Título V. Disposiciones generales

The disciplinary system of the professional career of the Public Prosecutor's Office is governed in accordance with the following principles:

1)Principle of legality. The public officials and employees of the Public Prosecutor's Office are subject to disciplinary liability. A disciplinary sanction may only be imposed on them when they perform acts or omissions provided for as an offense in the law and following the procedure established in this Law and its regulations. Personnel hired for personal and professional services shall be governed by the contractual clauses with the Public Prosecutor's Office and other laws in force in the country.

2)Non bis in idem. No one may be administratively sanctioned twice for the same act.

3)Independence of the disciplinary procedure. The initiation of criminal prosecution neither interrupts nor precludes the administrative disciplinary procedure. The disciplinary procedure shall be conducted and applied without prejudice to civil and criminal liabilities and shall not impede the substantiation of said proceedings.

4)Right of defense. No one may be sanctioned, nor deprived of his rights without having been summoned, heard and tried in the disciplinary system of the professional career.

5)Proportionality. Throughout the disciplinary procedure and when imposing administrative sanctions, the principle of proportionality shall be observed, taking into account:

a.The nature of the service affected.

b.Degree of liability.

c.The degree of effective disruption of the service.

d.The nature of the legally protected interests affected.

e.The circumstances in which the act occurred.

f.The employment record of the worker in the institution.

The offenses established in this Law and the actions that may be initiated as a result thereof prescribe in accordance with the following rules:

1)The disciplinary action prescribes in six (6) months for minor offenses, in one (1) year for serious offenses and in two (2) years for very serious offenses. In all cases the time limit is computed for consummated offenses from the day of their consummation, and for those of a permanent or continuing nature, from the performance of the last act. Where several conducts are adjudged in a single procedure, the limitation period of the actions is completed independently for each of them.

2)Where several conducts are adjudged in a single procedure, the limitation period of the actions is completed independently for each of them.

3)The disciplinary sanction prescribes in a term of five (5) years, counted from the finality of the judgment.

The offenses declared founded and unfounded shall be recorded in the records of the disciplinary bodies of the Public Prosecutor's Office, without prejudice to existing labor rights.

Without prejudice to criminal and civil liability, the following are considered offenses:

a.Minor offenses:

a.Failure to observe the work schedule without justified cause, provided that it does not imply an offense of greater seriousness under this Law.

b.Lack of due respect toward the public, colleagues and subordinates in the performance of the office, the victim, the accused person, judicial public officials, representatives of auxiliary bodies of the administration of justice, members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, of the Institute for Criminal Public Defense and litigating attorneys.

c.Negligence in the performance of the functions inherent to his/her office, provided that it does not constitute a serious or very serious offense.

d.Inappropriate use of the facilities, movable property and immovable property of the institution.

b.Serious offenses:

a.Unjustified absence from or abandonment of duties, or repeated failure to observe the work schedule, or unjustified absence from the offices where work is performed.

b.Failure to act with due promptness in the processing of the proceedings and incurring unjustified delays and neglect in the handling of the proceedings.

c.Failure to maintain due discretion in those matters which by their nature or by virtue of laws or regulations require confidentiality, causing serious consequences for the development of the proceedings.

d.Failure to comply with the general or specific rules or instructions of the fiscal authority in investigations, causing serious consequences for the development of the proceedings.

e.Concealing from the parties documents or information of a public nature, without prejudice to other types of liability contained in other laws.

f.Reporting to work or working in a state of intoxication or under the influence of narcotics.

g.Insult, calumny or physical assault against supervisors, public officials, representatives of the Public Prosecutor's Office or any other worker.

h.Intentionally causing damage to, or using for one's own benefit or that of third persons, the movable property or immovable property of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

i.Engaging, during work or within the offices of the Public Prosecutor's Office, in partisan political activities or religious proselytism.

j.Delegating functions inherent to his/her office to subordinates.

k.Failing to inform the victim of the outcome of the investigations except in cases where the law provides for confidentiality of the investigation, or failing to notify the decision of the judge terminating the proceedings.

l.Making accusations, petitions, formulating conclusions or rendering reports or opinions lacking legal basis.

m.Failing to enter or update information on the progress of investigations in the official computer system of the Public Prosecutor's Office, in cases where it does not constitute a very serious offense.

