Repealed Penal Code (2015 Reforms)

No one shall be penalized for infractions that are not determined in a Law prior to the commission of an offense.

No other penalties or security measures shall be imposed than those previously established by Law.

Actions or omissions susceptible to being qualified in accordance with two (2) or more provisions of this Code shall be sanctioned observing the following rules:

• 1)

  The special provision shall be applied with preference to the general provision;

• 2)

  The subsidiary provision shall be applied in the absence of the principal one when such subsidiarity is expressly declared or it appears in implicit form; and,

• 3)

  The complex penal provision shall absorb those that sanction the infractions consumed therein.

Every person to whom an offense or fault is attributed has the right to be treated with the respect due to the dignity inherent to the human being. No inhumane or degrading penalties or security measures may, therefore, be imposed.

No penalty or security measure may be imposed if the action or omission does not injure or place in effective danger a legal right protected by penal law.

Penalties and security measures shall only be imposed when they are necessary and proportional to the gravity of the act committed. In no case may a security measure be imposed except as a consequence of an action or omission described as an offense by penal law.

Honduran penal law shall apply to any person who commits a punishable act in national territory and other places subject to Honduras's jurisdiction, except for the exceptions stipulated in International Law.

Honduran penal law shall apply to those who have committed offenses abroad against public health, public trust, the economy, or the external or internal security of the State; regulated in Titles V, IX, X, XI, and XII of the Second Book of this Code. It shall likewise apply when a Honduran public official or employee has committed offenses abroad against the national public administration regulated in Title XIII of the aforementioned Second Book.

Honduran Courts shall likewise have jurisdiction over offenses committed abroad when the accused is in Honduras and any of the following situations occurs:

• 1)

  When he has not been tried for the offense committed aboard a Honduran merchant or private vessel or aircraft, or when having been tried he has absconded and has not fully or partially served the sentence;

• 2)

  If the accused is Honduran and his extradition is requested by the State in whose territory the punishable act was committed;

• 3)

  If the person responsible for the offense is a government official of Honduras and enjoys diplomatic or official immunity;

• 4)

  If the person responsible for the offense committed against a Honduran has not been tried in the country in which it was perpetrated nor has his extradition been requested, or when having been tried he has absconded and failed to fully or partially serve the sentence; and,

• 5)

  When in accordance with international agreements of which Honduras is a party, the offense is subject to Honduran penal law for reasons other than those mentioned in the preceding numerals or gravely injures universally recognized human rights. Preference shall be given, nevertheless, to the claim of the State in whose territory the punishable act was committed provided that it asserts it before the respective penal action is exercised in the competent Honduran court.

Foreign penal sentences handed down on the offenses referred to in Articles 3 and 4 above shall not have the value of res judicata. However, the sentence that the defendant has served, wholly or partially, by virtue of any of said sentences, or those issued in relation to numerals 1), 2) and 4) of

the preceding Article shall be deducted from that which is imposed upon him in accordance with Honduran law if both are of similar nature; if they are not, the new sentence shall be prudentially reduced.

The minimum and maximum duration of abstract penalties established in special penal laws issued prior to the effective date of the current Code shall be determined taking as a basis the demonstrative table according to the text in force at the time of its repeal, or, in its case, on the date of commission of the offense. The concrete penalties applicable to offenses typified in special penal laws shall be determined by applying the rules established in the current Penal Code. The application of the provisions of this article shall be excepted for those laws such as the Military Code that establish their own rules for determining sentences.

Honduran penal law shall not apply to heads of foreign states who are in national territory nor to diplomatic agents and other persons who, according to International Law, enjoy immunity.

Penal laws shall have retroactive effect insofar as they favor the defendant, even though when such laws enter into force a final sentence has been handed down and the defendant is serving the sentence.

In no case shall the extradition of Hondurans who have committed offenses abroad and are found in national territory be granted. The extradition of foreigners may only be granted by virtue of Law or Treaty, for common offenses that warrant a sentence of no less than one (1) year of deprivation of liberty; and never for political offenses even though a common offense results from these.

Judicial authorities shall not be able to create any type of criminal offenses.

The general provisions of this Code shall apply to all crimes punished by special laws, insofar as these do not provide otherwise. TITLE II THE CRIME

A crime may be committed by action or by omission and must necessarily be intentional or negligent. A crime is intentional when the result corresponds to the intention had when executing it or when the perpetrator knows, or is obliged to know, that as a consequence of the action or omission there exists the possibility that a harmful effect constitutive of a crime may occur, nevertheless, the perpetrator commits the act and accepts, consequently, the consequences that derive from it. A crime is negligent when it is the result of imprudence, lack of skill or negligence or when it is the product of failure to observe a law, a regulation or orders, resolutions or duties, taking into account the circumstances and the personal situation of the offender. A negligent crime shall only be punishable in cases expressly determined by law. In no case shall the penalty for a negligent crime be greater than the corresponding penalty for that same crime if it had been committed intentionally. When this occurs, the penalty for the intentional crime shall be imposed reduced by one-sixth (1/6). 6 Article 13. Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

For criminal purposes, political crimes are considered those included in Chapters I, II and III of Title XI and II, V, VI and VII of Title XII of Book Two of the Penal Code. Common crimes connected with political crimes are those that have a direct or immediate relationship with a political crime or are a natural and frequent means of preparing, committing or favoring it.7

A crime is consummated when all the elements of its legal classification concur in it.

There is an attempt when, with the intention of committing a determined crime, unequivocal acts of execution are performed and it is not consummated due to causes beyond the will of the perpetrator.

If the attempt is made with inadequate means or upon improper objects, the penalty may be attenuated or the act may be declared not punishable, according to the dangerousness revealed by its perpetrator.

Conspiracy and proposal to commit a crime are only punishable in cases where the law expressly declares them as such. Conspiracy exists when two (2) or more persons agree to the execution of a crime. The proposal is configured when the person who has resolved to commit a crime proposes its execution to one or more other persons.

A crime is considered committed at the moment of the action or omission, even though the moment of the result may be different.

A crime is considered committed:

• 1)

  In the place where the criminal activity of perpetrators or participants was developed, in whole or in part.

• 2)

  In the place where the result occurred or should have occurred.

• 3)

  In omissive crimes, in the place where the omitted action should have been performed. 7 Articles 13-A. Added by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997

  www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever through error or any other accident commits a crime to the detriment of a person other than the one against whom their action was directed shall be imputed the crime, but not the aggravating circumstances that proceed from the injured party or from relationships with them. The mitigating circumstances that would result from the act had it been perpetrated to the detriment of the other person shall be appreciated in their favor.

There is no crime if, on the occasion of performing a lawful act with due diligence, the perpetrator causes harm by mere accident. TITLE III CAUSES THAT EXEMPT FROM RESPONSIBILITY

The causes exempting from criminal responsibility are of three (3) classes, namely:

• 1)

  Causes of non-imputability;

• 2)

  Causes of justification; and,

• 3)

  Causes of inculpability. CHAPTER I CAUSES OF NON-IMPUTABILITY

Not imputable is: 1) The minor under twelve (12) years of age. Both this minor and the one older than said age but under eighteen (18) years shall be subject to a special law; and, 2) Whoever at the moment of the action or omission suffers from psychosis, severe mental retardation or transitory psychosis and lacks, because of it, the capacity to understand the unlawful character of the act or to act in accordance with that understanding, unless the transitory mental disorder was caused by the perpetrator intentionally or negligently.8 8 Article 23. Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn CHAPTER II CAUSES OF JUSTIFICATION

Exempt from criminal responsibility is: 1. Whoever acts in defense of their person or rights, or of the person or rights of another, provided that the following circumstances concur: a) Unlawful aggression; b) Rational necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it; and, c) Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending themselves. It shall be understood that the three (3) circumstances concur with respect to whoever rejects the scaling or breaking of fences, walls or entrances of an inhabited house or apartment, or of its dependencies, or uses violence against a stranger to it who is found within the aforementioned places;9 2. Whoever acts in defense of the person or right of their spouse or of the person with whom they live in a marital relationship, of relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity or of relatives by adoption in the same degrees, provided that the circumstances provided in sections a) and b) above concur, and that, in case there has been sufficient provocation on the part of the person being defended, the defender has not participated in it; 3. Whoever acts in defense of the person or rights of a stranger, provided that the circumstances provided in the preceding numeral concur and that the defender is not impelled by revenge, resentment or other illegitimate motive; 4. Whoever has committed an act compelled by the necessity to save themselves or to save another or others from danger not caused by them voluntarily nor avoidable in another manner, provided that the act is proportionate to the danger; This exemption extends to whoever has caused damage to the property of another, if the following conditions concur: a) Reality of the harm that is sought to be avoided; 9 Article 24. Reformed first paragraph numeral 1), by Decree 225-2004 of January 20, 2005, published in the Official Journal La Gaceta No. 30,645 dated March 12, 2005 and effective as of said publication.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn b) That said harm be greater than the harm caused to prevent it; and, c) That there be no other practicable and less harmful means to prevent it. State of necessity cannot be alleged by whoever had the duty to face the danger. 5. Whoever acts in compliance with a duty or in the legitimate exercise of a right, office or position. It shall be understood that this last circumstance exists with respect to the authority or its agents and to the persons who concur in their assistance, who in case of disobedience or resistance or to prevent the flight of an offender employ proportionate means of repression, provided that formal notice precedes;and, 6. Whoever executes an act by lawful obedience, provided that:

• a)

  The order emanates from competent authority;

• b)

  The perpetrator has the obligation to comply with it; and,

• c)

  The action or omission ordered does not violate or restrict the exercise of the rights and guarantees consecrated in the Constitution of the Republic and in the international treaties on human rights of which Honduras is a party.10 CHAPTER III CAUSES OF INCULPABILITY

Those who do not incur criminal responsibility include:

• 1)

  Whoever acts impelled by irresistible physical force or insurmountable fear.

• 2)

  Whoever incurs in some omission, being prevented by legitimate or insurmountable cause.

• 3)

  Whoever in the rational belief that there exists an unjust aggression against his person, reacts against the supposed aggressor, provided that the reaction is proportionate to the supposed risk.

The following are mitigating circumstances:

• 1)

  Those expressed in the previous Title, when not all the necessary requirements concur to exempt from responsibility in their respective cases;

• 2)

  Being the guilty party under twenty-one (21) years of age and over seventy (70);

• 3)

  Executing the act while intoxicated, when such intoxication is not habitual or subsequent to the plan to commit the crime, provided that these situations are scientifically proven;

• 4)

  There having been immediately preceding, on the part of the offended party, provocation or threat proportionate to the crime;

• 5)

  Having executed the act in proximate vindication of a grave offense caused to the author of the crime against his spouse or person with whom he lives maritally, his ascendants, descendants, siblings or relatives by affinity up to the second degree;

• 6)

  Acting from stimuli so powerful that they naturally would have produced rage or obsession;

• 7)

  The guilty party having attempted with effective means to repair the harm caused or to prevent its pernicious consequences;

• 8)

  If, being able to evade the action of justice by flight or another suitable means, he has voluntarily presented himself to the competent authority;

• 9)

  There being in the proceeding no direct evidence other than the confession of the accused;

• 10)

  Having acted impelled by collective or tumultuous suggestion, provided that the guilty party did not provoke it nor acted in it as director of the group;

• 11)

  The woman having acted under the influence of physiological disorders peculiar to her sex;

• 12)

  Having acted from noble, altruistic or pious motives;

• 13)

  The delinquent not having had the intention to cause harm of such gravity as that which he produced; and,

• 14)

  Any other circumstance analogous to those above.

The following are aggravating circumstances:

• 1)

  Acting from futile or abject motives; and,

• 2)

  Executing the crime with treachery. There is treachery when the guilty party commits any of the crimes against life and bodily integrity, employing means, modes or forms in the execution that tend directly and especially to assure them, without risk to his person proceeding from the defense that the offended party might make;

• 3)

  Committing the crime by means of price, reward or remunerative promise;

• 4)

  Executing it by means of flooding, fire, poisons, explosion, derailment, stranding or damage to a vessel or other device that may cause great devastation;

• 5)

  Deliberately increasing the gravity of the crime, causing other harms unnecessary for its execution;

• 6)

  Acting with known premeditation or employing cunning, fraud or disguise;

• 7)

  Abusing superiority or employing means that weaken the defense;

• 8)

  Acting with abuse of confidence;

• 9)

  Taking advantage of the public character that the guilty party may have;

• 10)

  Employing means or causing circumstances that add ignominy to the effects proper of the act;

• 11)

  Committing the crime on the occasion of fire, shipwreck, or other calamity or misfortune;

• 12)

  Executing it with the aid of armed people or persons who assure or provide impunity;

• 13)

  Executing the act in an uninhabited place or taking advantage of the darkness of night. The Courts may not take into consideration this circumstance according to the nature and accidents of the crime;

• 14)

  Committing the act with contempt or offense of public authority, or in its presence, or where it exercises its functions;

• 15)

  Executing it in a place that merits respect or reverence or in the home of the offended party, when he has not provoked the event;

• 16)

  Executing the act with offense or contempt of the respect that the dignity, age or sex of the offended party merits;

• 17)

  Executing it with scaling;

• 18)

  Executing the act with breaking of wall, ceiling or pavement, or with fracture of doors or windows;

• 19)

  Executing it in a gang;

• 20)

  Becoming intoxicated or deliberately intoxicating oneself to prepare or execute the crime, provided that this situation is scientifically proven;

• 21)

  Committing it using an automobile, vessel or aircraft, or any other analogous means of sufficient efficacy to assure the aggression or the flight;

• 22)

  Executing the crime by previously interrupting the means of communication, or after cutting or interrupting the external or internal electrical service, the elevator service, in the place of the event of any of those which the guilty party would have to use;

• 23)

  The injured party and the offender being linked by marriage or de facto union, or being between themselves ascendants and descendants by consanguinity, or collaterals up to the fourth degree; by ties of adoption, or by affinity up to the second degree. This circumstance may not be taken into consideration by the courts, or be appreciated as mitigating, according to the nature, accidents and effects of the crime;

• 24)

  The violation of special duties that relationships of respect, friendship, gratitude, dependence or hospitality impose on the inculpated party with respect to the offended party;

• 25)

  Being recidivist;

• 26)

  Taking advantage of unimputably responsible subjects for the commission of the crime.

• 27)

  Committing the crime with hatred or contempt based on the sex, gender, religion, national origin, belonging to indigenous and afrodescendant peoples, sexual orientation or gender identity, age, marital status or disability, ideology or political opinion of the victim.

• 28)

  Committing the crime within a perimeter of five (5) kilometers before, during and after an event or show held in any Football Stadium or Sports Facility and its surrounding areas regardless of the nature of the event or show.

Recidivist is he who incurs in a new crime before five (5) years have passed since the conviction for a previous crime committed in the country or abroad, whether or not he has served the sentence. The time in which the agent remained deprived of liberty by preventive detention or by sentence shall not be computed in the aforementioned period of five (5) years.

A habitual delinquent is he who, having been convicted of two (2) or more previous crimes, committed in the country or abroad, whether or not he has served the sentences, shows a defined tendency to crime, in the concept of the court, by reason of the manner of life he leads, his inclination to idleness, inferiority of the environment in which he acts, the relationships he cultivates, the motives of the crime, and other antecedents of an analogous character.

There is no recidivism or habitual delinquency between intentional crime and negligent crime; between common crime and military crime; between common crime and political crime; between military crime and political crime; and between crime and misdemeanor.

Those criminally responsible for the crime are the authors and accomplices.

Authors are considered to be those who take direct part in the execution of the act, those who force or directly induce others to execute it and those who cooperate in the execution of the act by an action without which it would not have been executed. In crimes by omission, authors are those who fail to do what the law commands, cause the omission or cooperate in it.

Accomplices are those who, not being included in the previous article, cooperate in the execution of the act by prior or simultaneous acts. If from the particular circumstances of the proceeding it results that the accused of complicity did not intend to cooperate except in an act less grave than that committed by the author, the sentence shall be applied to the accomplice only by reason of the act he intended to execute.

When crimes committed by a multitude are concerned, the following provisions shall apply: 1) If the assembly had the object of committing determined crimes, all those who would have participated materially in its execution shall respond as authors, as well as those who, without having had material participation, assumed the character of directors. 2) If the assembly did not have the object of committing crimes and these were committed thereafter, by impulse of the multitude in tumult, all those who would have participated materially in the execution shall respond as accomplices; and as authors, those who held the character of instigators, whether or not they had material participation in the execution of the criminal acts. Those who participated in the multitude and were not authors or accomplices shall be exempt from penalties.

For crimes committed in the name and on behalf of a juridical person, the legal representatives thereof who made the illicit action or omission possible shall personally respond. Civil responsibility, however, shall fall upon the juridical person.

The guilty party of two (2) or more crimes shall be imposed all the sentences corresponding to the diverse infractions. The sentenced party shall serve his sentences simultaneously, if possible. When it is not possible, or if as a result any of the sentences becomes illusory, he shall serve them successively, beginning with the longer ones, that is those prescribed for the most serious crimes. However, the duration of sentences accumulated for several crimes shall not exceed thirty (30) years.

The provisions of the previous article shall not apply in the case that a single act constitutes two (2) or more crimes or when one of them is a necessary means to commit the other. In these cases the sentence corresponding to the crime that has prescribed the greatest sanction shall be imposed, increased by one-fourth (1/4) thereof.

When the same crime against property is committed two (2) or more times, whether at a single moment or at different moments, by means of actions or omissions executed in compliance with a preconceived plan or taking advantage of identical or similar circumstances, such crimes shall be considered as a single continuous crime. In such situation the most severe sentence shall be applied to the agent, increased by two-thirds (2/3). In case of doubt, the sentence that has prescribed the highest maximum shall be considered the most severe. The provision of the previous paragraph shall not apply if the imposition of all sentences applicable to the concurrent crimes results in a more favorable outcome for the defendant. The provisions in the last part of the second paragraph of this article and in the previous paragraph shall be applicable to what is established in article 36.

Sentences are divided into principal and accessory sentences: Principal sentences are: Reclusion, imprisonment, fine, absolute disqualification and special disqualification. Accessory sentences are: Civil interdiction and forfeiture. Absolute disqualification or special disqualification shall be imposed as an accessory sentence to that of reclusion, provided that the law does not impose it as a principal sentence in a determined crime.

The penalty of reclusión subjects the convicted person to work for the duration of the sentence in public works or in labor within the establishment, in accordance with the law that regulates the penitentiary system.17

When reclusión exceeds three (3) years, it shall be served in a national penitentiary; and when it does not exceed said period, it must be served in departmental or sectional jails, without prejudice to what the following article provides.

The Executive Branch, whenever it deems it advisable for reasons of greater security or for any other reason, may, with the knowledge of the Supreme Court of Justice, order that convicted persons sentenced to reclusión who are serving their sentences in other jails be transferred to a penitentiary.

If reclusión does not exceed six (6) months, women of good reputation and persons over seventy (70) years of age or in poor health may be detained in their own homes. The same treatment shall be given to these persons if the applicable penalty were imprisonment.

Women and males under twenty-one (21) years of age and over eighteen (18) shall serve the penalty of reclusión in special establishments; and, if such facilities do not exist, in separate and independent sections, where they shall perform work appropriate to their condition.

The following are exempt from the obligation to perform work as provided in Article 39: 1) Convicted persons who have reached seventy (70) years of age. 2) Convicted persons who have physical impediment or suffer from illness that makes work impossible or dangerous for them, in accordance with the corresponding medical report. 17 Article 39. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 of February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

When penal facilities are not adequately equipped, the deprivation of liberty penalty shall not be executed for pregnant women until six (6) months after childbirth has occurred. If the child dies, the deprivation of liberty penalty shall begin to be served four (4) weeks after childbirth or miscarriage. In these cases, and in the case of preventive detention, the provisions of Article 42 shall apply.18

Convicted persons for political crimes shall be kept separate from convicted persons for common crimes.

The penalty of imprisonment subjects the person to deprivation of liberty in local jails, with the obligation to work in labor within the establishment.19

Absolute disqualification is understood to apply to public positions or offices, political rights and professional practices for the duration of the sentence and produces:

• 1)

  The loss of all public positions or offices and the exercise of professional practices of which the convicted person is in possession, even when the positions are subject to popular election;

• 2)

  The loss of all political rights and the incapacity to obtain them; and,

• 3)

  The incapacity to obtain the aforementioned public positions or offices, professional practices and rights.

The penalty of special disqualification is understood to apply to a specific public position or office, political right or professional practice for the duration of the sentence and produces: 1) The loss of the position, office, right or exercise of the profession upon which it falls. 2) The incapacity to obtain said position, office, right, profession or similar ones. 18 Article 45. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 of February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 19 Article 47. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 of February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Repealed 20

The penalty of fines obliges the convicted person to pay to the State the sum of money that this Code or special laws determine or that the judge sets in each case within legal limits, taking into account the economic capacity of the convicted person and the severity of the damage caused by the crime. Fines shall be collected at the General Treasury of the Republic or at the institution of the National Financial System that the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Finance has authorized for such purpose.21

Upon the posting of real or personal surety, payment of the fine may be authorized in installments, the amount and payment date of which shall be set by the judge, taking into account the economic conditions of the sentenced person.

Substitution of the fine penalty by work in favor of the community. If the fine penalty is not paid in whole or in part, either voluntarily or by enforcement, it shall be commuted, after proving the economic insolvency of the condemned person by means of the socioeconomic study report issued by the assigned social worker or, failing that, by the Execution Judge, to community work. The conditions and maximum period for compliance with the community work or service shall be set by the Execution Judge in an oral hearing, with participation of the Prosecutor, taking into account the limits of the fine imposed, the address, family and background of the condemned person, as well as the minimum wage established by the State applicable in the zone where the unlawful act was committed. In any case, this period may not exceed one (1) year at the rate of eight (8) hours daily of community service. Non-compliance with the deadline or conditions shall give rise to the initiation of criminal prosecution for the crime of disobedience, without prejudice to the non-compliance with the community work imposed. If the insolvent person recovers their capacity to pay, the fine shall be enforced in the corresponding proportion. 20 Article 50. Repealed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 of February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. It was in effect from March 12, 1985 to February 28, 1997. 21 Article 51. Amended by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,281 of June 10, 1997 and effective as of said publication

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn Once the fine is paid or the assigned community work is completed, the definitive freedom of the convicted person shall be decreed. This benefit shall not apply to the person to whom it has been granted and who incurs the commission of a new willful crime.22

Civil interdiction consists of the suspension of the rights of parental authority, guardianship, custody and administration of property, but the interdicted person may dispose of his own property by will.

