Título III. Funcion jurisdiccional

The jurisdictional function is exercised with absolute exclusivity by the Supreme Court of Justice and by the other tribunals established by law, to which corresponds the power to judge and promote the execution of judgments.

Justice is free and equal for all, except with respect to judicial costs, according to the subject matter in litigation. Every person has free access to the tribunals to exercise their actions and assert their rights in accordance with the law.

Jurisdiction is unitary. For its exercise it is distributed among the following organs:

a)Supreme Court of Justice and its Chambers.

b)Court of Appeals.

c)Chamber for Children and Adolescents.

d)Tribunal for contentious-administrative matters.

e)Tribunal of second instance for accounts.

f)Trial Courts of first instance.

g)Trial Courts for Children and Adolescents and for Adolescents in Conflict with Criminal Law and Trial Courts for Supervision of Enforcement of Measures.

h)Trial Courts of peace, or minor courts.

i)Such others as established by law.

of the Republic). In the designation of judges or tribunals used in laws are included all public officials of the Judicial Branch who exercise jurisdiction, whatever their competence or category.

In no proceedings shall there be more than two instances.

Judges and magistrates who consider themselves harassed or disturbed in their independence shall bring it to the knowledge of the Supreme Court of Justice, reporting the facts to the competent tribunal to follow the appropriate procedure, without prejudice to themselves carrying out the strictly indispensable measures to ensure the action of justice and restore the legal order.

No tribunal may assume cognizance of cases or matters pending before another tribunal unless the law expressly confers this power.

Tribunals may only exercise their authority in the cases and within the subject matter and territory assigned to them, which does not prevent them, in the matters they hear, from issuing orders to be carried out in another territory.

The acts and proceedings of the tribunals are public, except in cases in which, by legal mandate, for reasons of morals, or of public safety, they must be kept confidential. The classification shall be made by the judge in very special cases and under his or her strict responsibility. In any case, the procedural subjects and their lawyers have the right to be present at all proceedings or acts in question and to make such observations and protests as may be proper and, in general, to be informed of their content.

In all hearings before the tribunals, the parties and their attorneys may plead orally. In addition, they may present written pleadings.

Public officials and employees of the Judicial Branch are prohibited from receiving any emolument, tip or gift, directly or indirectly from interested parties or from any other person.

Judges have the power:

a)To compel and coerce by legal means any person to appear before the court and submit to its jurisdiction (estar a derecho).

b)To return without any order and with only the detailed reasoned note of the clerk, pleadings contrary to decency, to the respectability of the laws and of the authorities or containing injurious words or phrases, even if they appear crossed out, without prejudice to the liability incurred by both the litigant and the assisting attorney.

Pleadings in which agents under a mandate or attorneys appear whose intervention causes the judge or the majority of magistrates comprising a collegiate tribunal to have to excuse themselves or to be subject to recusal shall also be returned in the same manner, except where the judge or magistrate begins to take cognizance of the matter when the attorney or agent under a mandate is already acting therein, in which case the excuse or recusal shall be processed as appropriate. Against such return, the interested party may resort in complaint to the immediately superior tribunal within the third day, attaching the pleading in question.

c)To summarily reject, under their strict liability, patently frivolous or inadmissible remedies or incidents, untimely remedies and untimely preliminary defenses, without need to form a separate article or to make it known to the other party. The decision must be reasoned, shall be appealable and if the superior tribunal confirms what was decided, it shall impose on the assisting attorney a fine of five hundred to one thousand quetzales. In these cases the appeal shall have no suspensive effects and the matter shall continue its course until it is ready for final decision, at which time the decision on the appeal shall be awaited. The tribunal hearing on appeal shall do so on the basis of a copy of the case file certified by the respective Secretariat.

