Capítulo XIII. De las disposiciones transitorias

On the commencement of activities of the RENAP. The National Registry of Persons -RENAP-, which is created through this Law, shall begin its functions at the moment each entity involved appoints its respective representatives to the Board of Directors in accordance with Article nine (9) of this Law, which appointment must be made within a time limit of no more than thirty (30) days from the entry into force of this Law.

Commencement of functions of the Advisory Council. All nominating entities shall designate their delegates within a time limit of no more than thirty (30) days counted from the entry into force of the Law. If, upon expiration of this time limit, not all of the designations have been made, the Council shall begin to function with the members already designated until its full membership is completed. During this period, agreements and decisions shall be adopted by simple majority vote.

Temporary Validity of the Cédula de Vecindad (Residence Certificate). In the 2007 electoral process, the only valid document for voting in both the first and second rounds shall be the Cédula de Vecindad; therefore, citizens must retain it for that purpose regardless of the date on which the process of issuing the Documento Personal de Identificación (Personal Identification Document) began.

Likewise, for the sole purpose of replacing the Cédula de Vecindad due to loss or deterioration, in respect of natural persons who appear in the electoral roll, the Vecindad Registries (Registros de Vecindad) shall continue to perform that function.

The replacement of the Cédula de Vecindad (Residence Identity Card) by the Documento Personal de Identificación -DPI- (Personal Identification Document) must be carried out no later than January second (2) of two thousand thirteen (2013).

Accordingly, the cédulas de vecindad that were issued under Decree Number 1735, Ley de Cédulas de Vecindad (Law on Residence Identity Cards), shall lose their force and validity as of January second, two thousand thirteen; as of that date, every public or private authority shall require, as the sole document of personal identification, the presentation of the Documento Personal de Identificación -DPI-.

With respect to the process of issuing the Personal Identification Document for minors, a special schedule shall be developed to begin its implementation, no later than the second (2) of January of two thousand thirteen (2013).

Mandatory delivery of information. All public institutions, whether autonomous or decentralized, that hold databases relating to the identification of natural persons, provided that they have been assigned their own Unique Identification Code, such as social security, the tax identification system, the driver's license or the passport, shall transfer a copy of said information to the National Registry of Persons, if so required. The manner and characteristics in which this information must be submitted shall be established by RENAP.

Of the current Civil Registries. From the creation of the RENAP, all the information contained in the current Civil Registries, in electronic or manual media, becomes an integral part of the RENAP. The Civil Registries shall use the registration procedures and mechanisms, and shall adapt their functions to the manner of operation and the technology to be used that the RENAP implements, all of which may be carried out progressively, ensuring that, during this period, the activity and operation of the current Civil Registries is not suspended at any time. These procedures and mechanisms shall be used for the registration of the events and acts relating to civil status, civil capacity and other identification data of natural persons.

Personnel of the current Civil Registries. RENAP may hire the personnel currently working in the Civil Registries of the Republic, who shall continue performing their duties with the obligation to train simultaneously at the RENAP School, and for that purpose must undergo the respective evaluation.

Conclusion of the term. The Magistrate of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal who is part of the first Board of Directors of RENAP shall be a member until the end, inclusive, of his or her term as Magistrate; however, when the new Supreme Electoral Tribunal is constituted, it shall designate, at its first session, the Magistrate who will represent it before RENAP, who shall complete the respective term.

For the acquisition of the hardware and software, the Board of Directors, in accordance with the amount of information to be processed, shall acquire equipment based on open systems, compatible with advances in cutting-edge technology, so as to allow its constant updating. It must also initially provide for the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which shall have the capacity to capture, store and compare the records of the ten (10) fingerprints of the hands, allowing their comparison on a "one-to-one" basis and "one against the universe" basis, without the use of alphanumeric filters, as well as a facial recognition (FR) system that allows the same types of comparisons of the photograph of each person's face,

Due to the importance of the APIS and the FR, the RENAP shall endeavor, by every lawful means possible, to guarantee the security, reliability and integrity of the system, with respect to the eventual supplier.