c.Very serious offenses:

a.Simultaneously performing, together with the function, remunerated employment or positions, with the exception of teaching, or providing any kind of professional service.

b.Interfering in the exercise of the functions of the other State Bodies, their agents or representatives, or allowing interference by any body, institution or person that undermines the function of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

c.Committing any act of harassment, coercion or abuse, especially those of a sexual or labor nature.

d.Soliciting or accepting favors, loans, royalties or gifts in money or in kind, directly or indirectly, in connection with any procedure.

e.Failing to enter or update information on the progress of investigations in the official computer system of the Public Prosecutor's Office, thereby obstructing the processing of the proceedings or the professional performance evaluation.

f.Failing to comply with procedural time limits, thereby causing termination of the proceedings.

g.Committing acts or incurring omissions that render impossible the preparation of an adequate prosecutorial request, or that cause a lack of support and evidence to substantiate the claim of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

h.Introducing evidence through illegal means, or removing, destroying, altering or misplacing evidence, as well as altering reports and opinions relating thereto.

i.Resorting to illegal means in the investigation phase.

j.Making accusations, petitions, formulating conclusions or rendering opinions based on manifestly false facts.

k.Manifest refusal to comply with the general or specific rules or instructions of the fiscal authority in the investigations under his/her cognizance.

l.Preventing or obstructing the parties from exercising their rights in any procedure, or giving them erroneous information or concealing information from them when confidentiality of the actions has not been declared.

m.Revealing or providing confidential information learned by reason of his/her office.

n.Breaching the rules on confidentiality of witnesses, collaborators, victims and procedural subjects under the protection of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

o.Carrying weapons of any kind during working hours, except when required by the nature of the service.

p.Intervening in any procedural act knowing that he/she is subject to a ground for disqualification, or to any of the incompatibilities or prohibitions established by law.

q.Failing to tell the truth in a contracting, qualification or promotion process, claiming to have qualities, academic qualifications, disciplinary record, professional experience, conditions or knowledge not possessed; without prejudice to applicable criminal liability. The concealment or submission of false data may not be remedied subsequently by limitation period.

r.Performing an action covered by the prohibitions established in this Law, unless it constitutes a specific offense.

s.Discriminatory conduct and treatment, including insulting or uttering discriminatory phrases, based on race, ethnicity, cultural practices, religion, gender, sex, age, language or other grounds in the exercise of the office against personnel of the institution, procedural parties, their attorneys or the general public.

t.Practicing the profession of attorney by litigating private matters personally or through an intermediary.

u.Removing, except in cases authorized by law, files and documents from the office where they should be located, or from those of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The sanctions imposed shall be in accordance with the type of offense committed.

a.Sanctions for minor offenses: Verbal and written admonition.

b.Sanctions for serious offenses: Suspension from employment or position without enjoyment of wage for up to twenty (20) days.

c.Sanctions for very serious offenses: Suspension from twenty-one (21) to ninety (90) days without enjoyment of wage or dismissal.

The imposition of a sanction for a serious offense or for three minor offenses prevents promotion in the career and imposes the temporary limitation on applying for scholarships within or outside the country and applying for other positions within the institution, as long as the annotation in the sanctioned person's record has not been cancelled. Dismissal from position or employment prevents the reentry of the person into the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Disciplinary boards are created, which shall be responsible for hearing and, where applicable, imposing sanctions for minor, serious and very serious offenses, in accordance with this Law, on regional prosecutors, district prosecutors, deputy district prosecutors, section prosecutors, deputy section prosecutors, prosecutorial agents, prosecutors for special matters, assistant prosecutors, prosecution officers and personnel of the Directorate of Criminalistic Investigations.

The Prosecutor General shall establish the number and location of the disciplinary boards according to the needs of the service, taking into consideration access by the parties and the workload of the existing boards.

The disciplinary boards shall be of a permanent nature and shall be composed of three regular members and three alternates, who shall be appointed by the Prosecutor General through public competitive examination, in accordance with the career service of the Public Prosecutor's Office. At least one regular member and one alternate must have at least three (3) years of experience and be serving as prosecutorial agent, district prosecutor, section prosecutor, or assistant prosecutor.

To be a member of a disciplinary board, the following is required:

1)Not having been convicted of the commission of intentional crimes.