Forfeiture consists of the loss of the effects that come from a crime or misdemeanor, and of the instruments with which it is executed, unless they belong to a third party not responsible for the act.

In all cases in which the payment of costs is to be imposed, both procedural and personal costs shall be included, and furthermore, the expenses occasioned by the trial and not included in the costs, which shall be assessed in the same manner as those.

If the property of the guilty party is not sufficient to cover pecuniary liabilities, these shall be satisfied in the following order:

• 1)

  Procedural and personal costs;

• 2)

  Expenses occasioned by the trial;

• 3)

  Indemnification for damages and losses; and,

• 4)

  The fine. In case of bankruptcy or insolvency, these credits shall be classified considering them as a single one among those that do not enjoy preference.

The sentences of imprisonment and detention shall begin to be counted from the day on which the convicted person is apprehended, deducting the time he remains released on bail. Absolute and special disqualification, as principal penalties, shall be counted from the declaration of guilt or from having been declared with grounds for institution of proceedings.

The following shall not be considered as penalties:

• 1)

  The detention and preventive imprisonment of the accused;

• 2)

  The suspension of employment or public office agreed during the proceedings or to institute it;

• 3)

  The fines and other corrections that, in the exercise of governmental or disciplinary powers, superiors impose on their subordinates or those administered;

• 4)

  The deprivations of rights and the reparations that the civil laws establish in criminal form.

For the purposes of this Code, days shall be counted as twenty-four consecutive hours (24), and months and years from date to date.

Only the following shall be commutable as a matter of right: 1) Detention, at the rate of five Lempiras (L. 5.00) per day; and, 2) Imprisonment up to five (5) years, at the rate of ten Lempiras (L.10.00) per day. The commutations shall be paid in cash at the General Treasury of the Republic or at an Institution of the National Financial System that the Ministry of State in the Office of Finances has authorized for this purpose. If the accused or convicted person lacks economic means to commute the detention or imprisonment, this shall be commuted for work in favor of the community. The conditions and terms shall be fixed in the same manner established in article 53 of this Code. The provisions of this article shall not be applicable to anyone who has been previously convicted of an intentional crime; when so provided by a special law, or when having appreciated the special conditions of the convicted person, the motives of his conduct and the circumstances of the act, it is established with grounds, in the judgment of the Judge, that it is not appropriate.

Imprisonment for more than five (5) years carries as accessories the absolute disqualification for the duration of the sentence and civil interdiction.

The sentence of imprisonment not exceeding five (5) years carries as accessories the special disqualification and civil interdiction.

The condemning sentence shall comprise forfeiture and the payment of costs in cases in which it is applicable.

Whenever the law generally designates the penalty for a crime, it shall be understood that it imposes it on the perpetrator of the consummated crime.

The perpetrator of an attempt and the accomplice of a consummated crime shall be punished with the penalty applicable to the perpetrator of the consummated crime reduced by one third (1/3). In the case that the crime is punishable by deprivation of liberty for life, a sentence of twenty (20) to thirty (30) years of imprisonment shall be applied to them.

The accomplice of an attempt shall be reduced from four sixths (4/6) to five sixths (5/6) of the penalty applicable to the perpetrator of the consummated crime. In the case that the crime is punishable by deprivation of liberty for life, the accomplice of an attempt shall be sentenced to a penalty of twenty (20) to thirty (30) years of imprisonment.

When this Code provides that a penalty shall be increased or decreased by a determined quota or fraction, the maximum and minimum shall be increased or decreased, as applicable, in the corresponding proportion, thus establishing the new penalty, within the limits of which its application shall be graduated in accordance with the following article.

The Judge shall determine in the sentence the penalty applicable to the accused within the maximum and minimum set by Law for each crime and the circumstances in which it has been committed. For this purpose, the Judge shall take into account the accused's personal history, greater or lesser dangerousness, the mitigating and aggravating circumstances that have concurred in the fact, appreciated both by their number and, above all, by their magnitude and importance, and the greater or lesser extent of the harms produced by the crime, in particular those of an economic nature. In the reasoning of the sentence, the Judge shall expressly set forth the circumstances indicated in the preceding paragraph that have been taken into account in determining the extent of the penalty. CHAPTER V CONDITIONAL SUSPENSION OF EXECUTION OF PENALTY

In the convicting sentence, the Courts may suspend the execution of the penalty for a probation period of five (5) years in the case of crimes, and of two (2) years in the case of misdemeanors, if the following requirements are met:

• 1)

  That the conviction consists of deprivation of liberty that does not exceed three (3) years.

• 2)

  That the accused has not been previously convicted of a crime or misdemeanor.

• 3)

  That the nature or modalities of the criminal act imputed, the character or history of the offender, and the motives that impelled him to commit the crime, duly investigated, lead the Judge to the conviction that the agent is not dangerous and it may be presumed, consequently, that he will not commit crimes again.

The benefit established in the preceding article shall not be granted to whoever, according to the rules given in this Code, must be subject to security measures.

The conditional suspension of execution of the penalty shall not extend to accessory penalties and other effects of the conviction. Nor shall it exempt from civil obligations derived from the crime.

The Judge of the case shall personally give the offender the necessary warnings regarding the nature of the benefit granted and the reasons that may cause its cessation, which shall be recorded in the case file by official record.

The conditionally suspended penalty shall be made effective when the convicted person within the established periods: 1) Commits a new crime or fails to comply with the civil obligations derived from the crime or misdemeanor. 2) Is imposed another conviction for a crime or misdemeanor committed prior to the one that was the subject of the penalty suspension.

If during the probation period the offender incurs in the facts treated in the preceding article, the conviction shall be deemed extinguished by resolution of the sentencing Court. CHAPTER VI CONDITIONAL LIBERTY

The Court of first instance that heard the case may grant conditional liberty to the offender who has served more than one half of the penalty, in cases of conviction to imprisonment exceeding three (3) years and not exceeding twelve (12) years; or who has served three fourths (3/4) of the penalty, when this exceeds twelve (12) years, and the following circumstances are also present in both cases: That the offender has not been previously convicted by final judgment for another willful crime. 1) To have observed good conduct during his stay in the penal facility and to have acquired habits of work, order, and morality that demonstrate his repentance and purpose of amendment. 2) That he has restored the thing and repaired the damage in cases of crimes against property and complied with other civil obligations derived from the crime, or demonstrates his economic inability to satisfy the latter.

In the resolution granting the benefit of conditional liberty, the Judge may impose any of the security measures indicated in numerals 4), 5), and 6) of Article 83.

The probation period to which the person enjoying the benefit of conditional liberty shall be subject shall be equal to the time remaining to serve the imposed penalty. If during the probation period the person commits a new crime or violates the security measures imposed, conditional liberty shall be revoked and the part of the penalty remaining to be served shall be made effective, without counting in it the time that has been spent in liberty.

After the probation period has elapsed without the beneficiary having incurred in the facts that give cause for revocation of conditional liberty, the penalty shall be deemed extinguished. CHAPTER VII OF REWARDS AND BENEFITS

Whoever has been convicted under Article 332 of this Code and provides effective collaboration for the investigation and prosecution of members of an organized criminal group in accordance with the aforementioned Article has the right to the reward benefit consisting of the reduction of the penalty by two thirds (2/3), whether serving the penalty or extinction of the same. The benefits regulated in this Article shall not be granted to the leaders, chiefs, or directors of criminal organizations.

SCOPE OF EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION. Effective collaboration is considered to be information provided by the collaborator that allows any of the following results:

• 1)

  To prevent the continuity and consummation of crimes or to diminish their magnitude;

• 2)

  To know the circumstances in which the crime was planned and executed or the circumstances in which it is being planned or executed;

• 3)

  To identify the perpetrators or participants of a committed or yet-to-be-committed crime; or the leaders, chiefs, or directors of the criminal organization;

• 4)

  To identify the identity, nature, composition, members, structure, and location of a criminal organization and its operation, which allows its dismantling, weakening, or the arrest of one or several of its members;

• 5)

  To ascertain the whereabouts or destination of instruments, goods, effects, and proceeds of the crime, as well as to indicate the sources of financing and support of criminal organizations; and,

• 6)

  To identify the links, including international links, with other organized criminal groups. To grant the benefit described in Article 79-A of this Code, the degree of effectiveness or importance of the collaboration shall be taken into consideration. Additionally, the collaborator shall deliver all goods, proceeds, and products that he may have obtained as a result of his illicit activity in the criminal organization.

CONDITIONS OF BENEFIT GRANTED. The benefits established in this Chapter shall be granted under the condition that the collaborator does not commit a willful crime for a period equal to that of the penalty imposed on him for the crime of Unlawful Association. Consequently, if he relapses into such activity, the benefit granted to the beneficiary collaborator shall be revoked.

Security measures shall not be decreed without legal provision authorizing them, or outside of the cases that the law determines.

Security measures may be decreed by the Judge in the sentence, whether condemnatory or acquittal, but at any moment in the proceedings, before the ruling, said official may order, with provisional character, the internment of the non-imputable person included in numeral 2 of article 23, in the corresponding establishment.

Except as otherwise provided by law, security measures shall be applied for an indeterminate period. At any time, judges may reform or revoke their resolutions in this regard, if the state of dangerousness of the accused is modified or ceases.

The security measures that may be applied are the following:

• 1)

  Internment in a psychiatric establishment.

• 2)

  Internment in work institutions or penal farms.

• 3)

  Internment in an educational establishment or special treatment facility.

• 4)

  Supervised liberty.

• 5)

  Prohibition of residing in a determined place.

• 6)

  Prohibition of attending determined places.

• 7)

  Bond for good conduct.

• 8)

  Expulsion of foreigners. When the measures included in numerals 4), 5), 6) and 7) are applied, the sanctioned person shall be obliged to declare before the Judge hearing the matter their current address and report any changes to said address.

The judges who declare the prosecuted exempt from penalty, in the case of numeral 2 of article 23, shall order their internment in a psychiatric establishment for a minimum of one (1) year.

They may also order, after the sentence has been served, if they still consider the offender dangerous, that the deaf-mute or the person suffering from mental abnormality for whom absolute non-imputability does not result, be interned in an educational establishment or special treatment facility.

The delinquents referred to in article 29 shall be subjected, according to the degree of dangerousness they demonstrate, to the work regime corresponding to the institutions mentioned in numeral 2 of article 83; internment that shall be decreed when, the sentence having been served, the Judge considers that the penalty has been ineffective with respect to the readaptation of the delinquent.

In the cases of article 16, the Judge shall subject the accused, according to their degree of dangerousness, to a special work regime in one of the institutions mentioned in numeral 3 of article 83.

Where there is no adequate establishment, the measure of internment, according to its nature, shall be carried out in an annex or special section of a penal establishment.

The measure of internment shall not cease except by virtue of a judicial resolution issued with hearing of the Public Ministry, and prior to a medical opinion demonstrating that the prosecuted person can be subjected to supervised liberty without danger of causing harm.

Supervised liberty, while the causes that motivated it persist, shall consist, for mentally ill persons, drug addicts, or habitual drunkards, in entrusting them to the care of their family or a guardian, under the immediate inspection of the competent authority, with the obligation to submit them to medical treatment and to report periodically to the respective Judge. In other cases, supervision shall be the responsibility of the judicial police in the manner ordered by the Judge. In applying this measure, the Judge shall prescribe the rules of conduct intended to prevent new infractions of the Penal Law. The judicial police shall be organized and shall be under the dependence of the Supreme Court of Justice.

When circumstances so require, the Judge may, at their discretion, impose on the convicted person who has served a sentence or a security measure, the prohibition of residing in a determined place for a minimum of one (1) year.

The prohibition of attending determined places shall be imposed on the person convicted of a crime under the influence of alcohol or toxic, enervating, or narcotic drugs. These prohibitions shall last a minimum of one (1) year and their violation shall obligate substitution by supervised liberty.

Bond for good conduct consists of personal, mortgage, pledge, or deposit guarantee, provided to the satisfaction of the Judge and for the period set in the sentence, that the dangerous subject shall not perpetrate new punishable acts and shall comply with the rules of conduct imposed on them during a probation period, which shall not be less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years. This measure shall be applied in all cases where the Judge deems it appropriate, especially to the perpetrators of crimes of danger, without prejudice to the penalty where applicable. The bond shall be made effective in favor of the Treasury when the person subject to this measure violates the imposed rules of conduct; otherwise, at the end of the period, the restitution of the deposited sum, the extinction of the bond, or the cancellation of the pledge or mortgage obligation constituted shall be ordered.

The Judge who imposes a sentence of more than three (3) years of imprisonment on a foreigner, or when the latter is a recidivist, regardless of the penalty, may decree their expulsion from national territory, in accordance with the law, which shall be executed once the penalty has been served.

The imposition of security measures shall not prevent administrative expulsion of the foreigner in the cases provided for by law.

Criminal liability is extinguished by:

• 1)

  The death of the convicted person;

• 2)

  The completion of the sentence, which by operation of law produces the rehabilitation of the convicted person;

• 3)

  By amnesty, which extinguishes the penalty and completely all its legal effects, except as provided in Article 103;

• 4)

  By pardon, which only extinguishes the principal penalty when it does not include accessory penalties; but does not benefit the pardoned person regarding recidivism and other effects of penalties that the laws expressly determine; The pardoned person may not reside, without the consent of the offended party, in the domicile where the latter lives or, in the absence thereof, their spouse, ascendants, descendants, and siblings. This prohibition shall last for the entire time that, had the person not been pardoned, the sentence would have lasted;

• 5)

  By express pardon of the offended party or of whoever has their legal representation in crimes that are only prosecutable by virtue of a complaint or accusation by the injured party. The provision of this paragraph shall not be applicable to those responsible for the crime of rape nor to those responsible for crimes or misdemeanors committed to the detriment of children; In crimes or misdemeanors committed against incapable persons not included in the last part of the preceding paragraph, the judges or courts shall reject the efficacy of the pardon granted by their representatives if there are rational reasons to believe that it was granted attending to pecuniary or direct personal interests of the respective representative. In such case, they shall order the continuation of the proceeding with the intervention of the Public Ministry or the completion of the sentence. To reject the pardon referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Judge or Court must hear the representative of the incapable person;

• 6)

  By the prescription of criminal action; and,

• 7)

  By the prescription of the penalty. Notwithstanding the provisions of numerals 6) and 7) of this article, the criminal action and the penalty are not subject to prescription in those crimes for which life imprisonment is applicable or which is stated as its maximum limit.

The criminal action prescribes:

• 1)

  By the passage of a period equal to the maximum duration of the sanction established for the crime, increased by one-half, if it is imprisonment. However, the term of prescription shall not be, in any case, less than two (2) years;

• 2)

  After five (5) years when it concerns an act for which disqualification is established as the principal penalty;

• 3)

  In three (3) years, when a fine is imposed as the principal penalty; and,

• 4)

  After six (6) months, if it concerns misdemeanors. The preceding rules are understood without prejudice to those established by the Constitution of the Republic.

The prescription of criminal action shall begin to run from the day the infraction was committed; and in continuing crimes, from the day the last act was executed or the last action was carried out. In the case of attempt, prescription shall be counted from the day execution was suspended. The prescription of criminal action in the crime of bankruptcy shall run from the day the declaration of fraudulent or culpable insolvency becomes final.

The prescription of criminal action shall be interrupted from the moment proceedings are initiated against the culprit, with the time of prescription running again from when its prosecution is halted by any circumstance.

Penalties imposed by final judgment prescribe under the terms stated in Article 97. The time of this prescription shall be counted from the date the judgment becomes final, or from the day of breach of the sentence, as applicable.

The prescription of the penalty shall be interrupted, rendering the time elapsed without effect, when the convicted person commits another crime, without prejudice to it beginning to run again.

The exercise of the action to claim civil liabilities derived from the crime does not interrupt its prescription, that of criminal action, or that of the penalty.

Amnesty and pardon do not extinguish the right to compensation for damages caused by the crime.

When the convict appears or is apprehended after half the time necessary for the penal action or sentence to prescribe has elapsed, the Judge shall take into account said period to make a reduction of one-third (1/3) to one-half (1/2) in the sentence that corresponds to be applied or in that imposed by the judgment. This reduction shall not apply to prescriptions that do not exceed one (1) year.

Any person who incurs penal responsibility for a crime or misdemeanor is also civilly responsible.

The exemption from penal responsibility declared in numeral 2 of

, in numeral 2 of article 24 and in numeral 1 of article 25, does not include civil responsibility, which shall be enforced in accordance with the following rules:

• 1)

  In cases of imputability mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the mentally ill and deficient or deaf-mute persons are responsible with their property for the damages they cause. If they are insolvent, those who have them under their authority or legal guardianship shall respond subsidiarily, unless they prove their blamelessness. In both situations the benefit of competence shall apply.

• 2)

  In the case of numeral 2) of article 24, those persons are responsible in whose favor the harm was forestalled, in proportion to the benefit they may have obtained. The Courts shall designate, according to their prudent discretion, the proportional quota by which each interested party must respond.

• 3)

  In the case of numeral 1 of article 25, those who caused the fear or exercised the force shall respond.

Civil responsibility comprises:

• 1)

  Restitution;

• 2)

  Reparation of material and moral damages;

• 3)

  Compensation for losses.

Restitution shall be made of the same thing, whenever possible, with allowance for deterioration or diminishment at the discretion of the Court and even if the thing is in the possession of a third party who has lawfully acquired it, without prejudice to such third party's right to recover against the responsible party. The latter is not applicable to the third party who may have acquired the thing in the manner and with the requirements established by law for making it non-recoverable.

Reparation of material damage shall be made by means of a monetary indemnification to be fixed by evaluating the extent of all patrimonial damages caused by the punishable action or omission, considering the price of the thing, and whenever possible, the value of affection it may have had for the injured party; and it shall only be required when restitution is not appropriate.

Reparation for moral damages, in infractions against honor, dignity or honesty, or in other cases of damages to interests of a moral nature, shall consist of a pecuniary indemnification that the Judge shall prudentially determine according to the circumstances of the infraction, the conditions of the aggrieved person and the nature and consequences had or possible of the grievance suffered.

The indemnification for damages shall comprise, not only those that may have been caused to the aggrieved person, but also those that may have been caused, by reason of the crime, to his family or to a third party. The Court shall regulate the amount of this indemnification in the same terms established in articles 109 and 110 for the reparation of damages.

The obligation to restore, repair damages and indemnify damages is transmitted to the heirs of the responsible party. The action to request restoration, reparation and indemnification is transmitted equally to the heirs of the injured party.

In the case of two (2) or more persons who must respond civilly for a crime, the sentence shall indicate the quota of responsibility of each one. The perpetrators and accomplices, however, each within their respective class, shall be jointly and severally liable to each other for their quotas and subsidiarily for those corresponding to those of the other class. Subsidiary liability shall be first enforced against the property of the perpetrators and then against that of the accomplices. In both cases in which joint and several liability as well as subsidiary liability is enforced, the right of recovery of the one who has paid for another shall be preserved.

Whoever, without having participated in any crime, has obtained economic benefit from it, is obligated to return the amount in which he has profited.

Repealed

Whoever causes the death of a person without the concurrence of the circumstances mentioned in the following Articles of this Chapter, commits the crime of simple homicide, and shall incur a penalty of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years of imprisonment.

He is guilty of murder, whoever causes the death of a person executing it with the concurrence of any of the following circumstances:

• 1)

  Treachery;

• 2)

  With known premeditation;

• 3)

  By means of flooding, fire, poisoning, explosion, derailment, overturning, beaching or damage to a ship or other device that could cause great devastation, provided there is criminal intent and intentionality; and, 4) With cruelty, deliberately and inhumanely increasing the pain of the aggrieved person. The penalty for murder shall be twenty (20) to thirty (30) years of imprisonment and when committed by means of payment, reward or remunerative promise, or accompanied by robbery or rape, the penalty shall be thirty (30) years to life imprisonment.

Qualified Homicide and Murder.- The person guilty of the crime of Homicide or Murder to the Prejudice of a Judge or Magistrate of the Judicial Branch, Prosecutor of the Public Ministry, Public Defenders, Director, Sub-Director or security personnel of penitentiary establishments, Agent of the National Police or Investigation, Active Service Military Personnel, Agent of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Force or the Technical Criminal Investigation Agency, Director of the Administrative Office of Seized Assets, Deputies to the National Congress, Agents of the National Investigation and Intelligence Directorate and Protected Witnesses, and any other Justice Operator linked to the fight against crime, provided that the crime was committed on occasion of or in the exercise of his charge or function, shall incur a penalty of thirty (30) years of imprisonment to life imprisonment. Proposal and Conspiracy to commit the aforementioned crimes shall be punished with the same penalty reduced by one-third (1/3).

He is guilty of parricide, whoever causes the death of any of his ascendants or descendants, his spouse or the person with whom he lives in marital union, and shall suffer a penalty of thirty (30) to forty (40) years of imprisonment.

The man or men who cause the death of a woman for reasons of gender, with hatred and contempt for her condition as a woman commit the crime of Femicide and shall be punished with a penalty of thirty (30) to forty (40) years of imprisonment, when one or several of the following circumstances are present:

• 1)

  When the active subject of the crime maintains or has maintained with the victim a romantic relationship, whether matrimonial, de facto, free union or any other related relationship in which there is, has been or not cohabitation, including those in which a sentimental relationship is maintained or has been maintained;

• 2)

  When the crime is preceded by acts of domestic intrafamily violence, whether or not there is a history of complaint;

• 3)

  When the crime is preceded by a situation of sexual violence, harassment, intimidation or persecution of any nature; and,

• 4)

  When the crime is committed with cruelty or when infamant, degrading injuries or mutilations have been inflicted prior to or subsequent to the deprivation of life.

If death has been produced by several persons fighting with each other, in a confused and tumultuous manner without being able to determine the cause of the fatal injuries, those who have exercised violence on the victim shall be imposed a penalty of three (3) to six (6) years of imprisonment.

Whoever with the purpose of causing injury to a person produces his death when the means employed should not reasonably cause it, shall be sanctioned with the penalty applicable to simple homicide diminished by one-third (1/3).

The perpetrator of culpable homicide shall be punished with three (3) to five (5) years. If the perpetrator has committed the act as a consequence of being in a state of intoxication or having consumed drugs prohibited by law, he shall be punished with a penalty of imprisonment of five (5) to eight (8) years.

Repealed

The mother who, to conceal her dishonor, causes the death of her child who has not completed three (3) days of life, shall be punished with six (6) to nine (9) years of imprisonment.

Whoever attempts suicide shall be imposed a security measure consisting of adequate psychiatric treatment.