In execution proceedings, they shall have power to process and approve new settlements for principal, interest, expenses and costs, if six months or more have elapsed since the prior settlement was filed and it has not become final due to incidents, nullities or remedies filed by the defendants that have prevented or delayed approval of the prior settlement, so that the new settlements cover the interest, expenses and costs caused by the delays.

d)To maintain order and discipline among their subordinates, distributing work among them in the most efficient manner; as well as to impose upon them the sanctions established by law.

e)To seek, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, within the proceedings or before they are commenced, agreement of the parties, proposing equitable conciliation formulas to them. The foregoing is without prejudice to the functions corresponding to the mediation centers created or recognized by the Supreme Court of Justice. In no case shall actions taken by the judges in their conciliation function constitute an impediment or ground for excuse. In criminal matters, the provisions of the laws on the subject shall govern. In any event, the records of conciliation drawn up before a judge shall constitute an enforceable title for the signatory parties, as to what corresponds to each.

Judges shall have authority to amend the procedure, at any stage of the proceedings, when a substantial error has been committed that infringes the rights of any of the parties. For purposes of this law, it shall be understood that a substantial error exists when constitutional guarantees, legal provisions or essential formalities of the proceedings are violated. The amendment is subject to the following limitations:

a)The judge shall specify the error in a reasoned manner.

b)The order shall indicate, in concrete form, the decisions and procedural steps affected by the amendment and a notation shall be placed in the margin thereof to record that they have been left without validity.

c)It shall not affect evidence validly received.

d)It shall not affect independent actions or those unrelated to the act or decision that gave rise to the amendment. The order directing amendment of the procedure is appealable, except when it has been issued by a Collegiate Tribunal, in all kinds of trials, but the appeal shall have no suspensive effects and the matter shall continue its course until it is ready for final decision, at which time the decision on the appeal shall be awaited. The tribunal hearing on appeal shall do so on the basis of a copy of the record certified by the respective Secretariat.

The order directing amendment of the procedure is appealable in all kinds of trials.

Judges shall personally receive all declarations and preside over all acts of evidence. The Secretary or Officer who conducts them shall be jointly and severally liable with the Judge or Magistrate for the content thereof, for which purpose their name shall be recorded in the record. The President of the Supreme Court of Justice may delegate this function to one of the magistrates of the tribunal, preferably one belonging to the chamber hearing the matter.

Judges are obligated to read and study the proceedings by themselves and are liable for the damage they cause by omission, ignorance or negligence.

In written proceedings, verbal petitions shall not be admitted, except when expressly provided in the law or in a judicial decision.

Judges and magistrates are prohibited from:

a)Accepting or holding positions as executors, tutors, protutors, or guardians, except in the case of the spouse, cohabitant whose de facto union is registered in the respective Civil Register, or relatives within the degrees established by law; and acting as judicial depositaries;

b)Serving as arbitrators, experts, liquidators, or partitioners;

c)Giving an opinion on matters they hear or should hear;

d)Guaranteeing in any form obligations of persons who are not their relatives, under penalty of nullity of the guarantee and removal of the public official;

e)Entering into contracts of any kind with persons who litigate before them, under penalty of nullity and removal of the public official;

f)Promoting ex officio judicial matters concerning private interests;

g)Practicing the professions of attorney and notary, or being judicial agents under a mandate, except for the practice of the profession of attorney in their own matters, those of their spouse, cohabitant whose de facto union is registered in the respective Civil Register, or of their minor children;

h)Having businesses or engaging in occupations that are incompatible with the dignity of their profession.

No magistrate or judge, permanent or acting alternate, and no public official or employee of the Judicial Branch, shall leave his office even if his resignation has been accepted or the term of his service has been completed, until his successor presents himself.

Collegiate judges may make written proposals urging the tribunals to which they belong to issue orders on matters within their attributions, and the latter shall order what is appropriate.

Magistrates and judges may not testify as witnesses unless necessary, which necessity shall be determined by the superior tribunal or the collegiate body to which such magistrate or judge belongs.

The Supreme Court of Justice has jurisdiction throughout the Republic to hear the judicial matters within its competence in accordance with the Law. It is the tribunal of highest hierarchy of the Republic.

The Supreme Court of Justice is composed of thirteen magistrates, as follows:

a)A President, who is also President of the Judicial Branch.

b)Twelve magistrates, all equal in hierarchy, who shall be designated with the number corresponding to them in the order of their election. Such number shall serve for the temporary substitution of the President and for voting purposes. The magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be elected in the manner and for the term established in the Political Constitution of the Republic.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall be organized into the Chambers it determines. Each Chamber shall have a President and the number of Justices deemed advisable and shall hear such matters as the Court itself may provide.