2)To be an attorney and notary, with five (5) years or more of professional bar membership and to be an active member of the bar.

3)Not to have in force sanctions imposed by the Tribunal of Honor of the Bar Association of Attorneys and Notaries or by another disciplinary body of the institution where he/she has served.

When a disciplinary procedure is initiated against a member of a disciplinary board, he/she shall be replaced by the respective alternate.

The attributions of the disciplinary board are:

1)To hear, process and resolve disciplinary proceedings, imposing the corresponding sanctions in accordance with this Law.

2)To forward to the performance evaluation unit the information relating to final sanctions, to be considered as part of the performance evaluation.

The General Supervision is hereby created, which is responsible for investigating the commission of acts constituting administrative faults, and, where appropriate, formulating the corresponding charge.

Organically, it shall be subordinate to the Prosecutor General, it shall act upon instructions from the latter or on its own initiative and shall have the authority to conduct general or specific supervisions to review the work of the institution. In the exercise of its functions, it shall act independently.

The Prosecutor General shall appoint the General Supervisor of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the staff according to the needs of the service, through public competitive examination in accordance with the professional career of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The General Supervisor must comply with what is required in Article 28 of this Law and the staff under his charge with what is established in Article 43 of this Law.

The General Supervision must collect the inculpatory and exculpatory elements of evidence that support the conclusive request of the investigation, and for such purpose may request reports, expert opinions, documents and receive statements from private individuals and other suitable elements of evidence, from any public official or employee of the institution or of any other [institution].

When a disciplinary procedure is initiated against the personnel of the General Supervision, the Prosecutor General shall designate the person who must conduct the respective investigation under the terms established in this Law.

The disciplinary procedure may be initiated by:

a)Written or verbal complaint filed by private individuals, public officials or public employees;

b)By communication from the immediate hierarchical superiors;

c)By findings of the supervisors in the conduct of general or specific supervisions.

The complaint may be filed with any office of the institution, which shall forward it to the General Supervision within the maximum time limit of two (2) days, a free acknowledgment of receipt thereof to be issued.

In the event that the hierarchical superior becomes aware of a possible administrative offense, they shall draw up a record and forward it to the General Supervision of the Public Prosecutor's Office within the time limit of two (2) days.

The General Supervision, within the two (2) days following receipt of the complaint, shall:

a)Dismiss the case by reasoned decision, if the complaint refers to acts that do not constitute offenses.

b)Refer the complaint to the disciplinary board, if it considers that the act constitutes a minor offense.

c)Initiate the investigation when there are sufficient indicia of the commission of a serious or very serious offense. During the course of the disciplinary proceedings, the Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, at the request of the General Supervision, may provisionally suspend the respondent while the investigations last and for up to a maximum of thirty (30) days when there are indicia of the commission of a very serious offense, in the following cases:

a.If it is considered that, if continuing to work, an adverse effect on the normal performance of the service will occur;

b.If there is a possibility that the public official may hinder or obstruct the conduct of the disciplinary procedure.

The decision in which the Prosecutor General rules on the provisional suspension shall be subject to a motion for reconsideration.

The same shall apply where an order of prosecution is issued against a public official of the institution for the commission of a crime; in this case the measure shall last until the decision terminating the proceedings is issued.

The investigation of serious and very serious offenses shall have a maximum duration of one (1) month counted from the decision of the General Supervision.

The General Supervision may conclude the investigation before the expiry of the time limit provided for and adopt the decisions established in this Law, or in strictly necessary cases request from the disciplinary board the extension of the investigation time limit for the non-extendable period of fifteen (15) days.

The reported person and the complainant may propose means of evidence to the General Supervision. In case of refusal to process the proposed evidence, they may resort to the disciplinary board so that the decision of the General Supervision is reviewed. The disciplinary board must decide within a maximum time limit of two (2) days.

At any time during the investigation, the complaint shall be referred to the corresponding Permanent Attention Office, if it is determined that the act under investigation also constitutes a crime.