Whoever induces another to commit suicide or provides assistance for that purpose shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years if the suicide is consummated. In the event that the suicide is not consummated, the accomplice in the attempted suicide shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years. CHAPTER II ABORTION

Abortion is the death of a human being at any moment during pregnancy or during childbirth. Whoever intentionally causes an abortion shall be punished:

• 1)

  With three (3) to six (6) years of imprisonment, if the woman consented to it;

• 2)

  With six (6) to eight (8) years of imprisonment, if the agent acts without the consent of the mother and without employing violence or intimidation; and,

• 3)

  With eight (8) to ten (10) years of imprisonment, if the agent employs violence, intimidation, or deceit.

The penalties provided for in the preceding article and a fine of fifteen thousand Lempiras (L.15,000.00) to thirty thousand Lempiras (L.30,000.00) shall be imposed on the physician who, abusing his profession, causes or cooperates in an abortion. The same sanctions shall be applied to medical practitioners, paramedics, nurses, midwives, or traditional birth attendants who commit or participate in the commission of an abortion.

The woman who causes her own abortion or consents to another person causing it shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Whoever, through acts of violence, causes an abortion without the purpose of causing it, knowing the victim was pregnant, shall be punished with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years. CHAPTER III INJURIES

Whoever commits the offense of injury causes damage that affects the body or physical or mental health of another person.

Whoever intentionally castrates, sterilizes through deceit or by violent means, or blinds another person shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) to ten (10) years.

The mutilation of a principal limb or organ of a human being, carried out intentionally, shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to eight (8) years; if it is of a non-principal limb or organ, with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

Shall be punished with imprisonment:

• 1)

  Of four (4) to eight (8) years, whoever causes to another person an injury that produces a mental or physical illness, certain or incurable, or that permanently incapacitates them for work or causes the loss of a sense;

• 2)

  Of four (4) to seven (7) years, whoever causes to another person an injury that results in the loss or impairment of use of a principal limb or organ, of speech, or of the capacity to procreate or conceive; and,

• 3)

  Of three (3) to six (6) years, if the injury produces permanent deterioration of health, of a sense, of a principal organ or limb, or if it causes a permanent problem in the normal use of speech, or renders the victim unable to work for more than thirty (30) days, or causes permanent disfigurement to the face.

Shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years, whoever produces an injury in which none of the harmful circumstances referred to in the three preceding articles occur but which causes illness or incapacity for work for a period of not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days, or that results in the loss, impairment, or weakening of a non-principal limb or organ, or leaves a visible and permanent scar on the face.

In the case of injuries caused in a tumultuous brawl, when the author or authors thereof cannot be determined, a reduced penalty equivalent to one-third (1/3) of that prescribed by law for the injuries inflicted shall be applied to all those who exercised violence against the victim.

Negligent injuries shall be punished with a penalty equal to one-half (1/2) of that corresponding to intentional injury. If the author committed the act as a consequence of being in a state of intoxication or having consumed drugs prohibited by law, it shall be punished with two-thirds (2/3) of the penalty applicable to the corresponding intentional injury.

Whoever abandons a child under twelve (12) years of age, or a person incapable of supporting themselves, due to mental or physical illness or old age, who was under their care or custody, shall be punished with one (1) to three (3) years of imprisonment. If as a consequence of the abandonment the death of the abandoned person results, or the life of the same has been placed in serious danger, or serious injury or illness has been caused to them, the sanction shall be three (3) to six (6) years of imprisonment, if the act does not constitute a crime of greater severity.

The crime of rape constitutes: Carnal access with a person of either sex through violence or threat of causing serious and imminent harm to the passive subject, to their spouse or household partner, or to one of their relatives within the fourth (4th) degree of consanguinity or second (2nd) of affinity. For purposes of this article, carnal access shall be understood as that which occurs through vaginal, anal, or oral means. It shall be punished with a penalty of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years of imprisonment. Special cases of rape are carnal access with a person of either sex when, without violence or threat, any of the following circumstances occur. Such cases shall be punished with a penalty of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years of imprisonment and are the following:

• 1)

  When the victim is under fourteen (14) years of age;

• 2)

  When the victim is deprived of reason or will or when for any reason they cannot oppose resistance;

• 3)

  When the active subject, to commit the crime of rape, intentionally diminishes or nullifies the will of the victim by using for this purpose psychotropic substances or narcotics, including alcohol, or committed the rape finding the passive subject in the aforementioned situation;

• 4)

  When the active subject is entrusted with the guardianship or custody of the victim and takes advantage of their condition of authority to have access to them; and,

• 5)

  Those who knowingly are carriers of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome/Human Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS/HIV) or an incurable sexually transmitted disease commit rape. The same penalty shall be applied to cases of rape committed by more than one person, by someone who is a recidivist, when the victim is pregnant, becomes pregnant as a result of the rape, or when the victim is over seventy (70) years old.

Commits acts of lewdness, whoever taking advantage of the conditions or employing the means indicated in the previous article victimizes another or other persons with acts of lewdness other than carnal access, shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to eight (8) years. When the victim is under fourteen (14) years of age even if they have consented to the act or if being over that age the passive subject suffers from a mental illness or incomplete mental development or delay or has been deprived of reason or will or when for any reason they cannot oppose resistance, the aforementioned penalty shall be increased by one-half (1/2). When the acts of lewdness consist of the introduction of objects or instruments of any nature into the sexual organs or other natural or artificial orifices that simulate the sexual organs of the body of the passive subject, the guilty party shall be punished with imprisonment of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years.

The seduction of a person over fourteen (14) and under eighteen (18) years of age, taking advantage of confidence, hierarchy, or authority, shall be punished with a penalty of six (6) to eight (8) years of imprisonment. When seduction is committed through deception, it shall be punished with a penalty of five (5) to seven (7) years of imprisonment.

Carnal access with ascendants or descendants, between siblings, or in relation between adopter and adoptee, with stepmother or stepfather, when the victim is over eighteen (18) years of age constitutes the crime of incest, shall be punished with a penalty of four (4) to six (6) years of imprisonment and shall proceed by virtue of a complaint by the injured party or their legal representative. When the victim is over fourteen (14) and under eighteen (18) years of age, the penalty shall be aggravated by one-half (1/2).

Whoever for sexual purposes and through force, intimidation, or deception, abducts or detains a person, shall be punished with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years. When the victim of this crime is a person under eighteen (18) years of age, it shall be punished with the penalty provided in the preceding paragraph increased by one-half (1/2).

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Shall incur in the crime of sexual harassment, whoever by themselves or through a third party, taking advantage of a situation of superiority, causes in the victim reprisals for rejection of indecorous acts carried out through insinuations or solicitation of favors of a sexual character for themselves or for a third party, occurring any of the following circumstances:

• 1)

  Taking advantage of a situation of hierarchical labor or administrative superiority, cause instability, disqualification in the performance of their work or advantage or disadvantage for labor promotions or prevent access to a job position;

• 2)

  Taking advantage of a situation of hierarchical teaching superiority, cause instability, disqualification of their studies, offer undue approval or disapproval of tests, examinations or grades or any other condition that determinatively influences their status as a student; and,

• 3)

  Taking advantage of a situation of hierarchical religious superiority cause personal or family instability or offer spiritual welfare. The applicable penalty for this crime shall be imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and special disqualification for the duration of the sentence. The aforementioned penalty shall be increased by one (1) third when committed against children or persons suffering from mental illness.

When sexual harassment occurs without hierarchical superiority, the applicable penalty shall be imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years and special disqualification for the duration of the sentence.

Whoever incurs in the crime of sexual harassment using electronic means, telecommunications, or information technologies, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and special disqualification for that same period, when applicable. The aforementioned penalty shall be increased by one (1) third when committed against children or persons suffering from mental illness.

Incurs in the crime of pimping, whoever promotes, induces, facilitates, recruits, or subjects other persons to activities of commercial sexual exploitation, and shall be punished with a penalty of imprisonment of six (6) to ten (10) years and a fine of one hundred (100) to two hundred (200) minimum wages. The aforementioned penalties shall be increased by one-half (1/2) in the following cases:

• 1)

  When the victims are persons under eighteen (18) years of age;

• 2)

  When the active subject takes advantage of their profession, occupation, or business;

A. Reformed by Decree 35-2013 dated February 27, 2013, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 32, 222 dated September 6, 2013 and effective as of said publication. Articles 147-B and 147-C. Added by Decree 35-2013 dated February 27, 2013, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 32, 222 dated September 6, 2013 and effective as of said publication.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn 3) When the active subject exercises a relationship of power by reason of trust, kinship, or hierarchy over the victim; and, 4) When the victim is subjected to conditions of servitude or other practices analogous to slavery.

Repealed

Whoever induces or permits the exposure of persons under eighteen (18) years of age in centers that promote commercial sexual exploitation shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of fifty (50) to one hundred (100) minimum salaries.

Whoever uses persons under eighteen (18) years of age in public or private exhibitions or spectacles of a sexual nature shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four (4) to eight (8) years and a fine of one hundred (100) to two hundred (200) minimum salaries.

Carnal access or acts of lewdness with persons over fourteen (14) or under eighteen (18) years of age, carried out in exchange for payment or any other remuneration in money or kind to the minor or to a third party, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to ten (10) years.

Whoever commits the offense of pornography, by any means whether direct, mechanical, or with computer, electronic, or other support finances, produces, reproduces, distributes, imports, exports, offers, commercializes, or disseminates material where the person and image of persons under eighteen (18) years of age are used in pornographic or erotic actions or activities, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years and a fine of two hundred (200) to three hundred (300) minimum salaries. The possession of pornographic material involving children and adolescents shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years.

Whoever, to attract the influx of tourists, promotes or carries out advertising programs or campaigns of all kinds, making use of any means to project the country at the national and international level as an accessible tourist destination for the exercise of sexual activities with persons of either sex, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of eight (8) to twelve (12) years plus a fine of one hundred fifty (150) to two hundred fifty (250) minimum salaries. The penalties shall be aggravated by one-half (1/2): 1) When the victims are persons under eighteen (18) years of age; and, 2) When the author takes advantage of being a public official or authority in service. CHAPTER III GENERAL PROVISIONS

Repealed

Repealed

In the offenses comprised in the present Title, proceedings shall be initiated through public action exercised by the Public Ministry of its own motion or at the instance of the interested party, when the victims are persons under eighteen (18) years of age. In the offenses of rape and commercial sexual exploitation comprised in the present Title, the action shall be prosecutable of its own motion by the Public Ministry or at the instance of the interested party even when the victim is over eighteen (18) years of age. In the remaining offenses comprised in the present Title when the victim is of legal age, proceedings shall be initiated by virtue of a complaint.

Offenders for the offenses comprised in Chapter I of Title II shall also be condemned by way of indemnification to:

• 1)

  Provide sustenance to the offended party and to those conceived as a result of the sexual relation, if applicable;

• 2)

  Acknowledge those conceived as a result of the sexual relation, unless the mother objects; and,

• 3)

  Indemnify for the costs of medical or psychological treatment, therapy, and physical and occupational rehabilitation for emotional disturbance, pain, suffering, and any other loss suffered by the victim. The provisions in numeral 3) shall also apply to offenders for commercial sexual exploitation offenses.

Ascendants, guardians, teachers, or any other person who, with abuse of authority or trust, cooperates as accomplices in the perpetration of offenses comprised in the present Title shall be punished as principals.

For the purposes that correspond, commercial sexual exploitation shall be understood as the utilization of persons in activities for sexual purposes where there exists a payment or promise of payment to the victim or to a third party who profits from her.

The fines in the present Title fixed in salaries shall be calculated taking as a basis the monthly minimum salary in its highest scale according to the region and the economic activity of the area. TITLE III OFFENSES AGAINST HONOR CHAPTER I CALUMNY, INJURY, AND DEFAMATION

Calumny or false imputation of an offense that gives rise to proceedings of its own motion shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to three (3) years. If the calumniated party requests it, the operative part of the judgment declaring the calumny shall be published in one of the newspapers with the widest circulation in the country at the cost of the accused.

The accused of the crime of calumny shall be exempt from all punishment by proving the criminal fact that he/she had imputed.

Whoever utters an expression or commits an action in dishonor, discredit or contempt of another person shall be punished for injury with imprisonment of one (1) to two (2) years.

The accused of injury shall not be admitted to prove the truth of the imputation, except when the offended party is a public official or employee and the matter concerns facts related to the exercise of his/her office. In this case the accused shall be acquitted if he/she proves that the imputation is true.

When the injuries are reciprocal, the Judge may, according to the circumstances, declare them non-punishable with respect to both parties or one of them. The judge shall have the same authority when it concerns injuries uttered in a state of anger, determined by the wrongful act of another and immediately after becoming aware of it.

Defamation is incurred, and the guilty party shall be imposed the penalty of calumny or injury, as appropriate, increased by one third (1/3), when the imputations constituting injury or calumny are made in form or by means of dissemination that could incite hatred or public contempt against the offended party.

Whoever publishes or reproduces, by any means, injuries or calumnies inferred by another, shall be punished as the author of the injuries or calumnies in question.

The crime of calumny, injury or defamation is committed not only manifestly, but also by means of allegories, caricatures, emblems or allusions.

There shall be no grounds to proceed with the case for injury, calumny or defamation: 1) If the accused retracts publicly before answering the complaint or in the act of doing so and the offended party accepts the retraction. 2) If, in the case of calumny or concealed or equivocal injuries, the accused provides satisfactory explanations before answering the complaint or at the moment of doing so.

The owners, managers or directors of means of publicity are obliged to exhibit the signature covering the original writing, or the magnetic tape or film containing the recordings or images, in whose publications calumny, injury or defamation had been made; and failing to do so, they shall be responsible for the crime in question.

If the offended party requests it, the directors and, in their absence, owners or managers of the media in which calumny, injury or defamation has been made public, shall insert in them the retraction, satisfactory explanation or condemnatory sentence, within three (3) days following the date of its receipt or the term that the Court has set. The violation of this rule, after a second request of equal term, shall be sanctioned with a fine of fifteen thousand (lps. 15,000.00) to thirty thousand (lps. 30,000.00) lempiras, without prejudice to the respective publication.

The crimes of calumny, injury or defamation can only be prosecuted by virtue of a complaint by the aggrieved party, except when the offense is directed against public authority or institutions of the State, and, in general, if they constitute another crime specially punished in this Code. For this purpose, the heads of friendly or allied nations, their diplomatic representatives and others who, according to international law, should be included in this provision are also considered authorities. In these cases, proceedings may only be initiated at the request of the Executive Branch.

No one may bring actions for calumny or injury caused in legal proceedings without prior authorization from the Judge or Court that has jurisdiction over the matter.

If the offended party dies before the period established for the prescription of the action expires, or the crime has been committed against the memory of a deceased person, the complaint may be filed by the spouse or any of the ascendants, descendants and siblings of the deceased or his/her heirs.

The forgiveness of the offended party extinguishes the crimes of calumny, injury and defamation against individuals, or the penalty in its case.

The false representation of births and the substitution of one child for another shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years. The same penalty shall be incurred by whoever:

• 1)

  Conceals or exposes a child with the intent to cause him/her to lose his/her civil status.

• 2)

  Reports or falsely registers in the national registry of persons the birth, death or any other fact that alters the civil status of a person or knowingly takes advantage of the false registration; and,

• 3)

  Usurps the civil status of another person.

A. The crime of usurpation of civil status is committed by the physician, midwife or any other person who, with the purpose of incorporating a child into a family different from the one from which he or she biologically descends, incurs in any of the following circumstances: 1) Carries out or facilitates the abduction of a child from his or her biological mother; and, 2) Uses reproduction through artificial insemination. Whoever is found responsible for this crime shall be sentenced to imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years. The foregoing sentence shall be increased by two-thirds (2/3) when such activities are carried out with intent to profit.

Whoever fraudulently promotes the adoption of a child or adopts him or her without complying with legal requirements shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years. The foregoing sentence shall be increased by one-third (1/3) when any of the following circumstances concur:

• 1)

  The act is carried out with intent to profit;

• 2)

  Fraud, coercion, threat or promise of any benefit is involved; and,

• 3)

  The perpetrator or accomplice takes advantage of his or her official position or profession or occupation to commit the act. When the perpetrator or accomplice is the father, mother or legal representative of the child and payment or any remuneration is given in exchange for the adoption, the sentence shall be imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years. Whoever, for his or her own benefit or as an intermediary, promises, offers or gives payment or any remuneration with the purpose of obtaining an adoption shall incur in the same penalty established in the preamble of this article. In the case of numeral 3), the perpetrator or accomplice shall be applied the accessory penalty of disqualification that corresponds, for the duration of the sentence.

The person who contracts a second or subsequent marriage without the previous marriage being legitimately dissolved shall be punished with the penalty of two (2) to five (5) years of imprisonment. The same penalty shall be imposed on whoever, being single, contracts marriage knowingly with a married person.

Shall incur the penalty of imprisonment of one (1) to four (4) years:

• 1)

  Whoever, deceiving a person, simulates marriage with that person;

• 2)

  Whoever contracts marriage knowing that he or she has a non-dispensable impediment to marriage.

Officials who authorize marriages prohibited by law, knowingly, or without the concurrence of any of the requirements of existence or validity thereof, shall be sanctioned with a fine of fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) lempiras and special disqualification of four (4) to six (6) years.

In all cases of this chapter, the willful contracting party shall be condemned to indemnify according to his or her ability the other contracting party if the latter married in good faith.

The fine provided for in article 173 preceding shall be applicable to ministers of any religion who authorize a religious marriage without the prior celebration of civil marriage.

Repealed

Whoever, being legally obligated, or by virtue of a final judgment, after having been properly notified, without just cause fails to provide for the subsistence of the spouse, children under twenty-one (21) years of age or the ward under his or her guardianship, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years. The same penalty shall be incurred by whoever in equal circumstances fails to provide the necessary resources to his or her ascendants or descendants who are invalid, ill or incapacitated for work for any reason.

Whoever to evade compliance with the obligation to provide support places himself or herself in a situation of insolvency, transfers his or her assets to third parties, simulates obligations or employs any other fraudulent means shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years.

Employees, managers or administrators of companies that lend themselves to hiding or falsifying information that is requested of them by the competent Courts and the Public Ministry in matters of child support, regarding the income or salaries earned by the defendant, whether working for themselves or for a company, shall incur in the same penalty of the foregoing article. The same penalty shall be applied to any person who, knowingly, lends himself or herself to allowing the responsible party to evade his or her support obligations.

The sanctions established in this Chapter shall not exonerate the accused from his or her support obligations.

Whoever employs force, intimidation or subjects a spouse or ex-spouse, a person with whom he or she lives or has maintained a concubinary relationship or a person with whom he or she has procreated a child, with the purpose of causing him or her physical or emotional harm or to damage his or her assets, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years, without prejudice to the penalty corresponding to the injuries or damages caused. The same penalty shall be applied when violence is exercised over common children or over the children of the mentioned persons who are subject to parental authority, or over the minor or incapable person subject to guardianship or curatorship or over ascendants.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years whoever subjects a spouse, ex-spouse, concubine or ex-concubine or a person with whom he or she has procreated a child, to physical abuse or maltreatment in any of the following circumstances:

• a)

  Penetrates the home of the person or the place where he or she is lodged or kept to consummate the act;

• b)

  Inflicts serious bodily harm;

• c)

  Carries out the action with a lethal weapon even if he or she has not acted with the intention to kill or maim;

• d)

  Acts in the presence of minors;

• e)

  Induces, incites or forces the person to consume drugs, narcotics or other psychotropic or intoxicating substances;

• f)

  Also subjects a minor to abuse or maltreatment; and,

• g)

  Uses as a pretext to restrict the victim's freedom that the victim suffers from mental illness or defect. The provisions of this article shall be understood without prejudice to the penalty corresponding to the other crimes in which he or she may incur.

Repealed

Mistreatment by transgression occurs each time hostile, rejecting, or destructive actions or conduct are produced toward the child, such as:

• 1)

  Making the child a victim of physical abuse;

• 2)

  Providing drugs or medications that are not necessary for the child's health or that may harm the child;

• 3)

  Subjecting the child to unnecessary medical or surgical procedures that place the child's physical, mental, or emotional health at risk;

• 4)

  Making the child a victim of emotional or verbal aggression, including offense and humiliation;

• 5)

  Rejecting isolation; and,

• 6)

  Punishment through heavy labor. Mistreatment by transgression shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years, and the guilty party shall be obligated to amend their conduct. In the application of this provision, judges shall endeavor to ensure that sanctions do not diminish the legitimate exercise of the rights that derive from parental authority or guardianship as the case may be.

Whoever uses a child for the exercise of begging, either directly or through another person, shall be imposed a penalty of imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years. The penalty established in the preceding paragraph shall be increased by two-thirds (2/3) when any of the following circumstances concur:

• 1)

  The minors are under twelve (12) years of age;

• 2)

  The child is affected by illness or physical or mental disability that tends to produce feelings of compassion, repulsion, or similar feelings; and,

• 3)

  When child trafficking occurs for the purposes of exercising begging.

Whoever incurs the crime of economic exploitation shall be that person who makes a child work:

• 1)

  During extraordinary or night shifts;

• 2)

  In work prohibited by law; and,

• 3)

  For a wage inferior to the applicable minimum wage. Whoever incurs the same crime is the person who, by reason of family or domestic work, violates the rights contained in the Code of Childhood and Adolescence. In this case, the sanction shall only be applied if, having been notified of the requirement, the responsible party persists in their conduct. Whoever incurs the crime typified in this article shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years.

Whoever commits the crime of violation of rights through the failure of their duties as parent or legal representative violates the rights of their children or wards or causes them to fail to comply with their legal duties or orders of lawfully constituted authority. Whoever incurs the crime typified in this article shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years.

Whoever willfully propagates a dangerous disease or causes an epidemic through the diffusion of pathogenic germs shall be imposed imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

Whoever knowingly distributes or sells food products, medications, or consumable substances in general, even without nutritional value, that represent a risk to health or may cause diseases due to contamination, improper preparation, or poor hygiene, shall be punished depending on the severity of the injury, with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years, plus a fine of up to twenty (20) times the value of the product without prejudice to the sanctions that correspond to other crimes committed as a consequence of the same actions.

Whoever contaminates all or part of the national territory, including waters, with waste, debris, garbage, or substances brought from abroad that produce or are susceptible to producing harm to the health of persons or to the ecosystem shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years and a fine of one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) to five hundred thousand lempiras (500,000.00).

The penalties established in the preceding article shall also be imposed on whoever, within or outside the country, promotes or in any manner facilitates the introduction into the national territory of waste, debris, garbage, or substances that cause or are susceptible to causing contamination to the environment or harm to the health of persons.

