Título II. Organización del Ministerio Público

The Public Prosecutor's Office is composed of the following organs:

1)The Prosecutor General of the Republic and Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

2)Regional Prosecutors.

3)District Prosecutors and Section Prosecutors.

4)Deputy District Prosecutors and Deputy Section Prosecutors.

5)Prosecutor's Agents.

6)Prosecutor's Assistants.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic is the Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office and is responsible for its proper functioning; his authority extends throughout the national territory. He shall exercise the public criminal action and the powers that the law confers on the Public Prosecutor's Office, himself or through the bodies of the institution.

The functions of the Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office are:

1)To determine the general policy of the institution and the criteria for the exercise of criminal prosecution;

2)To comply with and ensure compliance with the objectives and duties of the institution;

3)To remit to the Executive Branch and to the Congress of the Republic the draft annual budget of the institution and that of its amendments deemed necessary, in the form and within the time limit established by the respective laws;

4)To effect the appointment of regional prosecutors, district prosecutors, deputy district prosecutors, section prosecutors, deputy section prosecutors, prosecutorial agents and assistant prosecutors, in accordance with the career of the Public Prosecutor's Office, as well as to grant leaves and accept resignations thereof;

5)To effect the appointments, promotions and transfers of the administrative and service personnel of the institution, in the manner established by this Law, as well as to grant leaves and accept resignations thereof;

6)To issue instructions appropriate to the service and to the exercise of functions, both of a general nature and relating to specific matters within the terms and scope established by law;

7)To appoint, from among the members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, prosecutors for special matters. The Head may appoint as special prosecutor a licensed attorney to handle a specific case or to guarantee independence in the exercise of the function;

8)To organize the work of the Public Prosecutor's Office and to effect transfers of prosecutors deemed necessary for its better functioning, under the terms established by this Law;

9)To establish the division of the national territory by regions, for determining the seats of the district prosecution offices and the territorial scope assigned to them, as well as the creation or abolition of section prosecution offices;

10)The others stipulated by law.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic shall be appointed by the President of the Republic from a list of six candidates proposed by a Postulation Commission, composed as follows:

a)The President of the Supreme Court of Justice, who presides over it;

b)The Deans of the Faculties of Law or of Juridical and Social Sciences of the universities of the country;

c)The President of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala; and,

d)The President of the Tribunal of Honor of the Bar Association of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala.

The President of the Postulation Commission shall convene the other members with no less than sixty (60) days in advance of the expiry of the current term, for the purpose of preparing the list of candidates for Prosecutor General of the Republic.

The members of the Postulation Commission shall be responsible for preparing the list and forwarding it to the Executive Branch at least fifteen (15) days before the expiry of the term for which the Prosecutor General who must hand over the office was appointed. If two qualifications to serve on the postulation commission coincide in the same person or if one of its members is absent, he shall be replaced by whoever must substitute for him in the office.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic may again stand as a candidate for the office.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic shall be a bar-registered attorney and shall have the same qualifications required to be a magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice; likewise, he/she shall enjoy the same prerogatives and immunities corresponding to said magistrates.

The President of the Republic may remove the Prosecutor General of the Republic for duly established justified cause.

Justified cause shall be understood as the commission of an intentional crime during the exercise of their function, provided there is a duly final and enforceable conviction judgment. Total individual suspension of the exercise of their functions shall occur once the order of pretrial detention, substitutive measure or lack of merit with substitutive measure has been issued.

The Prosecutor General shall be immediately reinstated in their functions when the proceedings are discontinued, dismissed, archived or lack of merit is decreed.

In case of removal, resignation or definitive absence, the President of the Republic shall appoint the person who is to replace him from the list sent to him by the Postulation Commission. If for any reason there are no candidates on the original list, the Congress of the Republic shall convene a new Postulation Commission to carry out the corresponding constitutional process.

In all cases, the substitution shall be to complete the corresponding constitutional term.