Upon completion of the investigation, the General Supervision shall, based on the means of evidence obtained, formulate in a reasoned manner any of the following conclusive acts before the disciplinary board:

a)The dismissal of proceedings of the complaint, if it is determined that the act does not constitute an administrative offense or that the liability of the reported person has not been proven.

b)The imputation of charges requesting the corresponding sanction. The imputation of charges shall contain:

1.A precise and detailed description of the act attributed to the public official or employee, indicating the known place, time and manner;

2.The indication of the offense committed, in accordance with the provisions of this Law;

3.The evidence with precise indication of the facts that each one seeks to prove.

The conclusive act shall be notified by the General Supervision to the reported person and the complainant. Together with the request, the respective case file shall be forwarded to the disciplinary board.

Within the ten (10) days following receipt of the request, the disciplinary board shall convene an oral hearing, at which the General Supervision and the public official or employee under investigation shall be heard.

The complainant and the victim shall be summoned to this hearing, and they may participate in its conduct. The failure to appear of the complainant and the victim shall not suspend the procedure.

In case of failure to appear of the reported public official or employee with justified cause, the hearing shall be suspended, with a new date and time being set for it to be held. When there is no justified cause, the disciplinary board shall continue with the procedure without his or her presence.

In case of failure to appear of the representative of the General Supervision, the hearing shall be suspended, with a new date and time being set for it to be held.

When there is no justified cause, the disciplinary board shall report the fact to the General Supervision so that it initiates the corresponding disciplinary procedure. Immediately after the hearing has been held, the disciplinary board shall examine all the proceedings and shall issue the corresponding decision with reasoning, imposing, where applicable, the corresponding sanction.

Only an appeal to the Prosecutor General shall lie against the decisions of the disciplinary board. The appeal may be filed by the Supervision, the complainant or the sanctioned, within the three (3) days following notification of the respective decision, and it shall be decided within the following fifteen (15) days.

The Prosecutor General shall decide with reasoning, confirming, revoking or modifying the challenged decision. When the appeal is filed exclusively by the sanctioned, no sanctions more severe than those imposed by the sanctioning body may be imposed.

The procedure to impose sanctions for offenses committed by employees of the administrative, technical and support area may be initiated by the hierarchical superior of the worker who will be subject to disciplinary procedure, who shall draw up a record in which shall be stated the actions or omissions incurred by the person implicated in the commission of acts constituting disciplinary procedure, indicating the legal provision under which they fall.

The worker shall be given notice of said record and of all incriminating evidence establishing the facts stated therein, and a hearing shall be granted for two (2) days for the worker of the metropolitan region and one additional day for workers of the interior of the country, by reason of distance, during which the worker may offer pertinent evidence. The General Supervision of the Public Prosecutor's Office, with summons to the interested worker, shall receive the evidence offered in due time and/or shall take such evidence as indicated by the worker, within the three (3) following days for workers of the metropolitan area and five (5) days for workers of the interior of the country, a time limit that shall be counted from the day following the summons.

With the evidence taken, the file shall be transmitted within the forty-eight hours following the proceedings, as applicable, to:

1.The hierarchical superior (district or section prosecutor or heads of offices of the Public Prosecutor's Office) for cases of verbal or written reprimand, to decide within the time limit of three (3) days;

2.To the Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, to decide within the five (5) days following receipt of the file in the case of suspension or dismissal. In cases where the worker does not respond to the hearing and/or does not offer evidence, the file shall be transmitted to the General Supervision, which upon verifying this fact shall transmit the file immediately to where appropriate.

In all cases all evidence provided by the worker shall be assessed.

Likewise, the established time limits shall be computed as working days, and written record shall be made of all proceedings.

Disciplinary sanctions shall be executed when the respective decision has become final. The authority that issues the last decision shall forward the same by official communication to the Directorate of Human Resources for it to enforce it.

The sanctions imposed shall be recorded in the worker's personal file, which is held at the Directorate of Human Resources. The rehabilitation of the sanction shall be ordered on its own initiative after the time limit of three (3) months has elapsed if it is a verbal reprimand, twelve (12) months in the case of a written reprimand and eighteen (18) months in the case of suspension from work without enjoyment of wage.

The procedure to impose sanctions for offenses committed by the highest-ranking employees in the Public Prosecutor's Office, such as secretaries and deputy secretaries of the different secretariats, General Supervisor, heads of the administrative area, Head of the Directorate of Criminalistic Investigations, heads of the technical and support area, shall be initiated by the Prosecutor General of the Republic, upon a detailed report from the General Supervision and the disciplinary board, which shall contain the background of the case to which it refers; with this report the Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall decide whether or not to initiate a procedure, which shall be recorded in a reasoned decision, which shall be notified to the complainant, who shall have the right to file a motion for reconsideration.