Whoever prepares food or therapeutic substances in a manner dangerous to health shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to five (5) years. Whoever knowingly imports, distributes, sells, exports, or maintains in deposit for distribution or sale, substances harmful to health or falsified, adulterated, deteriorated, contaminated, or expired food products shall incur the same penalty.

Whoever, without being legally authorized for such purpose, sells controlled substances, narcotics, stimulants, or analogous substances of strictly pharmaceutical regulation, or sells or serves as an intermediary in the sale to minors under twenty-one (21) years of age of products containing organic compounds such as plastic cements, paint thinners, and all types of glue that when inhaled produce habit, accustomedness, and dependencies, both psychological and psychophysical, shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to six (6) years.

Whoever, exercising the commerce of medications, duly authorized by law, dispenses them without a professional prescription when such prescription is necessary or in disagreement with it, or supplies them in a species, quantity, or quality different from that prescribed by the healthcare professional, shall be punished with a penalty of one (1) to three (3) years of imprisonment. The same sanction shall be applied to whoever, in the same case, sells medicinal substances knowing that they have lost their therapeutic properties.

If the crimes configured in the four (4) preceding articles result in the death of any person, the responsible party shall be punished with the penalty of simple homicide or qualified homicide, according to the circumstances concurring in the act.

In all cases, harmful food or medicinal substances shall be confiscated and sent to the Secretariat of Health for the corresponding legal purposes.

Whoever violates the measures adopted by the health authority in order to prevent the introduction or propagation of an epidemic, or of an epizootic susceptible to affecting human beings, shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years. The penalty shall be increased by one-fourth (1/4) when the author is a health official or employee, physician, pharmacist, or dentist, or exercises any of the auxiliary activities of these professions.

Imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years shall be imposed on whoever corrupts or pollutes a fountain, well, or river whose water serves as drinking water, rendering it harmful to health.

The physician or professional who, having intervened in the diagnosis or treatment of a transmissible disease, omits the notification provided for in the sanitary code, shall incur imprisonment of three (3) months to one (1) year and a fine of one hundred (L.100.00) to three hundred (L.300.00) lempiras.

Whoever, without title or authorization for the practice of professions related to health, or exceeding the limits of their authorization, advertises, prescribes, administers or applies any chemical means intended for the treatment of diseases in persons, even on a gratuitous basis, shall be punished with one (1) to two (2) years of imprisonment.

Whoever practices inhumation, exhumation or transfer of corpses or human remains in contravention of the pertinent legal or regulatory provisions shall be sanctioned with a fine of five thousand (lps. 5,000.00) to ten thousand (L10,000.00) lempiras.82

Crimes against public health committed through negligence shall be sanctioned with the corresponding penalty, reduced by two-thirds (2/3). TITLE V-A CRIMES AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT

Repealed83

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed 82 Article 190. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 of February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 83 Articles 191-A; 191-B; 191-C; 191-D. Repealed by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 281 of June 10, 1997 and effective as of said publication. They were in effect from February 28, 1997 to June 10, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn TITLE VI CRIMES AGAINST LIBERTY AND SECURITY CHAPTER I KIDNAPPING AND ILLEGAL DETENTIONS

Kidnapping. Shall be sanctioned with the penalty of imprisonment of twenty (20) years to deprivation of liberty for life, even if the perpetrator does not succeed in their purpose, whoever, with violence, intimidation, deceit or another form that vitiates consent, abstracts, retains, displaces, conceals or deprives in any other manner of freedom one or more persons, with any of the following purposes:

• a)

  To obtain in exchange for the freedom of the kidnapped person or persons, money, goods, titles or another utility or benefit;

• b)

  To oblige someone to do or refrain from doing something; and,

• c)

  Advertising or political purposes. If any of the following circumstances concur, the applicable penalty shall be:

  • 1)

    Forty (40) years of imprisonment to deprivation of liberty for life if the kidnapped person dies or if their death results therefrom;

  • 2)

    Thirty (30) years of imprisonment to deprivation of liberty for life if the kidnapped person, or any other person, dies as a result of the rescue process. If the kidnappers desist by freeing the victim and have not obtained the demanded price, the applicable penalty shall be ten (10) to twenty (20) years of imprisonment. If as a result of the liberation members of the authority or any other person who intervenes die, the provisions of paragraph 2) of this article shall apply. With the same penalty established in paragraph 2), with the minimum penalty reduced by one-third (1/3), those responsible shall be sanctioned if, as a result of the rescue process, the victim or any other person suffers injuries. 84 84 Article 192. Amended by Decree 125-2003 of August 27, 2003, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 30, 291 of January 16, 2004 and effective as of said publication.

    www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever, outside the cases provided for in the preceding article, unjustly deprives another of their liberty, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.85

The following shall be aggravating circumstances for the crimes established in articles 192, 193, and 195, in addition to those indicated in the general part of this Code:

• 1)

  When the crime is committed against a minor, pregnant woman, person physically or mentally disabled or who is over sixty (60) years of age;

• 2)

  If the deprivation of liberty is prolonged for more than twenty-four (24) hours;

• 3)

  When committed by a person who is or has been a member of the armed forces, national police or State investigation agency;

• 4)

  When committed while simulating being an authority;

• 5)

  When there are threats or cruel treatment against the kidnapped person; and,

• 6)

  When drugs or any substance that nullifies or weakens the will of the kidnapped person are applied.86

The following shall be mitigating circumstances of the crime of kidnapping, in addition to those indicated in the general part of this code:

• 1)

  Having treated the victim during the time they were deprived of liberty, with consideration to their physical, psychological and moral integrity;

• 2)

  Desisting from continuing to participate in the commission of the crime, freeing the victim or providing the authority or the family members of the kidnapped person with reliable information that leads to the rescue of the victim or to the identification and apprehension of those responsible for the criminal offense;

• 3)

  Having provided the victim with the conditions, means and goods necessary to satisfy the basic and inherent needs of human beings. 85 Article 193. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 of February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 86 Articles 194 and 194-A. Amended and Added by Decree 125-2003 of August 27, 2003, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 30, 291 of January 16, 2004 and effective as of said publication.

  www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever traffics in Hondurans, or persons of any nationality or origin, conducting them or having them conducted through national territory, for the purpose of illegally introducing them into another State with any purpose, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years. The sanction shall be increased by one-third (1/3) when those responsible for the crime are public employees or officials. If as a consequence of the commission of this crime the passive subjects suffer deprivations of liberty abroad, are victims of crimes of any kind or die from violent causes, even if accidental, the penalty referred to in the first paragraph shall be increased by two-thirds (2/3).87

Repealed88

Hondurans who participate or collaborate in Honduras with foreign organisms or authorities in the illegal detention of compatriots so that they may be tried abroad for crimes committed within or outside national territory, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of nine (9) to twelve (12) years. If they are public officials the penalty shall be twelve (12) to fifteen (15) years, plus absolute disqualification for double the time of the imprisonment. 89 CHAPTER II CHILD ABDUCTION

The abduction of a minor under twelve (12) years of age by persons other than his parents shall be punished with imprisonment from six (6) to eight (8) years. In the same case, the abduction of a person over twelve (12) years of age and under eighteen (18) years of age shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from four (4) to six (6) years.

Anyone charged with the care of a minor who fails to present such minor to his parents or guardians, or who fails to give satisfactory explanation regarding his disappearance, shall incur the same penalty established in the preceding article.

Whoever induces a minor under eighteen (18) years of age to abandon the home of his parents, guardians, or those charged with his care shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from two (2) to four (4) years.

Whoever, having charge of the upbringing of a minor under eighteen (18) years of age, delivers such minor to a public institution or to another person without the consent of the person who entrusted the minor to him, or of the competent authority in default thereof, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from two (2) to four (4) years.

Whoever kidnaps any person for motives other than those specified in article 192 shall be punished with a sentence of twenty (20) to thirty (30) years if the person is found unharmed; when no accounting is made of his whereabouts or it is proven that the person was released, the penalty shall be thirty (30) to forty (40) years.

A private individual who enters the home of another against the will of its occupant or, having entered with the express or tacit consent of the occupant, remains therein despite having been ordered to leave, shall be sanctioned with three (3) months to one (1) year of imprisonment. If the aforementioned acts are carried out with violence, intimidation, or simulation of authority, the penalty shall be one (1) to three (3) years of imprisonment.

An authority agent, public official, or public employee who enters a home without complying with the requirements prescribed by law shall be sanctioned with two (2) to five (5) years of imprisonment and special disqualification for a period equal to double the time of the imprisonment imposed.

The provision of the first paragraph of article 202 shall not apply to whoever enters another's home to prevent grave harm to himself, to the occupants, or to a third party, nor to whoever does so to render service to humanity or when required by judicial authority.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with respect to cafés, bars, and other establishments providing service to the public while they are open.

Whoever, without legitimate authorization, prevents another from doing what the law does not prohibit by means of violence, or compels him to execute what he does not wish, whether just or unjust, shall suffer imprisonment from three (3) months to two (2) years.

A private individual who threatens another with causing harm to him or to his family, in his person, honor, or property, whether or not such threat constitutes a crime, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from six (6) months to two (2) years, and furthermore with security measures as determined by the Judge.

Whoever by violence takes possession of a thing belonging to his debtor in order to pay himself with it shall be punished with the penalty of imprisonment from three (3) months to one (1) year.

An authority agent, public official, or public employee who, in order to obtain a confession of responsibility for a specific crime or for a similar purpose, threatens a person with physical or moral violence shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) years and absolute disqualification for a period equal to or double the time of the imprisonment imposed.

A public employee or official, or another person exercising public functions, commits torture when, abusing his position and for the purpose of obtaining a confession or information from any person or of punishing him for any act he has committed or is suspected of having committed, he subjects such person to conditions or procedures which, by their intimidatory or coercive nature or by the use of physical force, cause him physical or mental suffering, the suppression or diminution of his faculties of knowledge, discernment, or decision, or which in any other way violate his moral integrity. Anyone guilty of torture shall be punished with imprisonment from ten (10) to fifteen (15) years if the harm is grave, and five (5) to ten (10) years of imprisonment if it is not, plus the penalty of absolute disqualification for double the time of the imprisonment. When the crime of torture is committed by private individuals, the penalties shall be reduced by one-third. The aforementioned penalties shall be imposed without prejudice to those corresponding to crimes committed against the life, physical integrity, health, sexual freedom, or property of the victim or a third party. The aforementioned penalties shall be applied to the public official or employee who, with his consent or acquiescence and failing in the duties of his office, permits other persons to execute the acts previously described. The public official or employee of penitentiary institutions or centers for the protection or correction of minors who commits, with respect to inmates, detainees, or convicts, the acts described in the first paragraph of this article shall be punished with the same penalties.

Whoever by means of violence compels another to perform a religious act or prevents him from participating in a ceremony of the same nature shall be penalized with imprisonment from three (3) months to one (1) year.

Whoever interrupts or prevents, without justified cause, the celebration of a ceremony or religious function of any cult permitted in the nation, shall incur the same penalty established in the preceding article.

Whoever causes damage to objects intended for worship or to the symbols of any legally permitted religion, or publicly offends such cults or their members by reason of their investiture, shall incur imprisonment of three (3) months to one (1) year.

Whoever violates tombs, sepulchers, or a funeral establishment, or in any other serious manner desecrates a human corpse or its remains, shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years. CHAPTER VII VIOLATION AND DISCLOSURE OF SECRETS

Whoever, without proper judicial authorization, for any purpose, seizes the papers or correspondence of others, intercepts or causes to be intercepted their telephone communications, telegraphic communications, electronic media or computers, facsimile transmissions, or any other nature, including electronic communications, shall be sanctioned with six (6) to eight (8) years imprisonment if perpetrated by a private individual and eight (8) to twelve (12) years imprisonment if perpetrated by a public official or employee.

Whoever discloses without just cause, or employs for his own benefit or that of another a secret that he has learned by reason of his office, employment, profession, or trade, and thereby causes harm to someone, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

Whoever, outside the cases provided for in the respective special laws, by means of violence or threats prevents or restricts the exercise of any political right, shall be sanctioned with six (6) months to two (2) years imprisonment.

The crime of robbery is committed by whoever seizes movable property belonging to others, including animals, employing violence or intimidation against persons or force against things. Snatching by surprise from the victim an item that he carries with him is equated to violence against persons, as is the use of means that weaken or nullify resistance.

The person guilty of robbery shall be punished with five (5) to nine (9) years imprisonment. The person guilty of the crime of robbery of terrestrial motor vehicles, aircraft, vessels, and similar property shall be applied a penalty of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years imprisonment. The penalty applicable to robbery of livestock shall be seven (7) to ten (10) years imprisonment. Robbery of minor livestock shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to seven (7) years. It constitutes an aggravating factor of this crime the robbery of three (3) or more head of major or minor livestock.

The owner of terrestrial, aerial, maritime, or fluvial motor vehicles who alters the descriptions registered for purposes of identification and registration thereof without notifying the corresponding authority within fifteen (15) days following the alteration, shall be sanctioned with a fine of two thousand (L. 2,000.00) to five thousand (L. 5,000.00) lempiras. When the alteration by the owner is made for the purpose of committing or concealing a crime, the penalty shall be six (6) to nine (9) years imprisonment.

Whoever makes the alterations referred to in the preceding article with respect to a vehicle belonging to another or that has been subject to robbery, theft, or abandonment, shall be sanctioned with a penalty of nine (9) to twelve (12) years imprisonment. Whoever knowingly collaborates by providing equipment, facilities, or personal services for that purpose shall be sanctioned with the same penalty established in the preceding paragraph.

Whoever disassembles or changes the appearance of a motor vehicle that is in the conditions of the preceding article shall be sanctioned with a penalty of imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years.

Whoever conceals or through any act transfers or acquires a vehicle that was stolen, robbed, or abandoned shall be sanctioned with a penalty of nine (9) to twelve (12) years imprisonment. The cases in which the transaction has been conducted in good faith are excepted.

The public official who, by virtue of his position, orders, permits, or directly participates in the registration of motor vehicles, omitting any of the requirements established by law, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years. Those who, having participated in the inspection of motor vehicles, report false data that permit the vehicle to be registered or legalized shall be sanctioned with the same penalty.

Whoever, in order to demand payment of insurance or to obtain economic benefit for himself or for another person, simulates the robbery, theft, or loss of a motor vehicle, shall be sanctioned with a penalty of imprisonment of seven (7) to ten (10) years.

The penalties indicated in the preceding article shall be increased by one-third (1/3) when the robbery is committed: 1) In an unpopulated area or in a gang. 2) While bearing arms, the perpetrators, in an inhabited house or in a public office, in a building intended for religious worship, in a public or private educational or cultural center, in a commercial, banking, or social assistance establishment, provided that any of the following circumstances are present:

• a)

  Breaking and entering;

• b)

  Breaking of walls, roofs, floors, or pavements or fracture of doors or windows;

• c)

  Using false keys, lockpicks, or other similar instruments. A legitimate key taken from the owner is considered a false key; and,

• d)

  Fracture of closets, safes, or other kinds of furniture or sealed or locked objects, or by removing them to be opened or forced open outside the place of the robbery. The increase referred to in the first paragraph shall also be made when any of the circumstances mentioned in article 225 are present.

A inhabited house is considered any shelter that constitutes the dwelling of one or more persons, even though they may be accidentally absent from it when the theft takes place. Dependencies of an inhabited house, or of the establishments enumerated in subsection 2 of the preceding article, shall be considered the courtyards, warehouses, granaries, haystacks, garages, stables and other departments or enclosed sites contiguous to the building, and in interior communication with it and with which they form a single whole.

Whoever has in his possession skeleton keys or other instruments especially designed to commit the crime of theft, and does not provide sufficient explanation for their acquisition or retention, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) months to one (1) year. Those who manufacture said instruments with the same purpose shall incur equal penalty. If they are locksmiths, a sentence of one (1) to two (2) years of imprisonment shall be applied.

Extortion. Commits the crime of extortion, whoever through threats, intimidation or violence and with the purpose of obtaining for himself or for any criminal organization, money, goods, or other services, compels a natural or legal person to:

• 1)

  Do or refrain from doing something;

• 2)

  Execute documents to obtain money payments; or 3) Execute, grant, deliver or destroy a public deed or any other public or private document. The guilty party shall be imposed the penalties of imprisonment of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years and a fine of fifty (50) minimum wages, plus the corresponding accessory penalties. If as a result of the commission of this crime the victim is killed, their spouse or household partner, a member of their family within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity or any other person who has a work relationship with the victim or with the extorted legal person, the guilty party shall be imposed the penalty of deprivation of liberty for life. The aforementioned imprisonment penalty shall be increased by one third (1/3) when the victim is a Judge or Magistrate of the Judicial Branch, Prosecutor of the Public Ministry, Justice Operators, Director, Sub-director or security personnel of penitentiary establishments, Agent of the national or investigation police, military personnel on active duty, Agent of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Force or of the Technical Criminal Investigation Agency, member of the National Defense and Security Council and Deputies of the National Congress and any other Justice Operator linked to the Fight against Criminality. The crime of extortion is of public order and the Public Ministry may initiate investigations on its own initiative, without need for a complaint by the injured party.

Commits the crime of blackmail and shall incur the penalty of imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years, whoever with threats of imputations against honor or prestige or of violation or disclosure of secrets with prejudice in one or another case to the injured party, their family or the entity in whose management they intervene or have interest, demands the delivery of an amount of money or other goods or the execution or omission of an act. The penalties described in this chapter shall be increased by one third when the guilty party is a public servant who uses that power they have as a public official.

Commits the crime of theft:

• 1)

  Without the will of its owner, takes movable property of others, animals included, without violence or intimidation of persons nor force against things;

• 2)

  Finding a lost thing, does not deliver it to the authority or to its owner if he knows who it is and takes possession of it with the intention of owner; and,

• 3)

  Subtracts or uses the fruits or objects of the damage he caused, except in the cases provided in Book Three. Property is considered equivalent to movable property, electrical energy, the radio spectrum and other classes of waves or energy in telephone, television, facsimile, computer systems or any other that has economic value.

Likewise commits the crime of theft whoever constructs, installs, establishes, operates and operates telephone lines or other telecommunication services without having the proper concession or enabling title from the competent authority to carry out said activities, as well as whoever operates or uses telecommunication services for purposes different from those authorized or contracted; using for this purpose wired, wireless means, cards, pins, subscriber identification code (SIM), accounts or passwords to access telecommunication services or others.

Theft shall be punished with two (2) to five (5) years of imprisonment if the value of the stolen thing does not exceed five thousand lempiras (L. 5,000.00) and with four (4) to seven (7) years if it exceeds that sum. The theft of land motor vehicles, aircraft, ships and other similar goods shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to eight (8) years.

The crime of theft in the matter of telecommunications referred to in the preceding article shall be punished with four (4) years eight (8) months to eight (8) years of imprisonment.

The penalties applicable according to the preceding article shall be increased by one third (1/3) if the act is committed:

• 1)

  By domestic employee or involving grave abuse of confidence;

• 2)

  Taking advantage of a public or private calamity or of common danger;

• 3)

  At night, or if, to execute it, the agent remains surreptitiously in a building or place intended for habitation;

• 4)

  With the cooperation of two or more persons or by a sole person who feigns to be an authority agent, or employee of a public service;

• 5)

  In the luggage of travelers, in any kind of vehicles, in stations, docks, hotels, or in establishments where food or beverages are served;

• 6)

  In houses intended for worship or for public ornament use or when it falls upon funeral monuments; and,

• 7)

  On objects of scientific, artistic or cultural value that are found in museums or other public establishments or that belong to the national historical heritage, even when they have remained hidden or undiscovered.

The theft of large livestock shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years, if the value of the stolen property exceeds five thousand lempiras (L. 5,000.00) and four (4) to seven (7) years if it does not exceed said value. The theft of small livestock shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to six (6) years, if the value of the stolen property exceeds five thousand lempiras (L. 5,000.00) and two (2) to five (5) years if it does not exceed said value. The theft of three (3) or more head of large or small livestock constitutes an aggravating factor of this crime.

Whoever usurps an immovable property or a real right shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years, without prejudice to the fact that as soon as the corresponding right is established in the record, the judge hearing the case orders the eviction of the property in question or the restitution of the usurped right.

Whoever alters the boundaries or landmarks of towns, or properties, or any class of signs intended to fix the limits of contiguous estates shall incur the same penalties as in the preceding article.

Whoever outside the cases mentioned disturbs with violence or threats to persons, the peaceful possession of an immovable property, shall be punished with three (3) months to one (1) year of imprisonment.

Whoever without proper authorization and to the prejudice of another dams, diverts or stops the waters of a river, stream, creek, canal or spring, or usurps any right related to the course of such waters, shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years, without prejudice to destroying the improperly made works.

Whoever detains the land or space corresponding to the right of way, road, street, garden, park, green area, promenade or other places of public use or domain or any other real property of the State or municipalities, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years, without prejudice to vacating the detained land or space. When the detained property is a beach the penalty shall be increased by two thirds (2/3).

Repealed.114 CHAPTER V PUNISHABLE INSOLVENCY

The merchant declared in fraudulent bankruptcy pursuant to the Commercial Code shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to six (6) years and special disqualification of three (3) to seven (7) years.

The merchant declared in culpable bankruptcy for any of the causes included in the Commercial Code shall be subject to imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years and special disqualification of one (1) to three (3) years.

Those who execute any of the following acts shall be punished as accomplices to the crime of fraudulent bankruptcy:

• 1)

  Conspire with the bankrupt to suppose credits against him or to increase them, alter their nature or due date in order to gain priority in distribution, to the detriment of other creditors, even if this occurs before the declaration of bankruptcy.

• 2)

  Have aided the bankrupt in the concealment, removal, or hiding of his assets.

• 3)

  Conceal from the bankruptcy administrators the existence of assets that, belonging to the bankruptcy, are in the possession of the guilty party, or deliver them to the bankrupt rather than to said administrators.

• 4)

  Conduct private agreements with the bankrupt to the detriment of other creditors.

When a commercial enterprise is declared bankrupt, any director or administrator thereof who cooperated in the execution of any of the unlawful acts that caused it shall be punished with the penalty of the fraudulent or culpable bankrupt, as applicable.

The debtor who, to avoid payment of his obligations, alienates or encumbers his assets without notifying his creditors in an authentic manner, with at least fifteen (15) days' notice in advance; or conceals his assets, simulates alienations or credits, or transfers abroad without leaving a person to represent him, or sufficient assets to respond to the payment of his debts, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years if he is a merchant, and two (2) to five (5) years if he is not.