In case of impediment, suspension, absence or temporary absence of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, he shall be temporarily replaced by the Regional, District or Section Prosecutor who meets the following qualifications:

1)Having no administrative sanctions, and no ongoing disciplinary or criminal procedures;

2)Having the greatest seniority in the position;

3)Having a satisfactory performance evaluation.

For such purpose, during the first fifteen (15) days of each year, the Prosecutor General shall issue an agreement providing for the designation of two public officials who meet said qualifications.

The second public official shall assume the office in case of inability of the first.

The designee shall perform and assume the functions immediately, upon the occurrence of any of the temporary absence grounds contemplated in the law.

In case of removal, resignation or definitive absence, the substitution shall last until the appointment of the new Prosecutor General is made.

The Prosecutor General shall inform citizens annually of the result of their management. To that end, the Prosecutor General shall publish a report and, in addition, forward a copy to the President of the Republic and to the Legislative Branch.

The report shall contain:

1)A summary of the work performed during the year.

2)An analysis of the service provided, detailing the obstacles and the measures adopted to overcome them.

3)A compilation of the general instructions issued by the Prosecutor General.

4)The detail of the execution of the corresponding budget.

5)Specific proposals on the modifications or improvements required by the service. A summary of the report shall be disseminated through the mass media.

District prosecutors shall be the Heads of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the departments or regions entrusted to them and those responsible for the proper functioning of the institution in the respective area.

They shall exercise public criminal action and the powers that the law confers on the Public Prosecutor's Office, by themselves or through the prosecutorial agents and auxiliary prosecutors established by this law, except when the Prosecutor General of the Republic directly assumes such function or entrusts it to another public official jointly or separately.

The National Coordination is created, which shall be in charge of coordination with the regional prosecutors. The regional prosecutors shall be the Heads of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the regions entrusted to them and the persons responsible for the proper functioning of the institution in the respective area.

They shall exercise public criminal action and the powers that the law confers on the Public Prosecutor's Office, by themselves or through the section prosecutors, adjunct section prosecutors, district prosecutors, adjunct district prosecutors, prosecutorial agents and prosecutorial assistants established by this Law, except when the Prosecutor General of the Republic directly assumes this function or entrusts it to another public official, jointly or separately.

District prosecutors shall organize the permanent-attention offices, under the charge of a prosecutorial agent, for the receipt of complaints or police reports. Such office shall also receive, register and distribute the files and documents entering and leaving the institution.

The district prosecutors shall organize the victim assistance offices so that they are in charge of providing him/her with all urgent and necessary information and assistance.

Section prosecutors shall be the heads of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the different sections entrusted to them and those responsible for the proper functioning of the institution in matters within their jurisdiction.

They shall have under their charge the exercise of the powers that the law assigns to the section under their charge, they shall act on their own or through agent prosecutors or auxiliary prosecutors, except when the Prosecutor General of the Republic directly assumes such function or entrusts it to another prosecutor, jointly or separately.

To be a regional prosecutor, district prosecutor, assistant district prosecutor, section prosecutor and assistant section prosecutor, the following is required: to hold the title of attorney and notary, to be Guatemalan by origin, and to have practiced the profession of attorney and notary for five (5) years or, as applicable, that of first instance judge in criminal matters or fiscal agent for five (5) years.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic, district prosecutors and section prosecutors may request the advice of experts from public or private entities to form interdisciplinary investigation teams for specific cases.

They may also accept the gratuitous collaboration of any person, citizens association or human rights organizations having an interest in conducting a specific investigation. These collaborators shall be appointed to conduct the investigation and criminal prosecution assigned to them; upon its conclusion, they shall cease in their function. They shall have the same powers, duties, preeminences and immunities as fiscal agents, but they shall always act under the supervision of the authority that appointed them.

