Título III. Ejercicio de la acción penal

In the exercise of their functions, prosecutors shall be subject only to the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, international Treaties and Agreements, the law and the instructions issued by their hierarchical superior, in the terms established by this law.

The prosecutor in charge of the investigation of a crime must gather the elements of conviction of the punishable acts in an orderly manner, which allows control by the hierarchical superior, the defense, the victim and the civil parties.

All parties may propose investigative measures at any time during the preparatory procedure. The Public Prosecutor's Office, through the prosecutor in charge, shall carry them out if they are pertinent and useful. Otherwise, it shall record the reasons for its refusal, which may be revoked by the judge of first instance on the terms established by law.

The prosecutor has the obligation to propose pertinent and necessary evidence and to produce it in the debate. He shall take care to preserve the conditions of immediacy of all procedural subjects with the means of conviction and shall make a restrictive interpretation of the rules on incorporation of evidence by reading into the oral trial.

The Director of the National Police, the departmental and municipal police authorities operating in the country and any other public or private security force, are obligated to comply with the orders emanating from the prosecutors of the Public Prosecutor's Office and shall report on the investigations they carry out.

The public officials and agents of the police forces shall perform their tasks under the orders and direct supervision of the Public Prosecutor's Office. Supervision shall include the proper fulfillment of the auxiliary function of the Police and of the other security forces when they perform investigative tasks. The prosecutors in charge of the investigation may give them instructions in this regard, taking care to respect their administrative organization.

The police and the other security forces shall not conduct investigations on their own, except in urgent cases and cases of police prevention. In such case they shall inform the Public Prosecutor's Office of the proceedings conducted, within a time limit of no more than twenty-four hours, which shall run from the commencement of the investigation.

The Prosecutor General, the district prosecutors and the section prosecutors may nominate, on their own initiative or at the request of the prosecutor in charge of the case, the public officials or police agents who shall assist in the investigation of a matter.

Public officials and police agents who infringe legal or regulatory provisions, who omit or delay the execution of an act inherent to their functions or perform it negligently, shall be sanctioned by the Prosecutor General or by the district prosecutors and section prosecutors, at the request of the prosecutor in charge of the case or on their own initiative, after a report from the affected person, with a warning and suspension of up to fifteen days, without prejudice to initiating their criminal prosecution. Their dismissal or sanction may be recommended to the corresponding administrative authority, and in any case, notice of the sanctions imposed shall be given to it with a copy of the proceedings.

The sanctions shall be imposed with a hearing granted to the affected person for two days, once the hearing has been concluded, the public official shall impose the corresponding sanction within the following ten days. The sanctioned person may appeal the decision, within the following two days, before the Prosecutor General.