The non-merchant debtor in bankruptcy proceedings whose insolvency is the result, in whole or in part, of any of the following acts shall be subject to imprisonment of one (1) to two (2) years:

• 1)

  Have made domestic or personal expenses that are excessive and disproportionate in relation to his fortune, taking into account the circumstances of his rank and family.

• 2)

  Have suffered, in any type of game, losses exceeding what, by way of recreation, a good family man would venture in entertainment of this class.

• 3)

  Have incurred substantial losses in gambling, simulated purchases and sales, and other agiotage operations whose success depends exclusively on chance.

• 4)

  Have alienated, with notable depreciation, assets whose price he was indebted for.

• 5)

  Delay his appearance in bankruptcy proceedings when his liabilities exceed his assets by twenty-five percent (25%).

Those who execute with respect to the debtor in bankruptcy proceedings any of the acts enumerated in Article 235 shall be punished as accomplices to the crime provided for in the preceding article. CHAPTER VI FRAUD AND OTHER SWINDLES

Whoever commits fraud by using an assumed name, false titles, simulated influence or quality, abuse of trust, falsely representing himself as owner of assets, credits, enterprises or businesses, or using any artifice, cunning or deception, induces another into error, defrauding him for his own benefit or that of others, commits the crime of fraud.

Whoever commits fraud by using an assumed name, false titles, or simulated influence or quality commits the crime of fraud by taking actions where mechanisms or practices are used without the consent or knowledge of those harmed in order to harm, deceive, evade, usurp or diminish the rights or patrimony of the State or third parties, which the offender uses to circumvent the law or the rights derived from it, or by using any artifice, cunning or deception, induces another into error.115

The crime of fraud shall be sanctioned:

• 1)

  With two (2) to five (5) years of imprisonment, when the value of the defrauded amount does not exceed five thousand lempiras (L. 5,000.00);

• 2)

  With four (4) to seven (7) years of imprisonment if the amount exceeds five thousand (L.5,000.00) and does not exceed one hundred thousand lempiras (L. 100,000.00); and,

• 3)

  With six (6) to nine (9) years of imprisonment if the amount exceeds one hundred thousand lempiras (L. 100,000.00). The offender shall also be sanctioned with a fine equal to ten percent (10%) of the defrauded value. The foregoing is understood without prejudice to what is prescribed in Articles 36, 37 and 53, when applicable.116

Whoever defrauds or harms another in the substance, quality or quantity of things delivered to him by virtue of a contract or binding title shall be subject to the penalties of the preceding article:

• 1)

  Whoever defrauds another in the substance, quality or quantity of things delivered to him by virtue of a contract or binding title.

• 2)

  Whoever, to defraud someone, causes him to subscribe, destroy or mutilate, through deception, any document.

• 3)

  Whoever commits any fraud through abuse of another's signatures in blank, extending with it any document to the detriment of the same person or a third party.

• 4)

  Whoever, to the detriment of another, executes simulated contracts or false receipts.

• 5)

  The commission agent, agent, administrator or representative who commits fraud by altering prices or conditions of contracts in his accounts, assuming expenses or exaggerating those he has made.

• 6)

  Whoever defrauds through concealment, substitution or mutilation of any proceeding, file, document or other important paper.

• 7)

  Whoever in gambling uses artifice or deception to assure success.117 8) Whoever, to the detriment of another, appropriates or diverts money, effects or any other movable thing received in deposit, commission or administration, or by another title that carries the obligation to deliver or return it, or denies having received it. 9) Whoever sells or encumbers as free the assets that are in litigation, embargoed or encumbered, and whoever sells, encumbers or rents assets belonging to others as if they were his own. 10) Whoever defrauds another under the pretext of supposed remuneration, gratification or gift to judges or other public officials, without prejudice to the action for defamation that belongs to them. 11) Whoever, to obtain the price of insurance or some other improper benefit, destroys, deteriorates or hides the insured thing or any other of his property. 12) Whoever, with the same purpose, causes himself or through a third party a personal injury or aggravates that caused by an accident; and, 13) Whoever, abusing the needs, inexperience, or passions of a minor, or the state of illness or mental deficiency of a person, causes him to sign a document or execute any other act that has legal effect. 14) Whoever commits fraud in telecommunications, media, waves and computer systems or information systems such as irregular traffic, through reorigination (refiling), international call reorigination (callback), entry of international traffic illegally avoiding payment of proper termination rates between international operators (bypass), computer piracy (hacking), unauthorized resale and cloning of mobile telephone numbers; 15) Whoever provides false information when requesting a telecommunications service or other service; as well as employees of telecommunications companies, information technology, internet or others, who, using the information they possess, use it for their benefit or that of third parties and against other natural or legal persons; 16) Whoever makes use of circuits rented or contracted to an operator or when they are installed illegally, to resell, through them, international telephone traffic; 17) Whoever, without the corresponding authorization obtained through the subscription of a respective interconnection contract and/or agreement with authorized operators, originates, routes, routes, establishes or manages telephone calls to the public telecommunications network, whether local, national or international; and, 18) Whoever, using transmission media of any kind, engages in the provision of telecommunications services, when not duly authorized to do so; or when they use numbering blocks without the respective automatic identification number or number that originates the call (AND).118

Fraud in telecommunications matters referred to in numerals 14) through 18) of the preceding article shall be sanctioned with four (4) years eight (8) months to ten (10) years of imprisonment and a fine of one hundred thousand lempiras (L.100,000.00) to one million lempiras (L.1,000,000.00). Likewise, legal entities that with their irregular activity operate causing patrimonial damage to the State of Honduras and thereby to public order interests of capital importance shall be sanctioned with the closure of the companies, locations and establishments, dissolution of partnerships, suspension of activities of the company or enterprise, prohibition from carrying out in the future commercial activities or businesses of the nature of those in whose exercise the crime was committed, intervention of the enterprise, and imposition of fines equivalent to the damages caused to the State.

Whoever defrauds or harms another using any deception not included in the preceding articles of this chapter shall be punished with a fine of five thousand (L. 5,000.00) to ten thousand (L. 10,000.00). In case of recidivism, the sanction shall be double the previous one.119 CHAPTER VII USURY AND AGIOTAGE

The lender commits the crime of usury who demands from his debtors, in any form, an interest rate greater than the average interest rate in effect in the national financial system on the date of the loan contract increased by six (6) percentage points, even if said interest is concealed or disguised in any way or given another denomination. Loans made by persons registered as non-banking lenders or recognized as such by notoriety shall be considered loans even if the obligation is formalized by negotiable instrument or any other document. The crime of usury shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years, plus a fine equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount of the credit.120

Whoever, taking advantage of pressing necessity, lightness, or inexperience of a person, causes such person to give or propose in any form, for himself or for another, monetary advantage exceeding thirty percent (30%) of his provision, or grants a guarantee of extortive character, shall incur the same penalty as provided in the preceding article.

Whoever habitually lends money with or without guarantee and is not registered in the corresponding official registry or does not keep accounting books shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) lempiras.

Whoever increases the prices of merchandise or public services above those fixed by the competent authorities in accordance with law shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years and a fine of twenty thousand (L. 20,000.00) to fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) lempiras.

Violation of copyright and related rights. Whoever violates the rights of authors of literary or artistic works, or the related rights protected by the laws on copyright and related rights shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years, plus a fine of fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) lempiras. The same penalties shall be incurred by whoever imports, exports, or stores copies of such works or productions or performances without the aforementioned authorization.

With the same penalties provided in Article 248, natural or juridical persons shall be sanctioned who, without authorization from the respective holders of copyright or related rights, use, for commercial purposes, television signals transmitted by satellite means or reproduce or project videos, films, or other analogous works that, by their nature, are or should be protected by the Law on the Matter. With the same penalties shall be sanctioned those who use radioelectric spectrum frequencies without authorization from the corresponding authority.

Circumvention of effective technological measures. Whoever, without authorization from the respective holders of copyright and related rights, circumvents or evades any effective technological measure that controls access to a work, performance or execution, or phonogram, or other matter subject to protection shall incur the same penalties as provided in Article 248. Those who carry out the exempt activities established in Title VI, Chapter II, Section 1 of the Law of Implementation of the Free Trade Agreement, Dominican Republic, Central America, United States are excluded from criminal liability.

Violation of rights management information. Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining a commercial advantage or private financial gain and knowing that this act could induce, permit, facilitate, or conceal an infringement of a copyright or related right: 1) Knowingly removes or alters any information about rights management, or 2) Distributes, imports for distribution, transmits, communicates, or makes available to the public copies of works, performances or executions, or phonograms knowing that the information about rights management has been removed or altered without authorization from the rights holder, shall incur the same penalties as provided in Article 248. Those who carry out the exempt activities established in Title VI, Chapter II, Section 2 of the Law of Implementation of the Free Trade Agreement, Dominican Republic, Central America, United States are excluded from criminal liability.

Whoever manufactures or puts for sale articles that, by their name, brand, wrapper, presentation, or appearance, could be confused with similar products patented or registered in the name of another shall incur the same penalty as provided in Article 248 preceding.

Repealed.

With the penalties provided in Article 248 preceding, the following shall be sanctioned:

• 1)

  Those who falsify, imitate, or fraudulently use any of the figures or legal goods protected by the Law of Industrial Property;

• 2)

  Those who, knowing that such figures or legal goods are falsified, deal with them in any manner; and,

• 3)

  Those who, knowingly commercialize merchandise, articles, or products protected by such figures or legal goods that are falsified, imitated, or fraudulently used.

Whoever uses or permits the use of the elements referred to in the preceding article, in violation of morality, public order, good customs, or that ridicule persons or offend religious sentiments, shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years.

Those who commit any of the infractions provided in Title VI of the Law of Industrial Property that are not included in the preceding articles of this chapter shall be sanctioned with the penalties provided in Article 248 preceding.

Imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years shall be imposed on whoever destroys, renders useless, causes to disappear, or in any manner damages movable or immovable property or animals belonging to another, provided that the act does not constitute an offense provided for in the following chapter. The same penalty shall be imposed on whoever, by any means, destroys, alters, renders useless, or in any manner damages data, programs, or electronic documents belonging to another, contained in networks, media, or computer systems.

Whoever causes any of the damages referred to in the preceding article shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years:

• 1)

  With the purpose of the free exercise of authority or in revenge for its decisions, whether the offense is committed against public officials or employees or against individuals who, as witnesses or in any other manner, have contributed or may contribute to the enforcement of laws;

• 2)

  By any means that produces infection or contagion in animals or plants;

• 3)

  Using poisonous, corrosive, explosive, or flammable substances;

• 4)

  In a gang or in a deserted place;

• 5)

  On property of scientific, historical, welfare, educational, cultural, or artistic interest, or in laboratories, archives, libraries, museums, monuments, or on property of social utility;

• 6)

  On means or routes of communication or transit, on bridges, canals, parks, promenades, or other property of the State or national property for public use;

• 7)

  Through the destruction of property in prejudice to a creditor; and,

• 8)

  By destroying forests or large plantations. Negligent damages shall be sanctioned with a penalty equal to half of that corresponding to willful damage. If the perpetrator committed the act as a consequence of having consumed alcohol or drugs, he shall be punished with two-thirds (2/3) of the penalty applicable to the corresponding willful damage.

Whoever causes a fire, endangering the life, bodily integrity, or property of another, shall incur imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years. The penalty shall be six (6) to twelve (12) years if the fire is committed:

• 1)

  With intent to profit, for one's own or another's benefit.

• 2)

  In a building, farm, hut, or inhabited shelter or intended for habitation.

• 3)

  In a public building or intended for public use or for social assistance or cultural work.

• 4)

  In a vessel, aircraft, convoy, or collective transport vehicles.

• 5)

  In an airport, railway station, or motor vehicles.

• 6)

  In a shipyard, factory, or workshop.

• 7)

  In a deposit of explosive or flammable substances.

• 8)

  In an oil well or mining gallery.

• 9)

  In a crop, pasture field, or forest.

Those who cause devastation by means of the collapse of a building, flooding, explosion, and in general, by any agent or means of destruction as powerful as those expressed shall be subject to imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years. The same penalty shall be applied to those who, at the time of the occurrence of fire, flooding, shipwreck, or any other disaster, remove, conceal, or render useless materials, instruments, or other means intended to prevent such disasters.

If the fire or devastation results in the death of one person, the penalty shall be imprisonment of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years of imprisonment.

Whoever causes fire or other devastation in a culpable manner shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years. If the omission or culpable act results in the death of any person, imprisonment shall be two (2) to five (5) years. CHAPTER XI GAMES

The owners and administrators of casinos and gambling houses of chance, wagering, or hazard not legally authorized shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to seven (7) years, plus a fine of fifty thousand (L 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) lempiras, without prejudice to the permanent closure of the business. Those who gamble in such houses shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years, plus a fine equal to half of the aforementioned.

Producers and sellers of lottery tickets not legally authorized and those who conduct raffles that have not been legally authorized shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years, plus a fine of ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) to fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) lempiras. Excepted are raffles for charitable purposes, educational purposes, or promotion of the arts or sports, conducted by centers or establishments dedicated to these activities. Those who use fraudulent means in games or raffles shall be sanctioned as swindlers.

Money or valuables and the instruments and utensils intended for games or raffles shall be subject to forfeiture. CHAPTER XII GENERAL PROVISIONS

Repealed

Those who are exempt from criminal responsibility and subject only to civil liability for thefts, frauds, or damages that they reciprocally cause are:

• 1)

  Spouses, man and woman living in common-law marriage, and ascendants or descendants by blood or marriage.

• 2)

  The widower or widow, with respect to the things belonging to their deceased spouse, provided they have not passed into the power of another.

• 3)

  Siblings and in-laws, if living under the same roof. The exemption of this article does not apply to strangers who participate in the offense. TITLE VIII OFFENSES AGAINST MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AND OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES

Whoever prevents or disrupts the railway service in any of the following forms shall be penalized with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years:

• 1)

  Destroying, damaging, or disarranging, in whole or in part, railway lines, rolling stock or motive power, works or installations.

• 2)

  Placing obstacles on the track.

• 3)

  Transmitting false notice regarding the movement of railway vehicles.

• 4)

  Committing any other act from which a disaster could result.

If the acts referred to in the preceding article result in a disaster, the penalty shall be imprisonment of four (4) to twelve (12) years.

Whoever endangers a vessel or aircraft, own or another's, or commits any act intended to prevent or hinder aquatic or aerial navigation shall be penalized with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years.

If the act referred to in the preceding article results in the shipwreck or stranding of a vessel, or the crash or destruction of an aircraft, the penalty shall be imprisonment of four (4) to twelve (12) years.

Whoever exposes another public means of transport to danger, prevents or hinders its operation, shall be penalized with imprisonment of one (1) to two (2) years. If the act results in a disaster, the penalty shall be imprisonment of four (4) to twelve (12) years.

In any of the offenses provided for in the preceding articles of this title, if the act results in death or injuries of those included in

Article 135, the penalty shall be imprisonment of six (6) to fifteen (15) years, unless the offense committed warrants a greater penalty in accordance with other provisions of this Code. If the act is culpable, it shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) months to four (4) years, increasing this penalty by one-half (1/2) if death or injuries of those mentioned in the preceding paragraph result.

Whoever destroys or damages the postal service, telegraph, telephone, electric, radio service or any other means serving telecommunications shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years. A sentence of imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years shall be imposed on whoever obstructs or interrupts the services referred to in the preceding paragraph or prevents or hinders their restoration.136 136 Article 271 Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever assaults a carrier of public correspondence in order to intercept or detain it, or to seize it or in any way render it unusable shall be subject to imprisonment of two (2) to six (6) years.

Imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years shall be imposed on whoever by any means prejudices the security or normal functioning of an establishment or installation intended to distribute to the public water, light, energy, heat or any other good of public use. If the act results in prejudice not only to the establishment or installation, but also to the public service, the imprisonment shall be two (2) to six (6) years. TITLE IX CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC FAITH CHAPTER I COUNTERFEITING OF CURRENCY, BANK NOTES AND SECURITIES.

Whoever shall be subject to imprisonment of three (3) to twelve (12) years:

• 1)

  Whoever counterfeits or alters national or foreign currency within or outside the country that has legal or commercial circulation.

• 2)

  Whoever knowingly introduces into the country counterfeit or altered currency that imitates currency having legal circulation in the Republic.

• 3)

  Whoever knowingly acquires or receives counterfeit or altered currencies and puts them into circulation in any manner.

Whoever clips legitimate coins, or knowingly introduces clipped coins into the country or puts them into circulation shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to eight (8) years.137 137 Article 275. Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever having received in good faith counterfeit, altered or clipped coins puts them into circulation knowing they are illegitimate shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.138

For the purposes of the three preceding articles, counterfeiting or alteration of legally authorized bank notes, securities and coupons of national or municipal public debt, drafts or treasury warrants of the State or municipality and securities, certificates or shares issued by banks or companies authorized to do so shall be equated to counterfeiting or alteration of currency.

The counterfeiting, clipping or alteration of foreign currencies or securities that do not have legal circulation in the Republic or securities, public debt securities and other foreign credit instruments referred to in the preceding article shall be punished with imprisonment of four (4) to six (6) years in the case of Article 274, three (3) to five (5) years in the case of Article 275 and two (2) to four (4) years in the case of Article 276.139

The public official or employee or the director, manager or administrator of a bank or company that authorizes the manufacture or issuance of coins or bank notes or any bearer securities, certificates or shares in quantities exceeding those authorized or under conditions different from those agreed upon or prescribed for the case shall be punished with imprisonment of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years, plus a fine equal to triple the value of the operation in question. The public officials or employees and others referred to in this article shall likewise be sanctioned with absolute disqualification of eight (8) to ten (10) years.140 138 Article 276. Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 139 Article 278 Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 140 Article 279. Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn CHAPTER II COUNTERFEITING OF SEALS, STAMPED PAPER AND OTHER OFFICIAL EFFECTS

Imprisonment of one (1) to five (5) years shall be imposed on: 1) Whoever counterfeits official seals. 2) Whoever counterfeits stamped paper, postage seals, telegraph, stamps and any other kind of sealed or stamped effects whose issuance is reserved to the State or its institutions, which have the purpose of collecting taxes, duties or services. In these cases, as in those included in the following articles, counterfeiting shall be considered to include the fraudulent printing or use of the true seal. Whoever sells falsified fiscal species or in conditions that would make their use and circulation illicit.

Imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years shall be imposed on: 1) Whoever counterfeits marks, countermarks or signatures used in public offices to verify weights or measures or to identify any object. 2) Whoever applies legitimate seals, marks or countermarks for official use to objects, works or articles different from those to which they should be applied.

Whoever makes disappear from the seals, stamps, marks or countermarks for official use referred to in the preceding articles the sign or mark placed by the authorities to denote that it has already been used or that it was rendered unusable for circulation or sale shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years. The same penalty shall be incurred by whoever knowingly puts into sale those adulterated seals, stamps, marks or countermarks or uses them or delivers them to another person for their use or allows them to be used.141 141 Article 282. Reformed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

When the perpetrator of any of the crimes included in the preceding articles is a public official or employee and commits the act abusing his or her office, absolute disqualification of two (2) to ten (10) years shall be additionally imposed. CHAPTER III COUNTERFEITING OF DOCUMENTS IN GENERAL

Whoever wholly or partially fabricates a false public document or alters a true one in such manner as to cause prejudice shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to nine (9) years, executing any of the following acts:

• 1)

  Counterfeiting or falsifying the handwriting, signature or rubric.

• 2)

  Supposing in an act the intervention of persons who did not participate in it.

• 3)

  Attributing to those who did participate in it declarations or manifestations different from those they made.

• 4)

  Departing from the truth in the narration of facts.

• 5)

  Altering true dates and amounts.

• 6)

  Making any alteration or intercalation in a true document that changes its meaning.

• 7)

  Furnishing a certified copy of a supposed document or manifesting in it something contrary to or different from what the true original contains.

• 8)

  Improperly inserting any deed in a protocol, register or official book.

• 9)

  Destroying, mutilating, suppressing or concealing a document. The religious minister who commits any of the acts included in the preceding numerals with respect to ecclesiastical acts or documents that may produce effects on the status of persons or in the civil order shall also incur the penalty indicated in the first paragraph of this article.

  www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever to the prejudice of a third party or with the intent to cause such prejudice commits any of the forgeries designated in the preceding article in a private document shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years.

The telecommunications service official or employee who knows of or falsifies a telegraph dispatch shall incur the penalty of imprisonment of one (1) to two (2) years. Whoever makes use of the false dispatch with intent to profit or intention to harm another shall be punished as the author of the falsification.

Whoever falsifies banknotes or lottery tickets, or those used for raffles or by transportation companies, public spectacles or other similar entities and causes them to circulate or profits from them personally or benefits another person, and whoever knowingly causes falsified ones to circulate, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.142

A physician who issues a certification or statement containing false information about the existence or non-existence, present or past, of any disease or injury shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of ten thousand (Lps. 10,000.00) to twenty thousand (Lps. 20,000.00) lempiras, even if no damage results. The penalty shall double when, as a consequence of the false certification or statement, a healthy person is confined or retained in a psychiatric treatment center, hospital, or other similar center; when it serves to obtain improper benefits from social security or other equivalent services; or to achieve the release from detention of a person or to evade the action of justice. The same penalty shall be applied to whoever requests the false certification or statement.143

Whoever knowingly makes use of a document that is false in whole or in part shall be sanctioned as if he were the author of the falsification.

When any of the crimes provided for in this chapter is committed by a public official or employee with abuse of his office, the guilty party shall suffer, in addition, absolute disqualification for two (2) to ten (10) years. 142 Article 287. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 143 Article 288. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever manufactures, imports, or keeps in his possession machinery or equipment, instruments, or materials intended to commit any of the falsifications contained in this title shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.144 CHAPTER IV USURPATION OF FUNCTIONS AND TITLES AND IMPROPER USE OF NAMES, UNIFORMS, INSIGNIA AND DECORATIONS

Whoever without title or legitimate cause performs acts proper to an authority or official by attributing himself an official character shall be sanctioned with two (2) to three (3) years of imprisonment.