The following shall be under the charge of a Section Prosecutor:

1)Administrative Crimes Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of investigating the administrative conduct of the public officials and employees of state organs and entities, decentralized and autonomous; including the Presidents of the State Bodies. It shall exercise the criminal prosecution of punishable acts attributed to such persons, intervening regularly in all criminal matters related to public administration or in which State interests are harmed.

2)Economic Crimes Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of the investigation and the exercise of criminal action in all crimes that threaten the economy of the country.

3)Narco-activity Crimes Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of the investigation and the exercise of criminal action in all crimes linked to the production, manufacture, use, possession, trafficking and illegal commercialization of narcotics.

4)Crimes Against the Environment Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of the investigation and the exercise of criminal action in all crimes whose protected legal interest is the environment.

5)Constitutional Matters, Amparo and habeas corpus (exhibición personal) Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall promote all actions aimed at ensuring strict compliance with the Political Constitution of the Republic and other laws on this matter.

6)Adolescents in Conflict with Criminal Law Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of the intervention conferred on the Public Prosecutor's Office in the procedure to establish the existence of a violation of criminal law, determination of the perpetrator or participant and imposition of the corresponding measures. Likewise, the reintegration of the adolescent into their family and into society. It shall have the advice of an interdisciplinary team of specialists in matters involving adolescents in conflict with criminal law.

7)Women's Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of the intervention of the Public Prosecutor's Office in proceedings involving women victims of crime and related to their status as women. It shall have the advice of specialists in the respective subject matter.

8)Execution Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of intervention before the execution judges and shall promote all actions relating to the execution of the penalty and the conditional suspension of criminal prosecution.

9)Anti-Corruption Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall have jurisdiction to investigate and criminally prosecute crimes constituting acts of corruption in which public officials and public employees are implicated.

10)Anti-Organized Crime Section Prosecutor's Office: This prosecutor's office shall have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute the crimes causing the greatest social disturbance, which shall be composed of the following units:

a.Unit against vehicle robbery.

b.Unit for crimes related to banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.

11)Crimes Against the Cultural Heritage of the Nation Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall have jurisdiction to investigate and criminally prosecute crimes against cultural heritage committed throughout the national territory.

12)Crimes Against Intellectual Property Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall have jurisdiction to investigate and criminally prosecute crimes against copyright, industrial property and computer crimes committed throughout the national territory.

13)Crimes Against the Life and Integrity of Persons Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall exercise public criminal action and criminal prosecution in crimes that threaten the life and integrity of persons.

14)Human Rights Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall exercise criminal action and criminal prosecution in crimes committed against the human rights of the inhabitants of the Republic.

15)Anti-Money Laundering or Other Assets Section Prosecutor's Office: It is in charge of conducting the investigation, action and criminal prosecution of money laundering or other assets derived from the commission of any crime.

16)Anti-Extortion Crime Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall promote the investigation, action and criminal prosecution of the crime of extortion, intimidating exactions, extortive obstruction of traffic and all acts aimed at obtaining the delivery of money or other benefit.

17)Anti-Human Trafficking Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall promote the investigation and criminal prosecution of the crime of human trafficking in its various purposes, carrying out all actions tending to primarily protect the life, liberty and sexual indemnity of persons who are victims of this crime.

18)Anti-Kidnapping Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall promote criminal action and criminal prosecution of all acts that threaten the liberty of persons and whose purpose is to obtain ransom, exchange or the adoption of any decision contrary to the will of the person or for any other similar or identical purpose.

19)Internal Affairs Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall promote the criminal prosecution of crimes attributed to public officials and employees of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the exercise of their functions and by reason of or on the occasion thereof.

20)Anti-Femicide Crime Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall promote criminal action and criminal prosecution of crimes that threaten the lives of women.

21)Children and Adolescents Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall promote criminal action and criminal prosecution against all acts that threaten the human rights and the comprehensive development of children and adolescents; it shall primarily ensure that the comprehensive protection of boys, girls and adolescents is guaranteed at the social, economic and legal levels.

22)Liquidation Section Prosecutor's Office: It shall be in charge of the inventory, analysis and classification of all case files that have not been processed and shall exercise the corresponding actions for their effective termination within the framework of the law.