If it is decided to initiate a procedure, the reasoned decision shall be notified to the respondent and one person from the disciplinary board and one person from the General Supervision shall be appointed, who shall take the evidence proposed by the respondent and the complainant, with summons to both parties, and they shall leave written record of all proceedings; and once all the proposed evidence has been taken, which shall be carried out within a time limit of not more than five (5) working days, it shall be forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor General so that the Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office may decide whether or not to impose a sanction on the reported personnel, who may challenge the decision by means of a motion for reconsideration.

According to hierarchical order, the members of the Public Prosecutor's Office may issue to their subordinates the instructions conducive to the service and to the exercise of functions, both of a general nature and those referring to specific matters.

The prosecutor who receives an instruction concerning the service and the exercise of their functions shall comply with it if it is framed within the law and shall adhere to it in their actions, without prejudice to expressing their personal position.

In oral trials, the public official attending them shall act and conclude according to their own judgment. If any hierarchical superior wishes to conduct the trial according to their own judgment, such superior shall attend the hearing.

The prosecutor who receives in writing the instruction from the immediate superior which he considers contrary to law, without suspensive effects, shall inform the person who issued the instruction by reasoned report within two (2) days.

The latter, if he insists on the legitimacy of the instruction, shall forward it within the following twenty-four hours to the Prosecutor General, who shall decide.

Verbal instructions may not be given; however, in those cases in which the circumstances warrant it and do not allow the prompt issuance of the instruction in writing, it may be issued verbally, leaving a reasoned record thereof in the corresponding file.

When an objected instruction, general or particular, concerns a procedural act subject to a time limit or that admits no delay, the public official who receives the order shall carry it out on behalf of the superior who issued it, without prejudice to the procedure provided for in the preceding article.

If the objected instruction consists of omitting an act subject to a time limit or that admits no delay, the public official who objects to it shall act under their exclusive liability, without prejudice to the replacement that may be ordered or to the discontinuance of the activity performed.

Instructions shall be given in written form and transmitted by any means of communication. In case of danger due to delay, instructions may be given orally, by any means of communication and confirmed in writing immediately.

Simple instructions that consist only of simple service orders may be given orally.

The Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the regional prosecutors, the district prosecutors and the section prosecutors, with respect to the personnel under their charge, may designate one or more members of the Public Prosecutor's Office to act in a specific matter or in several of them, replace them among themselves, form teams to work jointly, or directly assume the conduct of a case or transfer it due to service needs.

Transfer due to service needs shall be carried out by means of reasoned decisions issued by the Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, which shall explain the reasons for the transfer in order to respond to criminality or for reasons of administrative necessity.

The Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office may authorize a transfer at the request of the interested party, provided that service conditions allow it and considering the merits of the interested party, provided that the interested party has passed the performance evaluation.

The prosecutor who has been transferred may request reconsideration before the Prosecutor General, within a time limit of three (3) days from having been notified of the transfer. The reconsideration shall be resolved within a time limit of no more than fifteen (15) days. The request for reconsideration shall not suspend the transfer.

The grounds for disqualification of prosecutors to hear specific matters are the same as those that the law of the Judicial Branch establishes for judges as grounds for impediment, excuse or recusal, as well as kinship with the judge or magistrate before whom they must exercise their function. The impediment or excuse shall be proved by simple written record to be signed by the respective public official, who shall be replaced by whomever the Prosecutor General of the Republic or the respective section chief determines.

The victim may request from the district prosecutor, the section prosecutor or the prosecutor general the removal of the prosecutor handling the case, when he or she considers that the latter does not correctly exercise his or her functions. The request shall be resolved within two days after the filing of the application, by reasoned decision.

Where the law establishes the obligation to remove the prosecutor for a specific case, the hierarchical superior shall decide in accordance with the internal rules for distribution of work.

The members of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall communicate to their immediate hierarchical superior the matters under their charge which, due to their importance, significance, or complexity, require special treatment, specifically indicating the difficulties and proposing the manner of resolving them.