Whoever improperly attributes to himself an academic title or degree, practices a profession, or maintains an office, clinic, law firm, laboratory, or premises with the purpose of offering academic, professional, or technical services without possessing the legally required authorization from a public or private entity shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.145

He shall incur a fine of ten thousand (Lps. 10,000.00) to fifty thousand (Lps. 50,000.00) lempiras:

• 1)

  Whoever usurps the functions proper to a Minister of a religious cult that has adherents in Honduras;

• 2)

  The public official who, abusing his office, attributes to any person a title, rank, or name that does not belong to him; and, To whoever publicly uses an assumed name with the purpose of concealing a crime, evading a sentence, or causing harm, he shall be imposed imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years.146 144 Article 291 Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 145 Article 293 Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 146 Article 294 Amended by Decree 114-2011 of June 24, 2011, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 32, 589 dated August 9, 2011 and effective as of sixty days after its publication.

  www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever manufactures, possesses, stores, transports, or uses without being authorized to do so uniforms, insignia, decorations, and equipment for exclusive use of the National Police shall be imposed a sentence of five (5) to eight (8) years of imprisonment.147 TITLE X CRIMES AGAINST THE ECONOMY

Whoever maliciously and as a sole consequence of his acts endangers the national economy or public credit shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of twenty thousand (Lps. 20,000.00) to fifty thousand (Lps. 50,000.00) lempiras.148

Whoever with the deliberate purpose of causing damage to the economy and social stability of the country destroys raw materials, agricultural or industrial products, or instruments of production shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years and a fine of five thousand (Lps. 5,000.00) to ten thousand (Lps. 10,000.00) lempiras.149

Whoever fraudulently determines in the market or in the stock or securities exchanges an increase or decrease in wages or in the prices of foodstuffs, goods, merchandise, shares, securities, currencies, or other assets shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of twenty-five thousand (Lps. 25,000.00) to fifty thousand (Lps. 50,000.00) lempiras.150 If the crime is committed by public officials or employees, exchange agents, stock brokers, or commercial brokers, the aforementioned penalties shall be increased by one (1/3) third. 147 Article 294-A. Added by Decree 114-2011 of June 24, 2011, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 32, 589 dated August 9, 2011 and effective as of sixty days after its publication. 148 Article 295 Amended by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 281 dated June 10, 1997 and effective as of said publication. 149 Article 296. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 150 Articles 297. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Repealed 151

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years and a fine of fifty thousand (Lps. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (Lps. 100,000.00) lempiras whoever:

• 1)

  Hoards articles used in the construction industry with the purpose of causing an increase in prices;

• 2)

  By improper acts or procedures obstructs free competition in the production and commercialization of merchandise or the practice of public bids or auctions;

• 3)

  Executes acts of unfair competition according to the standards established by the Commercial Code, other special laws, or international agreements;152 4) Exports articles of primary necessity or basic raw materials without permission from the competent authority when required, if this produces shortage or scarcity. The public official shall incur the same penalty who, knowing that shortage or scarcity of a particular article of primary necessity or basic raw materials may be produced, issues the permit and as a consequence the shortage or scarcity effectively occurs. 5) Being duly authorized by the Central Bank of Honduras to conduct transactions in foreign currencies, conducts them in contravention of legal provisions or those issued by the Central Bank; 6) Not being part of institutions of the national financial system or even being part of such system, performs operations for which he is not authorized by Law; excepting those foundations and non-profit organizations that strengthen micro and small businesses; and, 7) Whoever refuses to comply with the pecuniary sanctions established by the Law on Income of Foreign Exchange from Exports contained in Decree 108-90 of September 20, 1990 and its Amendments. In addition to the sanction contemplated in this article, the violators in cases where applicable 151 Article 298 Repealed by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 152 Article 299 Amended by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 281 dated June 10, 1997 and effective as of said publication.

  www.poderjudicial.gob.hn shall become liable for confiscation of the objects or effects of the crime. The corresponding values shall be deposited into the General Treasury of the Republic or the Institution of the National Financial System that the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance has authorized for such effect.153

Repealed.154

Repealed.155 TITLE XI CRIMES AGAINST THE EXISTENCE AND SECURITY OF THE STATE CHAPTER I TREASON

Whoever commits the crime of treason and executes acts that tend directly to impair the territorial integrity of the Republic, subjugate it totally or partially to foreign domination, compromise its sovereignty or attack the unity of the State, shall be punished with imprisonment from fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years.

The Honduran national, even if he has lost his nationality, or the foreigner who owes obedience to Honduras due to his public employment or function, who takes part in acts of military hostility against the nation, or places himself in the service of the external enemy in the event of armed conflict, shall incur ten (10) to fifteen (15) years of imprisonment. If it is a foreigner who does not owe special obedience to the country due to his public employment or function, the sanction shall be reduced to one-half (1/2).

In the case referred to in the previous article, the penalty shall be fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years of imprisonment if, as a consequence of the services rendered to the enemy, any part of the national territory, body of troops, deposit of war material, provisions and victuals, or any other element indispensable for the defense of the State falls into his power, or if the arms of the Republic suffer defeat.

The Honduran national, even if he has lost his nationality, or the foreigner who owes obedience to Honduras due to his public employment or function, who with the purpose of provoking aggression or hostilities against Honduras from one or other nations, executes acts that tend directly to that end, shall suffer imprisonment from ten (10) to fifteen (15) years. If aggression or hostilities from one or more foreign States are actually produced, the penalty shall be fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years of imprisonment. The final paragraph of article 303 shall be applicable in its case.

Whoever, entrusted by the Honduran government to deal with matters of State with a foreign government or with persons or groups from another country, acts disloyally in the exercise of his mandate, shall incur five (5) to ten (10) years of imprisonment.

Whoever reveals the political, diplomatic or military secrets relating to the security of the State, whether by communicating or publishing documents, drawings, plans, or other data relating to material, fortifications or military operations or any other matter essential for the defense of national interests, or by facilitating their disclosure in any other way, shall incur imprisonment from four (4) to seven (7) years, a fine of one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) to five hundred thousand (lps. 500,000.00) lempiras, plus absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. If the secrets are revealed to a foreign government or to its agents or subjects, the imprisonment shall be five (5) to eight (8) years, the fine equal to double the above amount, and the disqualification equal to double the duration of the imprisonment penalty. If the revelation of secrets is made to a state at war with Honduras, or to its agents or subjects, the penalty shall be ten (10) to fifteen (15) years of imprisonment, a fine equal to triple the amount established in the first paragraph of this article, and absolute disqualification equal to double the duration of the imprisonment. The above penalties shall be increased by one-third (1/3) if the responsible party had knowledge of the secrets by virtue of his character as a public official or employee or had used violence or fraud to obtain such knowledge.156

Whoever without being duly authorized raises plans of fortifications, barracks, ships, arsenals, roads or military works intended for the defense of the country, or whoever with this purpose clandestinely or fraudulently enters places whose access is prohibited by the military authorities, shall be punished with imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) to two hundred thousand (lps. 200,000.00) lempiras.157

Whoever destroys or removes the landmarks, buoys or signals that mark the national borders shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) to two hundred thousand (lps. 200,000.00) lempiras. If as a consequence of the destruction or removal of the border landmarks, buoys or signals Honduras becomes involved in some conflict, or if such destruction or removal occurs during a war with a bordering State, the above penalties shall be doubled.158

Whoever during an armed conflict with a foreign country induces Honduran troops or officers to desert or to serve the enemy, or puts into practice any other means to achieve that end, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from six (6) to ten (10) years, a fine of two hundred thousand (lps. 200,000.00) to five hundred thousand (lps. 500,000.00) lempiras, and absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment.159

Amended by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 281 dated June 10, 1997 and effective as of that publication.

The crimes of treason to the homeland typified in articles 2 and 19 of the Constitution of the Republic shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years.160

Honduran nationality may only be acquired in the form prescribed by the Constitution of the Republic and by International Conventions or Treaties. Whoever grants it following different procedures shall commit the crime of treason to the homeland and shall be sanctioned with the penalty provided in the previous article.

The attempt of any of the crimes included in the previous articles shall be punished as if it were a consummated crime. Conspiracy to commit any of said crimes shall be sanctioned with the penalty of the consummated crime reduced by two-thirds (2/3). Proposal shall be sanctioned with the same penalty reduced by five-sixths (5/6). Total exemption from penalty is granted for abandonment of the conspiracy or proposal if notice is given to the authority or its circumstances are made known before the execution of the crime has begun. If the responsible party actually achieves the proposed purpose when the consummation of the crime does not require that such purpose be achieved, the corresponding penalty shall be increased by one-third (1/3).161

Whoever commits any of the offenses provided for in the preceding chapter against a State allied with Honduras in war or armed conflict against a common enemy shall incur the respective penalty reduced by one-third (1/3).

Whoever provokes the rupture of Honduras' relations with another State giving rise to the imminence of an armed conflict or to Hondurans suffering vexations or reprisals in their persons or property shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of four (4) to seven (7) years, a fine of one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) to three hundred thousand (lps. 300,000.00) lempiras and absolute disqualification for twice the duration of the imprisonment. If the rupture of relations results in war, the penalty shall be eight (8) to twelve (12) years, a fine equal to twice the foregoing and absolute disqualification equal to twice the duration of the imprisonment.162

Whoever violates the truces or armistices agreed between the Republic and another State or between the armed forces of both countries, or duly issued safe-conducts, and whoever prevents or disturbs the fulfillment of a treaty or agreement concluded with another State shall be subject to imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years.

Whoever insults any of the national symbols shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years, a fine of fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) lempiras and special disqualification for twice the duration of the imprisonment.163

Whoever violates the Immunity of a Head of a Foreign State or of a diplomatic agent accredited to the government of Honduras shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years.164

Shall be sanctioned with three (3) to six (6) years of imprisonment, whoever recruits troops in Honduras for the service of a foreign nation, whatever the objective may be. Those who use the national territory to invade or harass another nation shall incur the same penalty. CHAPTER III OFFENSES AGAINST THE LAW OF NATIONS

Whoever causes the death of a Head of State or Head of Foreign Government who is in Honduras in an official capacity shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of thirty (30) years to deprivation of liberty for life.165

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of sixteen (16) to twenty (20) years, plus absolute disqualification for an equal period, whoever, with the purpose of destroying in whole or in part a national ethnic or religious group, commits any of the following acts:

• 1)

  Causing the death of any member of the group;

• 2)

  Gravely injuring the physical or mental integrity of any of the members of the group;

• 3)

  Subjecting the group to conditions of existence susceptible of producing its physical destruction or of causing it serious moral harm;

• 4)

  Adopting measures aimed at preventing the birth of children within the group; and,

• 5)

  Forcibly transferring minors under eighteen (18) years of age from one group to another. Imprisonment shall not be less than twenty (20) years when those responsible for the crime of genocide are public officials or civil or military employees. Proposition and conspiracy shall be punished with imprisonment of eight (8) to twelve (12) years; direct incitement shall be sanctioned with the penalty applicable to the perpetrator and indirect incitement shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to eight (8) years.166

Shall be sanctioned as a pirate, with imprisonment of five (5) to ten (10) years, without prejudice to the offenses that may result against life, bodily integrity, honor, property and liberty which shall be punished separately: 1) The seizure under coercion or threat of aircraft or public transport vehicles, without political purposes; and, 2) Whoever on territorial sea or in the rivers of the Republic unlawfully seizes a vessel, commits violent acts, depredation against the vessel or against the persons or things found therein.167

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years and a fine of four (4) to seven (7) minimum salaries the person who arbitrarily and unlawfully obstructs, restricts, diminishes, prevents or annuls the exercise of individual and collective rights or denies the provision of a professional service by reason of sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, political affiliation or opinion, marital status, membership in indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, language, tongue, nationality, religion, family affiliation, economic or social condition, different capabilities or disability, health conditions, physical appearance or any other that violates the human dignity of the victim. The penalty shall be increased by one-third (1/3) when:

• 1)

  The act is committed with violence;

• 2)

  When the act is committed by a public official or employee in the exercise of his office; and,

• 3)

  It is a case of recidivism. The public official or employee shall be sanctioned additionally with special disqualification for a period equal to twice that applied to the imprisonment.168

Whoever publicly or through media or means of communication intended for the public incites discrimination, hatred, contempt, persecution or any form of violence or attacks against a person, group or association, foundations, societies, corporations, non-governmental organizations, for any of the causes enumerated in the preceding article shall be imposed a penalty of three (3) to five (5) years of imprisonment and a fine of fifty thousand lempiras (L.50,000.00) to three hundred thousand lempiras (L.300,000.00). This sanction shall be applied without prejudice to administrative measures that may be imposed against the media by the regulatory bodies of the State. The same penalty shall be applied when the guilty party does so in the course of his professional activities, or when a private individual does so in the provision of a public service. TITLE XII OFFENSES AGAINST THE INTERIOR SECURITY OF THE STATE CHAPTER I OFFENSES AGAINST HIGH STATE OFFICIALS

Whoever causes the death of the President of a Power of the State and the Members of the National Council of Defense and Security or persons who by invitation participate permanently in the sessions of the Council shall be sanctioned with forty (40) years of imprisonment to deprivation of liberty for life. The attempt of the preceding offense shall be punished with the same penalty reduced by one-third (1/3). The same penalties shall be applied to whoever executes the actions described against the relatives of the referred officials within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity.170

To the person who commits the offenses contemplated in Chapter III of Title I; and in Articles 192 and 193 of Chapter I; and Chapter III of Title VI, both of the Second Book of the Criminal Code, in prejudice of the President of the Executive Power, shall be imposed the penalty corresponding to the offense, increased by one-fourth (1/4).

Conspiracy to commit any of the offenses included in the preceding articles shall be sanctioned with the penalty of imprisonment assigned to the consummated offense reduced by one-fourth; and proposition, with the same penalty of the consummated offense reduced by one-third (1/3). When the maximum penalty stated is deprivation of liberty for life, it shall be understood that the reductions shall be applied over fifty (50) years.171

The offenses dealt with in the three (3) preceding articles committed against the Secretaries of State, Deputies to the National Congress and Justices of the Supreme Court of Justice shall be sanctioned respectively with the penalties stated in said articles, reduced by one-fifth (1/5).

Those who violently or with intimidation invade the place where the National Congress, the Supreme Court of Justice, or the Council of Ministers is assembled, shall be penalized with imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years.

They shall incur imprisonment of six (6) months to two (2) years:

• 1)

  Those who violently or with intimidation invade the office where a Secretary of State's office is established.

• 2)

  Those who restrain or in any way place obstacles to the freedom of Ministers assembled in Council.

• 3)

  Those who employ force or grave intimidation to prevent a minister from attending to his office or to the Council of Ministers.

Those who commit acts directly aimed at achieving by force, or outside of legal channels, any of the following purposes shall be guilty of crimes against the form of Government and shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years:

• 1)

  To replace the republican, democratic and representative government with any other form of government.

• 2)

  To alter the constitution of any of the powers of the State, Legislative, Executive or Judicial, or to attack their independence.

• 3)

  To deprive in whole or in part the Congress, the Executive Power or the Supreme Court of Justice, of the prerogatives and faculties that the Constitution attributes to them.

• 4)

  To vary the legitimate order of succession to the Presidency, or to deprive the successor of the President of the faculties that the Constitution grants him.

• 5)

  To deprive the Council of Ministers or the person in charge of Executive Power of the faculty to govern the State provisionally in the cases provided for in the Constitution.

When the authors of these crimes are officials they shall be sanctioned, furthermore, with absolute disqualification of six (6) to twelve (12) years.

Whoever, having exercised the Presidency of the Republic under any title, promotes or executes acts that violate the constitutional article that prohibits him from exercising the Presidency of the Republic again or holding said office again under any title, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to ten (10) years. Those who directly support him or propose to reform said article shall incur the same penalty. When the authors of those crimes are officials, they shall be sanctioned furthermore with absolute disqualification for ten (10) years counted from the date of the violation or of the attempted reform.

Whoever unlawfully convokes or directs any meeting or demonstration shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years and a fine of thirty thousand (L. 30,000.00) to sixty thousand (lps. 60,000.00) lempiras. All meetings to which people attend with weapons, explosive devices or blunt objects or any other dangerous manner for the purpose of committing a crime shall be considered illicit. Those attending an illicit meeting or demonstration who carry weapons, explosive devices, blunt objects or any other manner dangerous objects shall be sanctioned with the same penalty as those who convoke or direct such meeting or demonstration. Mere attendees shall be sanctioned with half of the aforementioned penalties. People who, on the occasion of the holding of an illicit meeting or demonstration, carry out acts of violence against the authority, its agents, or public or private property, shall be sanctioned with the penalty provided in the first paragraph of this article, without prejudice to those corresponding to other crimes committed. Those who on their own initiative attend an illicit meeting or demonstration carrying weapons, explosive devices, blunt objects or any other dangerous manner objects for the purpose of committing a crime shall be sanctioned with the same penalty applicable to those who convoke or direct an illicit meeting or demonstration.

Unlawful Association. Members or persons linked to structured groups of two (2) or more people who associate or act in concert with the purpose of endangering or harming any legally protected asset in the Constitution of the Republic and the Penal Code shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of twenty (20) to thirty (30) years and a fine of One Hundred Thousand (L. 100,000.00) to Three Hundred Thousand (L. 300,000.00) lempiras. The same penalty established in the preceding paragraph increased by two-thirds (2/3) shall be imposed on the leaders or ringleaders of the groups described in said paragraph. Leader or Ringleader is considered those who are recognized or identified as such, whose decisions influence the planning and actions of the group. The penalty indicated in the preceding paragraphs shall be increased by one-third (1/3) for members, leaders or ringleaders of these groups described in the first paragraph of this Article, when to achieve their purposes they use minors, elderly adults, pregnant women or other persons who are in a state of vulnerability. The penalty indicated in the preceding paragraphs shall be increased by one-third (1/3) for members, leaders or ringleaders of the groups indicated in the first paragraph of this Article, when they carry out, regardless of the degree of execution, actions constituting a crime against the holders of any of the Powers of the State, Judge or Magistrate of the Judicial Branch, Prosecutor of the Public Ministry, security personnel of penal establishments, National Police of Honduras, Military personnel on active duty, Agents of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Force, of the Technical Agency of Criminal Investigation and Deputies, provided that the crime was committed on the occasion or in the exercise of their position or function. Members of an Unlawful Association, in accordance with what is established in the first paragraph of this Article, who conspire to commit a crime against the holders of any of the Powers of the State, Judge or Magistrate of the Judicial Branch, Prosecutor of the Public Ministry, security personnel of penal establishments, National Police of Honduras, Military personnel on active duty, Agents of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Force and of the Technical Agency of Criminal Investigation and Deputies, provided that the crime was committed on the occasion or in the exercise of their position or function, in addition to the penalty for the crime of Unlawful Association, shall be applied the penalty corresponding to the crime intended to be executed reduced by two-thirds (2/3).

Manufacture and trafficking of war material, weapons and ammunition. Any unauthorized person who manufactures, stores, transports, uses, traffics, brings into or takes out of the country, acquires, supplies or sells weapons, ammunition, explosives or war or combat material, including among these last the AK-47 weapons in any of its models, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of eight (8) to ten (10) years and a fine of five thousand (lps. 5,000.00) to ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) lempiras for each weapon seized. The National Police or any other authority that seizes that material shall immediately place it at the disposal of the Public Ministry.

Manufacture and trafficking of firearms and commercial, personal defense or sporting ammunition and commercial explosives. Whoever without permission from the competent authority manufactures, stores, transports, possesses, uses, brings into or takes out of the country, supplies or sells firearms and ammunition for personal or sporting use and commercial explosives, shall incur a penalty of three (3) to six (6) years imprisonment without prejudice to the confiscation of said weapons, ammunition and explosives and other materials related to them. Firearms for personal use, defense or sporting purposes, ammunition, explosives and similar items shall be understood to mean those described in the special law.

The penalty of imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years and a fine of fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) lempiras shall be applied to the official or public employee who:

• 1)

  Illegally detains or incommunicates a person or does not immediately comply with a writ of habeas corpus issued by competent authority;

• 2)

  Does not timely order the release of a detainee when legally appropriate or whoever retains him after having received the order for his release;

• 3)

  Subjects people in his custody to illegal abuses or coercion;

• 4)

  Does not process or resolve within the legal deadlines a petition for Habeas Corpus or Amparo or in any way obstructs its processing;

• 5)

  Orders, executes or consents to the expatriation of a Honduran.

Commits the crime of forced disappearance and shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of fifteen (15) to twenty (20) years, and a fine of twenty-five (25) to fifty (50) minimum wages, those who acting with authorization, support or the acquiescence of one or more officials or public employees, deprive one or more persons of their liberty in whatever form, thereby limiting or denying the exercise of constitutional guarantees and the relevant procedural guarantees provided that any of the following circumstances occur: 1) Lack of information with the denial to recognize the deprivation of liberty; and, 2) They conceal or deny the whereabouts of the detained person or persons. When the accused or accused are officials or public employees the penalty shall be increased by one-third (1/3).

Officials or public employees who commit any of the following acts shall be sanctioned with the penalties provided in the preceding article:

• 1)

  Retain, conceal, destroy or violate postal, telegraph, facsimile or any other class of correspondence;

• 2)

  Illegally restrict the freedom of movement of a person within the national territory;

• 3)

  Force a person to change domicile, except by sentence of a competent judge;

• 4)

  Force an individual to provide personal services without legal remuneration, except by judicial sentence;

• 5)

  Force a person to be part of an association engaged in the execution of illicit acts;

• 6)

  Prevent or suspend a legally authorized meeting;

• 7)

  Prevent or obstruct the free circulation of a printed matter whose authors or editors have complied with the legal requirements for its publication and sale;

• 8)

  Deprive a person of his books and publications of a scientific, philosophical, political or artistic nature or any other printed materials with the intention of restricting or preventing the free circulation of ideas; and,

• 9)

  Impose on prisoners or sentenced persons sanctions, deprivations or regulations not provided for or authorized in the laws or that exceed them.

Terrorist Crime. Whoever commits any act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian citizen or any other person who does not directly participate in hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of said act or event, by its nature or context, is to intimidate the population or to force a government or an international organization to carry out or refrain from carrying out any act, commits the crime of terrorism. Also commits the crime of terrorism, whoever carries out any of the conducts established as crimes in the international treaties and instruments ratified by Honduras regarding terrorism, among these: Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (1970); Convention for the Prevention of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, (1971); Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, (1973); International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, (1979); Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials, (1980); Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation complementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, (1988); Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, (1988); Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, (1988); International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1977); International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, (1999). The person responsible for the crime of terrorism shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of forty (40) to fifty (50) years plus a fine of three thousand (3,000) to five thousand (5,000) minimum wages established for the zone where the crime is committed.

