Capítulo V. Órgano de consulta y apoyo al directorio

is a consultative and support body of the Board of Directors and of the Executive Director, and shall be composed of the following delegates:

a)One member elected by the Secretaries General of the political parties duly registered in the corresponding Registry, who is affiliated with his or her political organization;

b)One member elected from among the Rectors of the Universities of the country;

c)One member designated by the business associations of commerce, industry and agriculture;

d)The Manager of the National Institute of Statistics -INE-;

e)One member elected from among the members who make up the Board of Directors of the Tax Administration Superintendency -SAT-.

All members of the Advisory Council shall have an alternate. Failure by the nominating entity to designate the person who is to serve on the Advisory Council entails the criminal and civil liabilities that may apply, without prejudice to the appointment being made.

The members of the Advisory Council must meet the following qualifications:

a)Be Guatemalan;

b)Be a university graduate professional; and,

c)Be of recognized honorability."

The functions of the Advisory Council are:

a)To report in writing to the Board of Directors and to the Executive Director of the RENAP on the deficiencies presented by the Institution, clearly setting out the facts, the laws violated, the evidence that substantiates them, alternative solutions, and possible sources of financing;

b)To serve as an advisory body to the Board of Directors and the Executive Director on any technical and administrative matter of the RENAP; and,

c)To oversee the work of the RENAP at all times.

d)During the months of January and July of each year, the Advisory Council shall submit a detailed semiannual report of its activities to its various nominating bodies, as well as to the Board of Directors of the RENAP, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the Congress of the Republic, and the senior office of the Ministry of the Interior.

The Board of Directors and the Executive Director of the RENAP shall provide the Advisory Council with all the means and resources necessary to carry out its functions expeditiously.

The Advisory Council shall submit to the Board of Directors, with due advance notice, the audit planning and its respective budget proposal, for the contracting of all services that are necessary to carry out the oversight processes that correspond to them, in accordance with this Law. The allocation shall be made in accordance with the budgetary availability of RENAP.

The Advisory Council may enter into cooperation agreements with national and international entities, subject to the express prior delegation of the Board of Directors.

All decisions and recommendations issued by the Advisory Council shall be public, as well as the results of the verification proceedings and audits carried out, which must be published on the RENAP website.

The persons, entities or companies that are contracted to carry out the oversight processes shall have access to the premises and to the information contained in the physical or electronic files of RENAP and its contractors, it being understood that such access shall be solely for the performance of their functions and during the period for which they were contracted.

Oversight proceedings shall be carried out in compliance with the confidentiality and secrecy established by the Political Constitution of the Republic and the law on the subject, regarding the protection of personal data. The personal data to which the individuals or legal entities contracted have access may not be used for purposes unrelated to the oversight of the RENAP, under penalty of incurring the administrative, civil and criminal liabilities established by law.

The members of the Advisory Council shall serve for a term of four (4) years, provided that they remain part of the nominating entity.

The Presidency of the Advisory Council shall be held by the members who make up the Council themselves, on a rotating basis, for a term of one year, beginning with the oldest member and continuing in descending order of age. The same criterion shall be applied to designate the order of the seats (vocalías) from the first to the fourth.

The Advisory Council shall hold an ordinary session during the first week of each month, upon prior notice of meeting. The President, or at least three (3) of its members, may call extraordinary sessions. The members of this body, both regular members and alternates, shall be entitled to per diem allowances for attending sessions, but in no case shall they be paid for more than four (4) sessions per month. The amount of the per diem allowances shall be set in the respective regulations.

Attendance at the sessions is mandatory for both regular members and alternates. Regular members shall have voice and vote, and alternates shall have voice only, unless they are acting as regular members. Absence from more than two (2) consecutive sessions, whether by a regular member or an alternate, without just cause approved by the Advisory Council, shall result in the Advisory Council declaring the position vacant. This shall be brought to the attention of the nominating entity so that, within a period of one month, it designates the substitute, who shall complete the corresponding term. A record shall be prepared for each session, to be approved and signed at either of the next two sessions.

Four (4) members constitute a quorum to be able to hold a session. Agreements and decisions shall be valid if they obtain a minimum of three (3) votes. In the absence of the regular member, the alternate shall cast the vote.

Relatives within the degrees provided by law of the members of the Board of Directors, the members of the Advisory Council, the Executive Director, the Director of the Central Registry of Persons, the Director of the Processes Office, and the Director of the Identity Verification and Social Support Office may not apply for or hold any position within the RENAP during the period in which their relatives form part of the RENAP, nor within the two (2) years following the date on which those relatives definitively ceased to hold those functions, without prejudice to the other prohibitions established in the respective laws. If, after the appointment, a person is found to be covered by the prohibition, the appointment shall be null and void by operation of law.

The members of the Advisory Council shall perform their duties under their own exclusive liability, in accordance with the law, and shall act with absolute independence of judgment, as well as independence from any interest other than that of the National Registry of Persons. Without prejudice to what is established by other laws, the members acting as regular members shall be jointly and severally liable for the damages and losses they cause through the acts and omissions they commit in the exercise of their duties.

In the case of sessions of the Advisory Council, the members acting as regular members shall not be jointly and severally liable, civilly and criminally, if they record their objections in the record of the respective session and give reasons for their vote against.