Professional career shall mean the system of selection, appointment, promotion, transfer, performance evaluation and disciplinary system for the workers of the Public Prosecutor's Office, both prosecutors and technical and administrative personnel, which shall guarantee professional excellence in the exercise of its function and equality of opportunity for entry and promotion within the institution.

All matters relating to the professional career of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall be governed by the provisions of this Law, in accordance with international human rights instruments, the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala and the regulations issued by the Prosecutor General on the matter.

The prosecutorial career comprises the positions of regional prosecutors, district prosecutors, deputy district prosecutors, section prosecutors, deputy section prosecutors, prosecutorial agents and prosecutorial assistants. The technical career includes the professional and scientific-technical personnel who perform support tasks for criminal prosecution. The administrative career includes the personnel working in the administrative support area.

The professional career system of the Public Prosecutor's Office, which corresponds to the prosecutorial career, technical career and administrative career, shall be governed in accordance with the following principles:

a.Suitability: Participation and development in the prosecutorial career shall be based on the ability and merit of the applicants.

b.Objectivity: Decisions of the professional career system shall be subject to equitable and impartial procedures.

c.Integrity and probity: The professional career system shall comprehensively assess professional technical training, work performance and compliance with legal, ethical and disciplinary norms.

d.Transparency: The candidate selection systems and the assessment criteria of the various evaluation boards for entry, promotion, transfer and participation in training and specialization processes shall be public.

e.Non-discrimination: The selection of employees and public officials shall be made excluding all discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion.

f.Stability: The professional career system shall guarantee stability in the position as long as no legal cause for termination thereof is incurred.

Affirmative actions implemented by the Public Prosecutor's Office to provide for the presence of specific groups in the different units and dependencies of this unit shall not be considered contrary to this principle.

The following are grounds for incapacity or incompatibility:

a)The following persons may not seek to enter the career service of the Public Prosecutor's Office:

1)Those who have been disqualified, in absolute or special form, from holding public office or practicing the profession of attorney and/or notary or who have been deprived of their rights as citizens, while such disqualification lasts.

2)Those who have been dismissed in another justice institution, pursuant to the corresponding legal or disciplinary proceedings.

3)Those who have at any time been convicted of an intentional crime.

4)Those who, having previously served in a public service, fail to attach to their application the respective settlement declarations from the Comptroller General of Accounts, pursuant to the Law on Probity and Responsibilities of Public Officials and Public Employees.

b)The following shall be incompatible with the function of member of the Public Prosecutor's Office:

1)Any popularly-elected office or candidacy for the same.

2)Any other remunerated public or private employment or office, and any other employment, management and advisory positions in political institutions, trade unions or entities that receive, administer or execute public resources or property of the State or that are part of the State administration outside the Public Prosecutor's Office, or other entities with political purposes, or serving as a minister of any religion or creed. The practice of teaching in the manner prescribed by the Constitution is excepted.

3)The practice of law and/or notary practice, except the exercise of one's own material defense.

4)Engaging in commerce or serving on management or supervisory bodies of commercial companies.

Appointments to fill positions in the Public Prosecutor's Office shall be subject to the procedure established in the regulation, which shall be based on opposition and merit-based competitive examinations, in accordance with the regulation that the Prosecutor General must issue for such purpose.

Whenever service needs are determined, at the request of the Prosecutor General, the institutional Training Unit shall call for a competitive examination process.

The call shall be published at least once in the Official Gazette, in another newspaper of greatest national circulation, and through other dissemination means available to the institution, at least one (1) month in advance of the scheduled date for the start of the competitions. The call shall indicate: the position subject to competition, the legal and formal requirements demanded, the wage, the benefits, the number of vacant positions if any, with precise statement of the place or region of performance, the schedule and place for collection of the competition rules and for publication of results.

The competitive examination process for entry and promotion in the prosecutorial career shall comprise the following stages:

a)Pre-qualification. Meeting the legal requirements demanded for the position and having no ground for incompatibility.

b)Competitive examination. The competitive examination shall be conducted respecting the following stages:

1)Merit examination: The Training Unit shall assess the applicant's merit, evaluating his/her professional background in accordance with the table established in the regulation.

2)Written knowledge test: A written knowledge test shall be administered, which shall be prepared and graded by the Training Unit. The test shall be administered in such a manner that the person grading it does not know the identity of the examinee.