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Repealed

Those guilty of rebellion are those who take up arms to overthrow the legally constituted government or to change or suspend in whole or in part the existing constitutional regime with regard to the formation, functioning, or renewal of the public powers. The promoters, leaders, or instigators of the crime of rebellion shall be punished with imprisonment of ten (10) to fifteen (15) years, a fine of one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) to two hundred thousand (L. 200,000.00) lempiras and absolute disqualification for the duration of the imprisonment. Those who by appointment of the rebels perform administrative or jurisdictional functions shall suffer the same penalties reduced by one (1/3) third. The mere executors of rebellion shall incur imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years plus a fine of thirty thousand (lps. 30,000.00) to fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) lempiras, if there has been combat between the rebel force and the public force loyal to the government, or if the latter has caused damage to private property, of the State or its Institutions, if it has destroyed or interrupted any public service, exercised serious violence against persons, or demanded contributions or diverted public funds from their legitimate investment; and imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years, plus a fine of ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) to thirty thousand (lps. 30,000.00) lempiras when such circumstances do not concur. Proposition and conspiracy to commit the crime of rebellion shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years, plus a fine of five thousand (lps. 5,000.00) to ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) lempiras.

Those guilty of sedition are those who, not being comprehended in the crime of rebellion, rise publicly and tumultuously to achieve by force or outside legal channels any of the following objectives:

• 1)

  To prevent the holding of elections for national, departmental, or municipal authorities;

• 2)

  To prevent duly elected or appointed officials from taking possession of their offices;

• 3)

  To prevent any authority from freely exercising its functions, or the fulfillment of its resolutions;

• 4)

  To prevent the approval, sanction, promulgation, publication, or execution of any law;

• 5)

  To carry out any act of hatred or revenge against individuals or against servants of the State or their property with political or social purpose;

• 6)

  To raid penal centers or attack prison custodians, whether to rescue or to mistreat the prisoners. Those guilty of sedition shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to ten (10) years, a fine of fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) lempiras and absolute disqualification for the duration of the imprisonment, if they act as instigators, leaders, or organizers, and with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and a fine of twenty-five thousand (lps. 25,000.00) to fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) lempiras if they are mere executors.

Proposition and conspiracy to commit the crime of sedition shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years and a fine of three thousand (L. 3,000.00) to six thousand (lps. 6,000.00) lempiras.

When the rebels or seditionists dissolve themselves or submit to the order that the legitimate authority makes for that purpose, the mere executors of any of those crimes shall be exempt from punishment, if they are not public employees.

Those who publicly incite formally or directly to rebellion or sedition, communicate instructions or indicate the means to consummate such crimes, shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years and a fine of five thousand (lps. 5,000.00) to ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) lempiras when those have not been attempted or consummated.

Persons who, participating or not in rebellion or sedition, or by reason of it, commit other special crimes typified in this Code, shall be punished in accordance with what is established in the corresponding chapters.

When it is not possible to discover the perpetrators, the principal leaders of the rebellion or sedition shall be punished as such.

Those who commit an assault: 1) Those who, without publicly rising up, employ force or intimidation for any of the objectives set forth in the crimes of rebellion and sedition. 2) Those who assault authority or its agents, or employ force against them, or gravely intimidate them, or offer serious resistance to them, while they are exercising the functions of their positions or by reason of them.

The attacks covered in the preceding article shall be punished with imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) years, provided that any of the following circumstances concur:

• 1)

  If the aggression is carried out with armed force.

• 2)

  If the accused persons are public officials.

• 3)

  If they lay hands on the authority.

• 4)

  If as a consequence of the coercion, the authority has acceded to the demands of the accused. TITLE XIII CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION CHAPTER I CONTEMPT OF AUTHORITY

Repealed.184 CHAPTER II DISOBEDIENCE

Whoever disobeys an authority by openly refusing to give proper compliance with sentences, resolutions or orders dictated within the limits of its jurisdiction and invested with legal formalities, shall be punished with imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) years.185 184 Article 345 Repealed. The Supreme Court of Justice in Judgment dated April 29, 2005 on the Constitutional Challenge Resource number: 2686-03 RULES in FAVOR unanimously for violating the impugned rule, Articles 60 and 72 of the Constitution of the Republic. Said judgment published by the National Congress of the Republic in Decree number: 202-2005 dated August 2, 2005, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta 30, 830 dated October 22, 2005 and effective as of said publication. 185 Article 346. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

The foreigner who, after being legally expelled from Honduras, re-enters the national territory in violation of the corresponding order, shall be punished with imprisonment from six (6) months to three (3) years, and after serving the sentence shall be expelled from the country.186

Whoever refuses or declines to assume a public position of popular election without justified cause or after such cause has been rejected by the competent authority, shall incur a fine of ten thousand (L 10, 000.00) to thirty thousand (lps. 30, 000.00) lempiras. 187

The penalty provided in the preceding article 348, plus imprisonment from six (6) months to two (2) years, shall be imposed on anyone who, legally summoned as an expert or witness, abstains without just cause from giving the respective statement or from appearing before the competent judge.188 CHAPTER III ABUSE OF AUTHORITY AND VIOLATION OF THE DUTIES OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS

The public official or employee shall be punished with imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) years and special disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment, who: 1) Refuses to give proper compliance with orders, sentences, decisions, resolutions, agreements or decrees dictated by the judicial or administrative authorities within the limits of their respective jurisdictions and with legal formalities; 186 Article 347. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 187 Article 348. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 188 Article 348-A Added by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn 2) Issues or executes orders, sentences, decisions, resolutions, agreements or decrees contrary to the Constitution of the Republic or to the laws, or abstains from complying with the provisions of any of said legal orders. 3) Omits, refuses or delays any act that should be executed in accordance with the duties of his position; 4) When required by competent authority, does not provide the proper cooperation for the effective administration of justice or other public service. When the lack of cooperation consists of not complying, out of malice or negligence, with an arrest order issued by competent authority, the penalty shall be increased by one (1/3) third; and, 5) Reveals or facilitates the revelation of a fact of which he has knowledge by reason of his position and which must remain confidential. When the revelation is not of grave significance, the penalty shall be reduced by one (1/6) sixth. The same penalty shall be applied to the officer or agent of the public force who refuses, omits or delays, without justified cause, the provision of assistance legally required by competent authority. 189

Whoever begins to perform a public position or employment without having rendered the bond required by law or without having made the sworn declaration of assets ordered by the Organic Law of the Superior Court of Accounts, or without having made the corresponding oath of office, shall incur a fine equal to three times the monthly salary of the corresponding public official or employee, without prejudice to the obligation to comply with the legal requirements. The same sanction shall be incurred by the public official or employee who has made it possible for a subordinate to begin performing the position or employment before having complied with any of the requirements indicated in the preceding paragraph.190 189 Article 349 Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 190 Article 350 Amended by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 281 dated June 10, 1997 and effective as of said publication.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

Whoever continues to perform an employment, commission or public position after he should cease to do so in accordance with law, shall be punished with a fine of fifteen thousand (lps. 15, 000.00) to twenty thousand (lps. 20, 000.00) lempiras and special disqualification from one (1) to two (2) years. 191

Repealed.192

The public official or employee who abandons his position without having his resignation accepted shall be punished with a fine equal to the last three (3) months' salaries earned and with special disqualification from two (2) to four (4) years, if the abandonment causes damage to the State. If it does not cause such damage, the penalty shall be special disqualification from one (1) to two (2) years. If the public official or employee abandons the position in order not to prosecute or punish any of the crimes against the existence and security of the State or against the internal security of the State, he shall be punished with imprisonment from four (4) to seven (7) years, plus special disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. If the objective sought is not to prosecute or punish any other crime, he shall be punished with imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) years, plus special disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. The provisions of this article shall not apply if within thirty (30) days following the date of submission of the resignation it has not been admitted or rejected. 193

A fine of five thousand (lps. 5,000.00) to ten thousand (lps. 10, 000.00) lempiras and special disqualification from three (3) to six (6) years shall be imposed on the public official or employee who, knowingly, detains, prosecutes or judges a public official who enjoys immunity without having first exhausted the procedures established by law.194 191 Article 350-A Added by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 192 Article 351 Repealed by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 281 dated June 10, 1997 and effective as of said publication. 193 Article 352. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 194 Article 353. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28, 182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

The public official or employee who usurps functions proper to another position shall be punished with imprisonment from two (2) to five (5) years, plus a fine of five thousand (L.5, 000.00) to ten thousand (L.10,000.00) lempiras and special disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment.195

The official who, having been legally required to recuse himself, continues to act before the question of jurisdiction is resolved, shall be punished with a fine of five thousand to ten thousand (L.5,000.00 to L.10,000.00) lempiras.196

The public official or employee, civil or military, who directs orders or summons or in any way interferes in the cases, matters or business that are within the exclusive jurisdiction of a judicial authority, shall be punished with imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) years and a fine equal to three times the last salary received by the corresponding public official or employee, civil or military.

The public official or employee who, knowingly, proposes or appoints to a public office or employment persons who do not meet the requirements established by law, shall be punished with a fine of twenty-five thousand (lps. 25,000.00) to fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) lempiras and special disqualification from one (1) to three (3) years. Those cases are excepted in which the appointment has an interim character and is made based on special laws.197 CHAPTER IV VIOLATION OF SEALS AND DOCUMENTS

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) years, plus a fine of fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) to seventy-five thousand (lps. 75,000.00) lempiras, to whoever

Article 200 of the Constitution of the Republic that referred to immunity was repealed by Decree 175-2003 and ratified by Decree 105-2004 published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta no. 30,492 of September 11, 2004. 195 Article 354. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997 196 Articles 355; 356. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997 197 Article 357 Amended by Decree 59-97 of May 8, 1997, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,281 dated June 10, 1997 and effective as of said publication.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn violates the seals placed by a public official or employee to ensure the preservation, identity, or privacy of the content of a thing. If the perpetrator is a public official or employee and has committed the act with abuse of his office, in addition to the penalty provided in the preceding paragraph, he shall be sanctioned with special disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. If the act has been committed through the negligence of a public official or employee, it shall be sanctioned with fines of twenty-five thousand (lps. 25,000.00) to fifty thousand (lps. 50,000.00) lempiras.198

A. Whoever removes, conceals, destroys, or renders useless records or documents entrusted to the custody of a public official or another person in the interest of public service or objects intended to serve as evidence before a competent authority, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) years. If the perpetrator of the act is the same depositary, in addition to the preceding penalty, he shall be imposed the penalty of absolute disqualification for double the duration of the sentence. If the act is committed through the negligence of the depositary, a fine of ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) to thirty thousand (lps. 30,000.00) lempiras shall be imposed on him. 199

The public official or employee who, not being comprised in the preceding article, opens or consents to the opening, without the proper authorization, of closed papers or documents whose custody has been entrusted to him, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) years.200

The penalties specified in the (3) three preceding articles are also applicable to ministers of any cult and to private individuals accidentally charged with the handling or custody of documents or papers by government commission, or of officials to whom those have been entrusted by reason of their office. 198 Article 358. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 199 Article 358-A Added by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 200 Article 359. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997.

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn CHAPTER V BRIBERY

The public official or employee who solicits, receives, or accepts, for himself or through another person, a gift, presents, offerings, promise, or any other undue advantage to execute an act contrary to his duties that is constitutive of a crime, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from five (5) to seven (7) years plus absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment, without prejudice to the penalty applicable to the crime committed by reason of the gift or promise.201

The public official who solicits, receives, or accepts, directly or indirectly, gifts, presents, offerings, promises, or any other undue advantage to perform an unjust act not constitutive of a crime related to the exercise of his office, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from two (2) to five (5) years. If such act does not come to completion, the offender shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) years. In both cases, absolute disqualification shall be applied equal to double the duration of the imprisonment.202

When the gift or present solicited, received, or promised has as its object that the public official or employee abstain from executing an act that he should perform in the exercise of his legal obligations, the penalty shall be imprisonment from two (2) to five (5) years, plus special disqualification equal to double the duration of the imprisonment. 203

The provisions of the three (3) preceding articles shall apply to arbitrators, arbiters, experts, or any persons who exercise a public function. 201 Article 361. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997. 202 Article 362. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997 203 Article 363. Amended by Decree 191-96 of October 31, 1996, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 28,182 dated February 8, 1997 and effective as of February 28, 1997

www.poderjudicial.gob.hn

The public official or employee who accepts a gift or benefit of any kind from someone who has some matter under his knowledge shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from one (1) to four (4) years plus special disqualification equal to double the duration of the imprisonment.204

Domestic bribery. Any natural person who intentionally offers or grants, directly or indirectly, to a public official or a person who performs public functions, any object of pecuniary value or other benefit, such as favors, promises, or advantages for himself or another person, in exchange for such official performing or omitting any act, in the exercise of his public functions, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from five (5) to seven (7) years, plus absolute disqualification for the duration of the imprisonment without prejudice to the penalty applicable to the crime committed by reason of the gift or promise. The natural person who helps, instigates, or conspires in the commission of the acts described in the preceding paragraph, shall be sanctioned with half the time of imprisonment plus special disqualification equal to the duration of the imprisonment. Legal persons participating in any of the acts described above shall be sanctioned as follows: 1) The sanctions established in the second paragraph of article 369-C of the Penal Code; or 2) A fine of one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) to one million (lps. 1,000,000.00) lempiras depending on the seriousness of the act; or double the benefit obtained; or 3) A combination of both. The provisions established above for legal persons apply without prejudice to what is established in article 34-A of this Code. Persons who in good faith report the acts of corruption described above shall be protected by the corresponding authorities.205

A. Transnational bribery. Any natural person subject to Honduran jurisdiction who offers, promises, or grants any pecuniary or other advantage, directly or indirectly, to a public official or an official of another State or International organization, for such official or for another person with the purpose that such official acts or abstains from acting in the exercise of his official functions, to obtain or retain a business or other undue advantage of an economic or commercial nature, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from five (5) to seven (7) years, plus special disqualification equal to the duration of the imprisonment. The natural person who helps, instigates, or conspires in the commission of the acts described in the preceding paragraph, shall be sanctioned with half the time of imprisonment plus special disqualification equal to the duration of the imprisonment. Legal persons subject to Honduran jurisdiction that participate in any of the acts described above shall be sanctioned as follows:

• 1)

  The sanctions established in the second paragraph of article 369-C of the Penal Code; or,

• 2)

  A fine of one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) to one million (L. 1,000,000.00) lempiras, depending on the seriousness of the act, or the benefit obtained; or,

• 3)

  A combination of both. The provisions established above for legal persons apply without prejudice to what is established in article 34-A of this Code. Persons who in good faith report the acts of corruption described above shall be protected by the corresponding authorities. 206

Repealed.207

The gifts or presents referred to in the preceding articles shall be confiscated and publicly delivered to the municipal corporation that has jurisdiction in the place where the crime was committed for works of social interest. 208

The Judge who accepts a gift, present, promise, or loan to issue, delay, or refrain from issuing a provision, resolution, or ruling in any matter within his jurisdiction shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) to seven (7) years, plus absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. The penalties provided in this article and in the preceding articles of this chapter shall be applicable, as the case may be, to whoever, being a member of a collegial body or court, votes in a certain manner thanks to bribery.

The public official or employee who influences another public official or employee taking advantage of the powers of his position or any other situation derived from his personal or hierarchical relationship with the latter or with another public official or employee to obtain a resolution that can generate directly or indirectly an economic benefit or of any other nature for himself or for a third party, shall incur penalties of imprisonment of four (4) to seven (7) years, plus a fine of one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) to one hundred fifty thousand (lps. 150,000.00) lempiras, and absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. If he obtains the benefit sought, the imprisonment shall be of six (6) to nine (9) years, a fine equal to double the benefit obtained, and disqualification of five (5) to eight (8) years.

The private individual who influences a public official or employee taking advantage of any situation derived from his personal relationship with the latter or with another public official or employee to obtain a resolution that can generate, directly or indirectly, an economic benefit or of any other nature for himself or for a third party, shall be punished, as the case may be, with the penalties of imprisonment and fines established in the preceding article.

Those who, offering themselves to carry out the conduct described in the preceding articles, request from third parties gifts, presents, or any other remuneration or gratification, or accept an offer or promise, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years, plus a fine of fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) lempiras. In any of the instances referred to in this article, the judicial authority shall also impose the suspension of the activities of the natural or legal person, organization, or office, and the closure of its establishments or offices open to the public for a period of two (2) to four (4) years.

In the cases provided for in this chapter and the preceding one, gifts, presents, commissions, or rewards shall be forfeited.

The public official or employee who appropriates funds, property, or effects whose administration, collection, or custody has been entrusted to him by reason of his position, or who, although not having been entrusted with them, intervenes in such acts for any reason, shall be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to five (5) years if the value thereof does not exceed one thousand (lps. 1,000.00) lempiras, and of six (6) to twelve (12) years if it exceeds that amount, plus absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. The provisions of this article shall also apply to the directors of unions, peasant cooperative enterprises, cooperatives, trusts, charitable or sports associations, and, in general, to all other similar civil entities.

The public official or employee and the directors of the associations referred to in the preceding article who negligently give rise to another person appropriating the funds, property, or effects referred to in the same provision, shall be punished with a fine of fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) lempiras and special disqualification of two (2) to four (4) years.

The public official or employee who diverts the funds, property, or effects that he administers to a purpose other than the one that corresponds to them, and if with this he does not cause damage to the patrimonial interests of the State, shall be punished with a fine of fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) to one hundred thousand (L. 100,000.00) lempiras and special disqualification of three (3) to five (5) years. If he causes damage to such interests or obstructs a public service, the fine shall be equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the value of the damage caused or of the expenses that the State must incur to restore the corresponding public service, plus absolute disqualification of five (5) to eight (8) years. In no case shall the fine be less than that indicated in the preceding paragraph.

The public official or employee who, having expedited funds, unjustifiably delays a legally required payment shall be punished in the manner provided in the first paragraph of the preceding article. The same penalty shall be imposed on the public official or employee who, when legally required, refuses to deliver a sum of money or the funds, property, or effects that are under his administration or custody.

The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to those who are in charge, in any capacity, of the management of funds, revenues, or effects belonging to departments or municipalities or that belong to an educational or charitable institution, as well as to the administrators or custodians of funds seized, confiscated, or deposited by a public authority even if they belong to private individuals.

The public official or employee who directly or through another person, or through simulated acts, becomes interested, with intent of personal gain, in any contract or operation in which he was participating by reason of his office, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years and absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to experts and private accountants who have participated in the valuation, participation, or award of property, and to guardians, curators, and trustees of bankruptcy.

The penalty established in the preceding article shall be applied to the public official or employee who, with intent of gain, interposes his influence to obtain a resolution from any authority or opinion that must be rendered before the same.

The public official or employee who, by reason of his office, participates in any legal act in which the State has an interest and reaches an agreement with one of the interested parties to defraud the Treasury, or with that same purpose makes use of his condition to favor a third party or to facilitate his personal participation, direct or indirect, in the benefits that such matters may produce, or uses any other artifice with the same purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years, plus absolute disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment.

The public official or employee who demands the payment of a tax or tribute, contribution, or fee knowing that it is illegal, or if being legal, employs vexatious or burdensome means for its collection or collection, or falsely invokes a judicial order or other legitimate authorization, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to five (5) years, plus special disqualification for double the duration of the imprisonment. The public official or employee who uses for his own benefit or for that of third parties the illegal exactions referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be punished with imprisonment of four (4) to eight (8) years, plus absolute disqualification for a time equal to double that of the imprisonment.

The judge who with malice or awareness of the injustice issues a sentence contrary to law to favor or harm an accused in criminal matters shall incur imprisonment of three (3) to nine (9) years, plus special disqualification for double the time that the imprisonment lasts.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from three (3) to five (5) years: 1) The judge who with malice and true awareness of its unlawfulness issues a sentence contrary to law in a non-criminal trial; and, 2) The official who with malice or awareness of unlawfulness issues a resolution, agreement or decree contrary to law in purely administrative matters.

Shall incur the penalty of special disqualification from three (3) to five (5) years:

• 1)

  The judge who refuses to rule claiming obscurity, insufficiency or silence of the law;

• 2)

  The judge who through negligence or inexcusable ignorance issues a manifestly illegal sentence; and,

• 3)

  The administrative official who through negligence or inexcusable ignorance issues an agreement or resolution that is manifestly illegal in a purely administrative matter.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from two (2) to four (4) years, plus special disqualification for double the time that the imprisonment lasts, the notary, attorney, holder of a degree in legal and social sciences or attorney-in-fact who through abuse in the performance of his mandate or through negligence or inexcusable ignorance causes harm to his client or discloses secrets of the same that he has become aware of due to the exercise of his profession.

The legal professional or attorney-in-fact who has acted or is acting as a mandatary of a person and represents without the consent of such person the opposing party or advises it in the same matter, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from three (3) to five (5) years.

The judge who does not give course to a request, lawsuit, accusation, complaint or report properly presented or who maliciously or irresponsibly delays the administration of justice, shall be sanctioned with special disqualification from three (3) to six (6) years.

The public official or employee who, failing to fulfill the obligations of his position, does not adopt the necessary measures to achieve the arrest and prosecution of a presumed offender, shall be sanctioned with a fine from thirty thousand (L. 30,000.00) to sixty thousand (L. 60,000.00) lempiras, and special disqualification from three (3) to six (6) years.

The witness, expert or interpreter who in his testimony, report, translation or interpretation, made before a competent authority, falsifies the truth in whole or in part or conceals it, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from three (3) to five (5) years. The sanction shall be from three (3) to six (6) years if the false testimony is committed in a criminal case to the detriment of the accused. In all cases, absolute disqualification from three (3) to eight (8) years shall also be imposed.

Shall incur the respective penalties of the previous article whoever knowingly presents false witnesses in court.

The crime of false accusation or report is committed when facts are imputed to a person that, if true, would constitute crimes that give rise to ex officio proceedings, if the imputation is made before an administrative or judicial official who by reason of his position must proceed with its investigation or punishment. However, no proceedings may be brought against the reporter or accuser except after the case has been dismissed or an acquittal sentence has been rendered. False accusation or report shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) years.

Shall incur imprisonment from three (3) to five (5) years, whoever without prior agreement with the perpetrators or accomplices of a crime, but with sufficient reasons to suppose the commission thereof:

• 1)

  Conceals the offender or facilitates his escape to avoid his prosecution;

• 2)

  Seeks the disappearance of evidence of the crime;

• 3)

  Keeps, hides, buys, sells or receives as pledge or barter the effects or instruments of the crime;

• 4)

  Denies to the authority without justified reason the permission to enter his domicile to capture the offender who is found therein;

• 5)

  Fails to communicate to the authority the news he has about the commission of some crime when he is obliged to do so by his profession or employment. In this case, special disqualification shall be imposed in addition to the established sanction for double the time that the imprisonment lasts; and,

• 6)

  Assists the perpetrators or accomplices so that they benefit from the proceeds or price of objects coming from the crime or personally benefits from the aforementioned proceeds or price. When the harboring is executed with intent to profit, the sentence shall be increased by one-third (1/3). If the harborer executes the acts referred to in this article habitually, the sentence shall be increased by fifty percent (50%).