The section prosecutor's offices shall be competent to handle, throughout the national territory, the cases assigned to them in accordance with the provisions of this Law. Other matters shall be handled by the other bodies of the Public Prosecutor's Office. The Prosecutor General may eliminate, merge or create the section prosecutor's offices deemed necessary for the proper functioning of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The Prosecutor General shall convene periodic meetings with the District prosecutors and Section prosecutors in order to evaluate the progress of the service, issue instructions, request consultations or discuss matters.

The Directorate of Criminalistic Investigations shall assist in the investigation, collection, processing and criminalistic analysis of any evidence, material, digital or any other kind of indication related to the commission of a criminal act investigated by the various prosecutor's offices or departments of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

It shall inquire, through its investigators, into all the circumstances, characteristics or particularities under which the criminal acts submitted for its inquiry occurred. For the performance of its functions they may act under their own liability, and in cases that so warrant, accompanied by other State security forces.

They shall carry out their activities at the request of the prosecutor in charge of the case; they may also carry out, on its own initiative, any other activity that serves to achieve the clarification of the criminal act under investigation, provided that it results from the same entrusted investigative proceedings, and that they are within the framework of legality and immediately inform the prosecutor in charge, so that the latter may direct them.

Its organic structure and matters relating to the investigative career shall be governed by regulation or general instruction issued by the Prosecutor General of the Republic.

The Directorate of Criminalistic Investigations may carry out the provisions of this article, without prejudice to the provisions of the laws governing investigation procedures.

The Office for the Protection of Procedural Subjects shall be headed by the person appointed by the Prosecutor General and shall be in charge of the protection of procedural subjects, in accordance with the regulation to be issued by the Prosecutor General.

Fiscal agents shall assist District prosecutors or Section prosecutors: they shall be in charge of exercising public criminal action and, where applicable, the private action in accordance with the law and the functions that the law assigns to the Public Prosecutor's Office. They shall direct the investigation of criminal cases: they shall formulate the accusation or the request for dismissal of proceedings, provisional closure and archiving before the competent jurisdictional organ. Likewise, they shall act in the trial before the sentencing tribunals, and they may pursue the remedies to be processed in the Criminal Chambers of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Justice.

To be appointed fiscal agent, it is required to hold the title of attorney and notary, to be Guatemalan by origin and to have practiced the profession of attorney for three (3) years or, as applicable, that of first-instance judge in criminal matters, peace judge in criminal matters or fiscal assistant for three years.

Special prosecutors shall be contracted for specific cases when it is necessary to guarantee the independence of prosecutors in the investigation and promotion of criminal prosecution. They shall have the same powers, duties and prerogatives as district or section prosecutors and shall act with absolute independence in the case assigned to them. In the exercise of their function they shall be subject only to what is established by the Political Constitution of the Republic, international Treaties and Agreements and other laws of the country.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic, district prosecutors and section prosecutors may request the advice of experts, from public or private entities to form interdisciplinary investigation teams for specific cases. They may also request the collaboration of human rights organizations in the investigations of crimes affecting the fundamental rights of persons.

The Prosecutor General shall provide the necessary funds for this item.

Assistant prosecutors shall assist district prosecutors, section prosecutors and prosecutorial agents, acting under their supervision and responsibility. They shall be in charge of carrying out the investigation in the preparatory procedure of the criminal proceedings in all crimes of public action and in crimes requiring complaint by the party, once this requirement has been met. They may intervene directly and on their own in all investigative diligences and statements of accused persons that occur during the preparatory procedure. They may sign all claims, petitions and briefs submitted before the tribunals during the preparatory procedure. Likewise, when they hold the title of Attorney and Notary, they may attend and intervene in the trial, accompanying the prosecutorial agent.

To serve as an assistant prosecutor, a person must be Guatemalan and have at least completed the curriculum in the Law and Notary program.