence in accordance with the rules of sound judgment.

In accordance with the spirit of this law, when the judge considers the protection of the rights of a party necessary, before or during the processing of a proceeding, he may issue ex officio or at the request of a party all kinds of precautionary measures, which shall be ordered without further procedure and without the need to provide security.

The Family judges shall be present at all the proceedings carried out in the cases they hear. They must promote the procedure with the greatest speed and economy, avoiding all delay or unnecessary proceeding, and shall impose, both on the reluctant persons and on the subordinate personnel, the coercive measures and sanctions that they may incur in accordance with the law.

The judges shall order the social workers assigned to the Tribunal to carry out the necessary investigations; these shall act immediately, thoroughly and quickly, and shall render their reports with all truthfulness and objectivity, so that the problems raised may be resolved with full knowledge of the reality of the situations. Such reports shall be confidential; only the judge, the parties and their attorneys may have knowledge of them. They may not be given publicity in any form, nor may certification or notarial record of them be issued.

The persons who lack resources to litigate in the Family Tribunals may pursue before them proceedings of free judicial assistance, in accordance with what is established in chapter VI of title IV of book I of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure. Such declaration shall only be valid for the proceedings related to family matters.