Matters submitted to the cognizance of a Chamber shall be conducted by its President and decided by majority vote of its members. In case of a tie, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice shall join the corresponding chamber.

They shall hold this election immediately after having assumed office. The person elected shall remain in office until the conclusion of the term, except in cases of temporary substitution provided by the Political Constitution of the Republic, which shall not affect the computation of the term.

In case of impediment, excuse, recusal or temporary absence of any of the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, when it must sit in plenary, the Presidents of the Courts of Appeals or Tribunals of similar category shall be called to join it, beginning with those established in the capital of the Republic in their numerical order; failing those, the members of said tribunals and, lastly, the alternates thereof.

If the absence is absolute, the same procedure shall be followed while the Congress of the Republic holds a new election.

When for any reason the alternate Magistrates must constitute in its entirety the Supreme Court of Justice or any of its chambers, they shall elect from among themselves the person who is to preside over it in its specific functions, who shall not have the status of President of the Judicial Branch, nor any administrative functions other than those derived from the specific case to the cognizance of which their action is limited.

The powers of the Supreme Court of Justice or of the respective Chamber are:

a)To hear cassation appeals in cases where they lie, in accordance with the law.

b)To hear on second instance the decisions established by law.

c)To hear preliminary proceedings against magistrates and judges, the General Treasurer of the Nation and Vice Ministers of State when they are not in charge of the portfolio.

For that purpose it shall have the power to appoint an investigating judge, who may be one of the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice itself, of the Court of Appeals or the nearest judge of first instance. If the investigating judge appears in the jurisdiction of the public official under investigation or the court itself so orders, said public official shall surrender command or office to whom it corresponds during the time the inquiry takes until the Supreme Court of Justice or the respective chamber decides what is appropriate. Once it has been declared that there is cause to proceed to trial, the public official shall be suspended from the exercise of his office and the proceedings shall be transmitted to the competent tribunal for their prosecution and conclusion.

Preliminary proceedings heard by the Supreme Court of Justice shall terminate without further appeal.

d)To ensure that justice is promptly and fully administered and to issue orders to remove obstacles opposing it.

For the Supreme Court of Justice, any of its chambers or any other collegiate tribunal to be able to perform the functions corresponding to them, the attendance of all its members is required.

Every decision or agreement of the Supreme Court of Justice or of its chambers or of any other collegiate tribunal shall be rendered by majority of votes; but when there is none, a greater number of Magistrates shall be called, and in this case, the majority must be absolute.

If the permanent absence is that of the President, the Supreme Court of Justice, upon again being integrated with nine (*) members with the Magistrate elected by Congress, shall proceed to elect from among its members the President of the Supreme Court of Justice and of the Judicial Branch, who shall serve until the conclusion of the term.

In the judgments and in the orders issued by the collegiate tribunals, the names of the magistrates who voted against shall be stated in the margin of the decision.

In the Supreme Court of Justice and in the other collegiate tribunals, there shall be a book denominated of votes, in which the magistrates who do not concur with the majority shall, within the third day after the decision or agreement is signed, state and substantiate their separate vote in the matters heard by the tribunal, with the understanding that if they do not do so, the decision or agreement shall be deemed voted in the same sense as the majority, without the need for any pronouncement in that respect. This book shall be in charge of the secretariat of the respective tribunal, and may be consulted by any person having an interest therein.

The votes shall be published in the Gaceta de los Tribunales, following the judgment giving rise to them.

If any of the persons forming the tribunal states that they need to study with greater care the matter to be decided, and requests that the discussion be suspended, the president shall so order and shall set a time limit not exceeding three days for the debate to continue and the judgment to be duly rendered.

The Court of Appeals is composed of the number of chambers determined by the Supreme Court of Justice, which shall also fix the seat, subject matters they shall hear, and territorial jurisdiction of each of the chambers.

Each chamber is composed of three titular magistrates, and two alternates for cases where necessary, and shall be presided over by the magistrate designated by the Supreme Court of Justice.

The Supreme Court of Justice may also increase the number of magistrates of each chamber when circumstances so require.

The provisions of this section include, as applicable, collegiate tribunals in general.