3)Oral knowledge test: The applicant shall be orally examined on the knowledge required for the position. The regulation shall determine the manner of conducting the oral test. The oral test shall be public and may be attended by any persons who wish to do so, provided that order and the normal conduct thereof are not disturbed.

The Training Unit shall be under the authority of the Prosecutor General of the Public Prosecutor's Office, who shall appoint the Director and Deputy Director, after a competitive examination and selection procedure. The Training Unit shall prepare annual plans and reports of its activities and shall submit them to the Prosecutor General for approval. Such plans shall include the contents to be developed, the methodological proposals, programming and scheduling, the necessary teaching and administrative personnel and its budget.

The training and specialization of the members of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall be mandatory and periodic, and the Training Unit shall organize an annual record of the training received by each member of the institution, who shall be required to receive at least three training sessions per year on updating topics in investigation and litigation matters, which must include theoretical and practical aspects.

The Training Unit shall be composed of a multidisciplinary team.

The Unit shall keep a record of the training processes of all personnel and their results, which it shall share with the Human Resources Directorate and the Performance Evaluation Unit. The Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall approve the regulation of the institutional Training Unit upon the proposal of its Director.

The Training Unit of the Public Prosecutor's Office, in accordance with institutional policy and the needs of the service, shall call to a selection course the applicants for prosecutor who have passed the competitive examination, in descending order of the score obtained. During the selection course, the applicants shall be evaluated by the Training Unit; those who do not pass the selection course may not be appointed to the vacant positions and shall be removed from the list of applicants. The regulation shall define the duration, methodology and system of evaluation and passing of the course.

Performance evaluation is the permanent system by means of which the performance of career personnel is rated; its purpose shall be to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of personnel in the fulfillment of their functions, as well as to establish training needs in order to overcome the deficiencies found and recognitions.

Performance evaluations shall be conducted at least once a year.

The Public Prosecutor's Office shall have a specialized unit, composed of multidisciplinary teams, which shall be responsible for developing and executing the performance evaluation system; the members of the specialized unit must be professionals with five (5) years or more of professional registration and be in active standing.

The evaluation shall comprise:

a.The analysis of efficiency and effectiveness in the management and in the technical-legal actions in the cases under their responsibility according to the function performed in accordance with the law, instructions, manuals and regulations.

b.Due diligence in the attention to the victim, witnesses, complainants and other actors in the proceedings.

c.The disciplinary evaluation, which comprises the final sanctions issued by the disciplinary board.

d.The academic evaluation which comprises the credits obtained in theoretical and practical courses taught by the training unit, which are supplemented by postgraduate-level studies and other knowledge acquired by the public officials.

The Evaluation Unit shall prepare the corresponding evaluation manuals and instruments. The respective regulation shall develop the evaluation methodology, the aspects to be evaluated, the value assigned to each of them and the grading scale. The Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office shall approve the performance evaluation regulation.

Only those who pass the performance evaluation with the grade established in the regulation may seek promotions in the institution.

Prior to deciding on the granting of a promotion, the applicant's work desk shall be evaluated in order to determine their work profile.

When the public official is repeatedly rated as deficient in performance evaluations, the Prosecutor General shall proceed to their dismissal, after exhausting the corresponding disciplinary procedure. Reiteration shall be deemed to exist upon the occurrence of two consecutive deficient ratings.

The Human Resources Directorate shall maintain an updated register of the file of all personnel of the institution, containing, among other information, the results of the performance evaluations, the offenses committed and the cancellations, the performance evaluation results shall be publicly accessible.

When, from the evaluation process, indications of the existence of crimes, offenses or administrative violations are observed, the corresponding body shall be immediately notified for the commencement of the investigations.

The evaluated public official shall be notified of the result of the performance evaluations and may request its reasoned review before the head of the evaluation unit within the eight (8) days following receipt of the rating, which shall be decided within the following fifteen (15) days.

Against this decision, the appeal for reconsideration before the Prosecutor General shall lie, which may be requested if it is considered that:

a)The evaluation was conducted on the basis of aspects, parameters and procedures different from or contradictory to those contemplated in this Law and in the regulation.

b)The filing party shall specifically indicate the error which he considers was incurred in the evaluation.