The National Registry of Persons, as the bidding or contracting entity, shall not set technical specifications or special provisions that require or refer to particular brands, trade names, patents, designs, types, specific origins, producers or suppliers.

In addition, the database containing all the information on natural persons shall be the exclusive liability of the National Registry of Persons, which shall be the custodian thereof in the name of the State of Guatemala.

All regulations must be promulgated within a maximum time limit of ninety (90) days counted from the entry into force of this Law, with the exception of the registrations regulation referred to in the following article.

To carry out the registrations that RENAP is required to make, the Board of Directors shall approve the respective regulations within sixty (60) days following the date on which this Law enters into force.

The State is obligated to include an initial allocation of one hundred million quetzales (Q. 100,000,000.00) in the General Budget of Revenues and Expenditures of the State, to cover the installation, organization and operating expenses of the National Registry of Persons. These resources shall constitute earmarked funds of the National Registry of Persons -RENAP-.

The State shall provide the corresponding financing to the National Registry of Persons for the issuance of the Personal Identification Document -DPI-, in substitution of the Vecindad Certificate (Cédula de Vecindad), at no cost to the population that already holds the latter, and shall cover all expenses incurred in the process of implementation and granting and/or issuance of said document. The State shall make this financial contribution from its current revenues in the General Budget of Revenues and Expenditures of the State, through financing source eleven (11), current revenues; source twenty-nine (29), other Treasury resources with specific allocation; source fifty-two (52), external loans; and source sixty-one (61), external donations.

Of the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry of the Interior, through the Registry of Legal Persons, shall be responsible for the registration and recording of the legal persons regulated in Articles 438 to 440 of the Civil Code and other laws, and for that purpose it must implement the mechanisms and procedures for their registration, recording and filing, as well as issue the respective regulations and fee schedule, for the faithful performance of its functions and the collection of fees for the services it provides.

The Registry of Legal Persons shall have its main seat in the department of Guatemala and may have sub-offices or delegations in the departments or municipalities determined by the Ministry of the Interior, under the charge of one or more registrars, who must be lawyers and notaries, active members of the professional association, Guatemalans by birth, in the enjoyment of their citizenship rights, and of recognized honorability.

Excepted from the application of this article are the recording, authorization and registration of neighborhood associations, community development associations, and associations of the communities of indigenous peoples referred to in Articles 19, 20 and 21 of the Municipal Code, and referred to in the Law of the Urban and Rural Development Councils, such as the organizations of the Municipal Development Councils -COMUDES- and the Community Development Councils -COCODES-. Likewise excepted are the Educational Committees -COEDUCAS- and the School Boards regulated by Government Agreement Number 327-2003 of May 29, 2003, which shall be registered for their recording and authorization before the municipality of the place to which they correspond.

The Municipal Council shall implement the procedures and mechanisms necessary to enter the registrations and carry out the recording of the legal persons referred to in the preceding paragraph. For that purpose, it shall appoint a municipal official who shall be in charge of receiving and analyzing the documentation, and of registration and recording; in addition, that official shall maintain control, safekeeping and custody of the books or electronic media authorized for that purpose, and shall report periodically to said Council on the activities carried out.

All legal and regulatory provisions in specific legislation that refer to the matters governed by this law are hereby repealed; likewise repealed are those contained in other bodies of law that assign functions or duties to the Civil Registries, which shall henceforth be performed by the National Registry of Persons -RENAP-.

Specifically, the following provisions are repealed: articles 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376 through 437 and 441 of Decree-Law 106 of the Head of Government, Civil Code; articles 14, 16 and 89 of Decree Number 12-2002 of the Congress of the Republic, Municipal Code, which shall be repealed on September thirtieth, two thousand eight.

Decree Number 1735, Law on Vecindad Identity Cards (Ley de Cédulas de Vecindad), shall be repealed on June 30, 2009.

The headings of the articles of this Law have no interpretive validity.

This Decree was approved with the favorable vote of more than two-thirds of the total number of deputies who make up the Congress of the Republic and shall enter into force sixty (60) days after its publication in the Official Gazette.