The chambers of the court of appeals are responsible for:

a)To hear at first instance, upon prior declaration by Congress that there is cause for trial, liability cases against the public officials referred to in subparagraph h) of Article 165 of the Political Constitution of the Republic.

b)To hear on second instance the proceedings established by law.

c)To hear the preliminary proceedings for the removal of immunity whose cognizance is not attributed by this Law or by the Political Constitution of the Republic to another body.

d)To ensure that first-instance judges, minor judges or any other persons fulfill their functions and the time limits in accordance with the law and complete the procedural steps entrusted to them by dispatch or in any other form. They shall punish them, in case of non-compliance, with a fine of twenty-five quetzales (Q.25.00), except in duly justified cases.

e)To maintain the discipline of the tribunals throughout the district of its jurisdiction, overseeing the official conduct of first-instance judges, and requiring them to comply with all the duties imposed on them by the laws.

f)To supervise the official conduct of its secretaries and subordinate employees, whom, as well as the judges, they may discipline by applying the sanctions determined by law, bringing the case to the knowledge of the President of the Judicial Branch.

g)In urgent cases, to grant leave to the secretaries and other employees to be absent from their work for not more than eight days, but if the appointment of a substitute is necessary, the case shall be brought to the knowledge of the President of the Judicial Branch.

h)To call the corresponding alternate in case for any reason it is left disintegrated.

i)To hear in consultation the proceedings when legally appropriate, confirming, modifying or revoking the decision received on review.

j)In the cases determined by law, to hear on motion for reconsideration challenges to orders originally issued by the same chamber.

k)To exercise the other powers and functions established by other laws, regulations and agreements issued by the Supreme Court of Justice.

The presidents of chambers and collegiate tribunals are the superior authority of the tribunal; they shall supervise the processing of all matters, conducting proceedings thereon until they are ready for decision.

The presidents shall maintain order in the tribunal and, when a hearing or public hearing is held, shall issue the orders they deem appropriate, and shall proceed against any person who disobeys them or disrupts them.

In case of temporary absence of a Titular Magistrate, one of the alternates shall be called. In the event of death or absolute impediment or resignation of the Titular Magistrate, the Congress of the Republic shall elect the person who must replace him to complete the constitutional term, in accordance with the procedure established in Article 217 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala.

In the absence or impediment of the president of a collegiate tribunal, the magistrate who follows him in numerical order shall act in his stead.

Magistrates have the obligation to reside in the place where the tribunal to which they belong has its seat and from which they may not absent themselves on working days without prior permission of the President of the Judicial Branch, except for reasons of service. Non-compliance with this article shall be considered a serious offense.

The collegiate tribunals, in view of the monthly statements that the first-instance judges and the military tribunals must submit to them, shall issue the necessary measures so that matters do not suffer delay and that personnel fully fulfill their obligations.

The chambers with jurisdiction in criminal matters shall issue the necessary orders to correct the abuses or faults committed in places of detention. In any serious case or case involving liability, they shall immediately report to the Supreme Court of Justice.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall determine the seat and district corresponding to each first-instance judge and, where there is more than one, shall establish their jurisdiction by reason of subject matter, amount, and territory.

The attributions of first-instance judges are:

a)To hear matters within their jurisdiction, in accordance with the law;

b)To hear liability cases when this attribution does not correspond to the court of appeals;

c)Those with jurisdiction in criminal matters are required to visit, at least once a month, the detention centers and jails of their district;

d)To conduct an inspection visit, every three months, to the Property Register, where one exists in their jurisdiction. For the capital city, the President of the Judicial Branch shall determine to which Trial Courts the inspection corresponds;

e)The others established by other laws, regulations and agreements of the Supreme Court of Justice.

First-instance judges have the obligation to reside in the town seat of the Trial Court in which they provide their services; and without leave, they may not absent themselves from their department on working days. Non-compliance with this article shall be considered a serious fault.

Notwithstanding the jurisdictional division of first instance judges, they shall immediately execute the dispatches and orders received from the Supreme Court of Justice and from any of the collegiate tribunals.

In cases of impediment, excuse, recusal or temporary or absolute absence of judges of first instance, the procedure shall be as follows:

a)If the impediment, excuse or recusal is declared well-founded, the matter shall pass to another judge of first instance, if there is one in the department. In departments where there are more than two judges, the matter shall pass to the one next following in numerical order, and to the first if the judge subject to the ground is the last. If there is none, the minor judge of the departmental capital shall take cognizance if holding the title of attorney; and if not, another minor judge of the same department who holds it. If there is also none, the matter shall pass to the cognizance of the most accessible judge of first instance. The President of the Judicial Branch shall determine what is pertinent in general form by means of an agreement.

b)If the absence is temporary, the President of the Judicial Branch shall designate the substitute judge who must replace him. If it is absolute, the same procedure shall be followed while the Supreme Court of Justice makes the new appointment.

When first-instance judges have to conduct proceedings outside the tribunal and within the perimeter of the town in which they reside, they must do so personally and not by means of a commissioned dispatch to minor judges.

Minor courts are called peace courts, unless due to their special nature the law or the Supreme Court of Justice gives them a different designation.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall establish minor courts in such number and in such places as it deems appropriate for the proper administration of justice.

In each departmental capital there must be at least one Justice of the Peace Court. With respect to the municipalities, the Supreme Court of Justice, when it deems it appropriate, may, taking into account distance and number of inhabitants, extend the territorial jurisdiction of the Justice of the Peace Courts to more than one municipality.

The Supreme Court of Justice may establish seats and districts independently of the municipal circumscription.

When the Supreme Court of Justice considers it necessary, it may agree that peace judges exercise their functions on an itinerant basis in a given territorial jurisdiction.

Peace judges shall exercise their jurisdiction within the limits of the territory for which they have been appointed; their jurisdiction by reason of subject matter and amount shall be fixed by the Supreme Court of Justice; and their powers in disciplinary matters, with respect to their subordinates, are the same as those granted in the same case to first instance judges.

In case of impediment, excuse, or recusal declared well-founded, or of temporary absence of the peace judge, he shall be substituted by another of equal category, if there is one in the municipality, and if not, by the peace judge whose seat is most accessible. In case of absolute absence, the same procedure shall be followed, while the Supreme Court of Justice appoints the substitute.

Minor judges have the obligation to reside in the municipality of their jurisdiction; and if it were to extend to two or more municipalities, in the seat established by the Supreme Court of Justice. Judges may not absent themselves from their jurisdiction without the corresponding permission. Non-compliance with this article shall be considered a serious offense.

Where there is more than one peace judge, these public officials must remain in their office in shifts outside hearing hours, so that there is an available judge for the carrying out of proceedings urgently requiring their intervention and for the economic sanctions of those detained for misdemeanors, after ordinary hearing hours. Shifts shall be distributed by the President of the Judicial Branch.

A peace judge who without justified cause fails to comply with the provisions of this article shall incur a fine of ten (Q.10.00) to one hundred (Q.100.00) quetzales which in each case the jurisdictional First Instance Judge shall impose summarily. Justified cause must be proven within twenty-four hours.

In each of the Tribunals of Justice there shall be a secretary who shall authenticate the decisions issued and the proceedings carried out; and, in addition, such personnel as the service may require.

In case of absence, impediment or illness of the secretaries of the tribunals, proceedings shall be conducted with another person specifically appointed or with two attesting witnesses.

To be secretary of the Presidency of the Judicial Branch, of the Supreme Court of Justice, of the appellate chambers and of the other tribunals, it is necessary to be Guatemalan, to be in the exercise of all of one's rights, to hold the title of lawyer and notary and to be an active member of the bar; but in the latter, in the absence of a lawyer and notary, a suitable person may be appointed.

The Secretary is the Administrative Head of the Tribunal and the organ of communication with the public, and shall perform his functions subordinate to the President of the Tribunal or to the judge, as the case may be.

The secretaries of the presidency of the Judicial Branch, Supreme Court of Justice and of the collegiate tribunals, are the organs of communication with judicial or administrative public officials of equal or lower category.

The secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be substituted where necessary and temporarily by the secretary of the presidency of the Judicial Branch or by the secretary designated by the President of the Court.

The other obligations of the secretaries and of the auxiliary personnel of the tribunals shall be specified in the laws, regulations and agreements of the Supreme Court of Justice.