Those who are harboring accessories of their spouse or of the person with whom they maintain marital life, or of their relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, shall not be sanctioned, except that they have benefited themselves or have assisted the offenders so that they may benefit from the effects of the crime.

Whoever escapes while legally detained or sentenced shall be sanctioned in addition with imprisonment from five (5) to ten (10) years. If the escape is produced by means of intimidation or violence against persons or force against things, the sentence shall be increased by one (1/3) third without prejudice to the sanction that must be applied to the crimes that give rise to the intimidation, violence or force.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from five (5) to ten (10) years, whoever collaborates with the escape of a detainee or convicted person. If the one who has favored the escape is a public official, in addition to the increase of one (1/3) third in the sentence due to his condition as such, special disqualification shall be imposed for double the time established for imprisonment. However, they are exempt from criminal responsibility if whoever collaborates in the escape of a detainee or convicted person is their spouse or person with whom they maintain marital life, or their relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, of the one who has escaped, excepting public officials.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) years the custodian through whose fault the escape of a detainee or a convicted person has occurred. If the escape is due to the fault of the prison warden or another penitentiary official, the imprisonment shall be from three (3) to six (6) years. If the escape is produced through the willful misconduct of the custodian, prison warden or another penitentiary official or employee, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment from four (4) to nine (9) years plus a fine from fifty thousand (L. 50,000.00) to seventy thousand (L. 70,000.00) lempiras, plus special disqualification for double the time that the imprisonment lasts.

Constitutes the crime of smuggling the introduction, extraction or removal from national territory of goods or merchandise of any kind, origin or source through places not authorized or permitted for the performance of such operations, evading in any form the intervention of customs or tax authorities. It also constitutes smuggling the introduction, extraction or removal from national territory of merchandise whose internment, importation, exportation or transit are legally prohibited or limited, except in this last case, that the act is performed in strict compliance with applicable legal norms. For the configuration of smuggling it shall not be necessary to require the concurrence of a fiscal loss.

In accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, the following shall constitute smuggling:

• 1)

  The introduction into national territory, extraction or removal from it, of goods or merchandise of any kind through places where there are no customs or tax offices legally authorized to perform the operation in question;

• 2)

  The introduction into national territory, extraction or removal from it, of goods or merchandise of any kind through places authorized to perform customs operations, on non-business days and hours not authorized by the competent customs authority;

• 3)

  The surreptitious introduction or removal from customs warehouses, general storage warehouses, sites subject to temporary import regimes, industrial processing zones, and in general, from free zones whatever their name or purpose, of goods or merchandise that have not complied with the procedures prescribed in customs legislation and its regulations;

• 4)

  The introduction of goods or merchandise subject to the jurisdiction of a customs office into facilities that have not been designated or authorized by competent authority for the storage of merchandise or in places other than those used for the processing of the customs operation in question or the discovery of goods or merchandise of foreign origin within the primary or secondary zones of the customs offices, without the documents that prove their legal possession, transport, handling or permanence in the country;

• 5)

  The clandestine internment, extraction or removal of goods or merchandise, concealing them in false bottoms or in other goods or merchandise, in the body or in the luggage of persons or by using any other means intended to evade customs control;

• 6)

  The breaking, not authorized by the competent authority, of seals, stamps, marks, doors, containers or other security means of goods or merchandise not intended for the country;

• 7)

  The attempt or simulation that an essential requirement has been fulfilled to perform or perfect a customs operation;

• 8)

  Any action or omission tending to make goods or merchandise introduced temporarily into national territory appear as naturalized;

• 9)

  The unjustified possession of goods or merchandise intended for import or export within the primary or secondary customs zones, without the corresponding documentation or authorization;

• 10)

  The existence of goods or merchandise in means of transport used for delivery or departure from national territory or in commercial establishments or private residences and that cannot prove their import or legitimate acquisition for commercialization;

• 11)

  The unloading or deposit of goods or merchandise in places near land borders in whose vicinity there is no customs office, without having complied with the payment of corresponding taxes;

• 12)

  The loading or unloading of goods or merchandise in general or of provisions, supplies or spare parts intended for use or consumption of the crew of a transport vehicle, without compliance with corresponding legal provisions;

• 13)

  The diversion or total or partial substitution of merchandise of any type of packages or in bulk contained in packages, boxcars, cisterns or any other form in customs operations of import, export, transit, reexportation or transshipment;

• 14)

  The concealment of goods or merchandise in any form and the use of implements, devices or systems that hinder their discovery during the examination and appraisal of the same;

• 15)

  The unauthorized unloading or transshipment of goods or merchandise, aboard a vehicle that is in transit through national territory or that transports them with redestination to another customs office that, according to the manifests or other customs documents, should be in said vehicle; likewise, the transport of goods or merchandise without being manifested or whose ownership does not appear in the respective official documents;

• 16)

  The throwing into national territory or in territorial waters, of goods or merchandise not originating from the country, with the object of evading the intervention of customs authorities;

• 17)

  The internment into national territory or commercialization of foreign goods or merchandise of prohibited traffic, distinct from those regulated by the law against illicit trafficking in narcotics, psychotropic substances and other dangerous drugs, as well as any other type of alcoholic or intoxicating beverages and their containers, cigarettes or tobacco, without the latter having paid corresponding taxes;

• 18)

  Goods or merchandise found outside customs warehouses and not declared in the respective customs policy or single customs declaration (DUA);

• 19)

  To import or commercialize clandestinely firearms, ammunition, explosives and related items, or any other class of goods or merchandise, whose use is dangerous to the security or harmful to the health of persons, without prejudice to what is established in special laws;

• 20)

  To have in one's possession goods or merchandise not originating from the country, in quantities greater than those covered by import, internment or acquisition documents or acquired abroad and that are not for personal use but to transfer or commercialize them without the corresponding legal documentation;

• 21)

  The surreptitious or furtive unloading of foreign merchandise of any kind, from national or foreign vehicles that transported them;

• 22)

  Foreign goods or merchandise found aboard vessels navigating in territorial waters, without being properly documented;

• 23)

  Foreign goods or merchandise found in an aircraft that lands at a place not authorized for international traffic, except force majeure or act of God;

• 24)

  Goods or merchandise confiscated, illicitly retained by depositaries or seizors, when not delivered to the corresponding authority;

• 25)

  When the internment of some vehicle is authorized, by a public official or employee, documents or plates are provided for its circulation, granted registration or flagging or intervened for its registration in the corresponding vehicle registry, if the import has been carried out without complying with the corresponding legal formalities;

• 26)

  To have in one's possession some vehicle of foreign origin, without proving its legal import or permanence in the country or without the prior legal authorization, as the case may be; and,

• 27)

  To transfer or acquire in any capacity, vehicles or machinery imported temporarily.

The crime of smuggling shall be punished:

• 1)

  With imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years when the taxes not paid do not exceed two hundred fifty thousand (L. 250,000.00) lempiras;

• 2)

  With imprisonment of three (3) to nine (9) years, when the taxes not paid exceed four hundred thousand (L. 400,000.00) lempiras plus temporary closure of the commercial establishment for fifteen (15) calendar days;

• 3)

  With imprisonment of three (3) to ten (10) years when the taxes not paid do not exceed eight hundred thousand (L. 800,000.00) lempiras, plus temporary closure of the commercial establishment for thirty (30) calendar days; and,

• 4)

  With imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years when the taxes not paid exceed eight hundred thousand (L. 800,000.00) lempiras; plus temporary closure of the commercial establishment for sixty (60) calendar days. In addition to the penalties stated above, the offenders shall be imposed the penalty of confiscation of the instruments of the crime, evidence, and other effects, as established in Article 55 of the Criminal Code; once confiscation is declared, the goods may be auctioned or allocated to charitable centers in accordance with the law and the proceeds of the sale may be allocated to the improvement of the customs system, except perishable goods that may be auctioned or allocated by donation to public charity before the judgment declaring confiscation is issued.

The crime of tax fraud constitutes any action or omission by means of which the payment of taxes, contributions or fees is evaded, means or documents that originate an undue benefit with damage to the Treasury in an amount equal to or greater than fifty thousand lempiras (L.50,000.00) including sanctions, considering as such the following:

• 1)

  When there is violation or falsification of seals, stamps, marks, seals, padlocks, bills of lading, commercial invoices, certificates of origin, documents or any other security means or when any operation is performed that alters the quality, class, quantity, weight, value and origin of goods or merchandise;

• 2)

  The substitution of temporarily imported merchandise by other goods or merchandise at the moment of its reimportation;

• 3)

  The total or partial reduction of any tax, contribution or similar fee to those arising from any fraudulent operation or transaction;

• 4)

  The improper use of franchises, extensions or fiscal privileges, granted under the protection of tax laws or special laws or existing agreements, by reason of the institutional character of the beneficiary, the position or the exercise of the function performed;

• 5)

  The utilization of goods or merchandise introduced into the country, under the protection of franchises or special regimes or that implies the reduction of tax payment, for purposes or objectives different from those for which the fiscal benefit was granted;

• 6)

  The performance of any commercial act based on documents that cover goods or merchandise, totally or partially exempt from the payment of customs duties, without having complied with customs or legal formalities, as appropriate;

• 7)

  The transfer, in any capacity, of goods or merchandise temporarily imported, when the customs formalities for the definitive nationalization thereof have not been completed;

• 8)

  The transfer, in any capacity, by public officials or employees, of goods or merchandise that have been introduced into the country under the protection of customs franchises, except when such transfers are made in compliance with the law;

• 9)

  The transfer, in any capacity, of goods or merchandise deposited in general storage warehouses or customs deposits, in special customs regimes and associations, cooperatives or other similar establishments that perform or receive duty-free imports;

• 10)

  The improper classification or valuation of imported goods or merchandise, for the purpose of reducing the payment of the respective taxes;

• 11)

  The improper reduction of the value or quantity of goods or merchandise, subject to appraisal by virtue of damages, loss, deterioration or defects;

• 12)

  The fraudulent granting or obtaining of some concession, permit or license to import goods or merchandise, totally or partially free of taxes;

• 13)

  The assessment of goods or merchandise subject to auction with a value lower than the amount of taxes, contributions and fees to be paid;

• 14)

  Maintain two (2) or more accounting systems, records or documentary support in damage to the Treasury;

• 15)

  To conceal, alter or destroy totally or partially the accounting records, as well as the documentation related to accounting entries, before the statute of limitations for compliance with the tax obligation expires;

• 16)

  To attempt or evade the payment of own or third-party taxes, causing or attempting to cause the patrimonial insolvency of oneself or a third party;

• 17)

  The failure of those responsible or withholding agents to retain the corresponding amounts, when such fact is not corrected in the manner provided in Article 184 of the Tax Code;

• 18)

  To exhibit accounting books, records or documentary support contradictory to the data that arise from the statements or from the information in the possession of the Executive Tax Authority (DEI) or that result from investigations or verifications made by it; when the veracity of such facts has been demonstrated;

• 19)

  To omit in the statements or information supplied to the tax authorities, data or information that in any way distort their tax obligations; and,

• 20)

  To conduct operations in clandestine establishments or premises. These shall be understood as those that, being mandatory to declare them or obtain authorization or license from the Executive Tax Authority (DEI), have not done so.

The crime of tax fraud shall be punished in the following manner:

• 1)

  With imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years when the amount defrauded does not exceed one hundred thousand (lps. 100,000.00) lempiras;

• 2)

  With imprisonment of three (3) to nine (9) years when the amount defrauded does not exceed five hundred thousand (lps. 500,000.00) lempiras; and,

• 3)

  With imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years when the amount defrauded exceeds five hundred thousand (lps. 500,000.00) lempiras. In addition to the stated penalties, the penalty of a fine shall be imposed in the amount of fifty percent (50%) of the defrauded value. When the amount of fraud cannot be determined, in addition to the imprisonment penalty, a fine shall be imposed equal to fifty percent (50%) of the estimated value of the taxes omitted in the official determination.

It shall be punished with imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) years whoever improperly takes possession of merchandise found in a fiscal warehouse or subject to inspections and the amount of its value does not exceed ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) lempiras, and from three (3) to six (6) years when the amount exceeds ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) lempiras.

Whoever commits the crime of public instigation to the non-payment or delay of taxes by using any written or spoken means, instigates natural or legal persons not to comply with the obligation to pay taxes, contributions or fees, fines, interest and surcharges in the periods established by national legislation. This crime shall be punished with a sentence of 3 to 6 years imprisonment.

For all purposes of this Code, any natural person who, by legal provision or by appointment of competent authority, participates in the exercise of public functions or performs a public position or employment shall be considered a public official or employee. Municipal mayors and aldermen shall be considered public officials.

Financial Crime. A natural or legal person commits a financial crime through its legal representative, who by action or omission incurs in any of the criminal typifications established in this chapter. For the purposes of this chapter, the National Commission of Banks and Insurance shall be referred to as the Commission, and when referring to Institutions, all those supervised by the Commission in accordance with article six (6) of the Commission Law shall be understood to be included.

Performance of financial intermediation without authorization and irregular capture of public resources. Whoever, without the prior authorization of the competent authority, performs financial intermediation operations, capturing public resources to lend them or give them to another under any legal concept or modality shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years, when the intermediation does not cause damage to third parties; and from six (6) to twelve (12) years when it does.

Provoking or taking advantage of forced liquidation or declaration of the extraordinary capitalization mechanism. The counselors or directors, commissioners, managers, or other persons who participated in any capacity in the direction or administration of a supervised institution declared in forced liquidation or subject to the extraordinary capitalization procedure, shall be punished with imprisonment of twelve (12) to fifteen (15) years if, in the performance of their positions, they executed the acts or incurred in any of the following omissions:

• 1)

  Recognized non-existent debts or favored some creditor, making payments or recognizing guarantees preferred to those to which they were entitled.

• 2)

  Simulated the alienation of the institution's assets with damage to its creditors.

• 3)

  Compromised fiduciary property in own or institutional business or allocated it for purposes other than those established in the respective contract;

• 4)

  To perform any act of administration or dispose of assets in damage to creditors after forced liquidation or the extraordinary capitalization mechanism has been declared;

• 5)

  To make payments to related parties of non-matured obligations during the regularization process or within ninety (90) days prior to the declaration of forced liquidation, in damage to other creditors;

• 6)

  Executed acts aimed at hindering, evading or diverting the effective supervision or inspection of the National Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS), during the twelve (12) months prior to the declaration of forced liquidation;

• 7)

  Paid interest to deposit holders at rates considerably higher than the average current in the market, in similar institutions, or sold assets at prices notably lower than those of the market, or used other malicious mechanisms to provide funds other than for the rescue of the institution or for the benefit of a related party;

• 8)

  Celebrated contracts or other types of agreements in damage to the patrimony of the Institution with natural or legal persons directly related to the ownership of the entity;

• 9)

  To give to funds or resources captured from the public an unauthorized destination, or use them to acquire control of other financial entities or common commercial companies in excess of what is stipulated in related laws;

• 10)

  To have exceeded the legal limits for credit operations with parties related to economic groups, thereby causing patrimonial damage to the institution;

• 11)

  Did not register in the accounting, once administrative channels were exhausted, the adjustment items ordered by the Commission in order to conceal its true financial situation; and,

• 12)

  Use any mechanism, vehicle or procedure to embezzle funds from the institution in damage to depositors or contributors.

Illicit financial operations. Whoever, using any means, for own benefit or that of a third party, takes possession, makes improper use or causes the illicit transfer of money, securities, goods or other rights of a supervised, authorized institution to any natural or legal person, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years when the amount of the benefit does not exceed ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) lempiras, and six (6) to twelve (12) years when it exceeds said amount.

Destruction, concealment, falsification of financial information to obtain credit. Whoever destroys, conceals or falsifies accounting books, corporate books, legal documents, certifications, statements of personal identity, data, records, financial statements, documents whose support is magnetic or electronic or other information of a natural or legal person, with the purpose of obtaining, maintaining or extending a credit facility or capital from a supervised institution shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years when the amount of the benefit obtained does not exceed ten thousand (lps. 10,000.00) lempiras and from six (6) to twelve (12) years when it exceeds said amount.

Concealment of irregularities in financial activity. Whoever destroys, alters, conceals or falsifies accounting books, corporate books, legal documents, certifications, statements, records in general, financial statements, documents whose support is magnetic or electronic or other information or file of a supervised institution, with the purpose of concealing, distorting or maliciously modifying active or passive operations, direct or contingent obligations, illiquidity, insolvency or other factual situations that must be subject to accounting registration or other type of registration, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years.

Granting of credit in excess of legal limits. If for own benefit or that of a related party, directors, counselors, officials or employees of supervised institutions that, directly or indirectly, grant credits, approve and make investments or other financing in excess of the amounts or percentages established by legal regulations, or with concealment of the true identity of the debtor, shall be sanctioned with a penalty of three (3) to six (6) years of imprisonment; and when it has thereby contributed to the occurrence of a cause for forced liquidation or to implement the extraordinary capitalization mechanism, they shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years.

Disclosure or divulgation of confidential information. Whoever discloses or divulges any confidential information about matters communicated to supervised institutions, or that have been dealt with them, or related to the operational or physical security of banks, and those who benefit from it for personal purposes in damage to the institution or third parties, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years. An equal penalty shall be incurred by whoever, without authorization and with the purpose of obtaining own benefit or that of third parties, uses any type of information that is not public knowledge and has been kept secret. The member, official or public employee of the regulatory body or public official who knew confidential information of a supervised institution by reason of their office, discloses or divulges the same causing damage, shall be imposed the same penalty increased by one third (1/3). The disclosure or divulgation of confidential information shall not be considered to be the exchange of information between the National Commission of Banks and Insurance, the Central Bank of Honduras, the Deposit Insurance Fund and supervised institutions or among themselves. Neither shall it be considered disclosure or divulgation of confidential information that related to compliance with the law, judicial orders or information exchange agreements entered into in relation to cross-border supervision and the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism. In the same manner, the exchange of data between financial institutions or credit bureaus shall not be considered divulgation of confidential information, with the object of protecting the veracity and security of credit operations.

I. Improper use of data processing systems. Whoever illegally accesses the data processing systems of supervised institutions, in order to alter, erase, damage, or subtract records, files, or other information of the institution or its clients for their own or another's benefit, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years when the amount defrauded does not exceed ten thousand (L 10,000.00) lempiras, and from six (6) to twelve (12) years when it exceeds said amount. Those who, through any procedure, improperly enter or use the database of a supervised institution to subtract money through electronic transfers from one account to another in the same or different institution shall incur the same penalties. And whoever uses a credit card or debit card of another person to make payments of any nature, falsely representing themselves as the cardholder.

J. Disclosure of false information about supervised institutions. Whoever discloses or allows false information to be disclosed about the financial situation of supervised institutions, thereby endangering their stability, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years. A member or official employed by the regulatory entity who discloses or allows false information to be disclosed shall be imposed the same penalty increased by one-third (1/3).

K. Acts and duties of officials of regulatory entities. Directors, officials, managers, or employees of State bodies that by law must supervise, control, regulate, and authorize the operations of financial system institutions, who through their actions, omissions, or breach of their duties are responsible for one or more of said entities being subjected to forced liquidation or extraordinary capitalization mechanism; or who knowingly allow financial intermediaries, commercial corporations that have not been properly authorized, to be manifested to the public and to operate, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

L. Responsibility of debtors for compliance with credits not guaranteed with mortgages or pledges. The natural person and representatives of legal entities that fraudulently and in order to not comply with credit obligations not guaranteed with pledge or mortgages, conceal their property, rights, or shares by transferring them to third parties, shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) to nine (9) years. Whoever, with the same purpose of not complying with obligations with financial system institutions or in order to defraud them, promotes by themselves, against themselves, or through third parties any type of claim aimed at reducing their payment capacity shall incur the same penalty.

M. Gifts, presents, offerings, or promises. The director, counselor, official, or employee who requests, receives, or accepts, for themselves or through another person, gifts, presents, offerings, or promises, to execute or not execute an act causing damage to the institution in which they provide their services, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

N. Improper offer of unauthorized financial services through mail, telephone, television, or similar media. Whoever, using public or private mail, through commercial postal services, telephone, television, or similar media, offers or enters into contracts for financial services with intent to defraud, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

O. Failure to present and deliver documents. The legal professional who, within thirty (30) calendar days following the date of the declaration of forced liquidation of a supervised institution, or of the requirement made by the liquidator, does not deliver to the latter a report indicating the amount of fees that correspond to them for the work developed to date and the status of the matters entrusted to them, accompanied by all documentation that they have in their possession of the supervised institution in liquidation process, shall be punished with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years without prejudice to delivering the report referred to herein.

P. Crimes against the administration of public and private funds for retirements and pensions and their penalties. Natural and legal persons commit crimes against the administration of public and private funds for retirements and pensions and shall be punished with imprisonment of six (6) to twelve (12) years if they:

• 1)

  Carry out operations exclusive to retirement and pension fund administrators, such as collection of contributions without being authorized as such, regardless of their name and accounting record, violating the respective law;

• 2)

  Approve, directly or indirectly, investments of a pension fund or reserves exceeding the amounts or percentages established by law, also in its regulations or other norms issued by the National Banking and Insurance Commission for such purposes, or when they promote the concealment of the true identity of the debtor for their own benefit or that of a related party;

• 3)

  Take possession, make improper use, or cause the illicit transfer of money, securities, property, information, or other assets and rights of the fund or reserves; destroy, conceal, or falsify accounting books, corporate books, legal documents, certifications, proofs, or other accounting records, financial statements, or other information of a retirement or pension fund administrator that such entities administer, for the purpose of concealing active or passive operations, direct or contingent obligations, liquidity, insolvency, or other situations that should be subject to accounting or other type of registration; and 4) Approve, directly or indirectly, investments of the fund or reserves, generating for themselves or for related parties, commissions that are not in favor of affiliates. 5) If the crime is committed by a qualified person in the matter, a director or counselor, commissioner, manager or administrator, adviser, official, employee, or external auditor of the natural or legal person that receives the credit, capital facility, or patrimonial damage, the penalty of imprisonment set forth in this article shall be increased by one-third (1/3).

Q. Fine penalty to be imposed on those guilty of crimes contained in this decree. The person guilty of financial crimes and those in administration of public and private funds for retirements and pensions referred to in the preceding articles of this title shall be imposed, in addition to the penalty of imprisonment, a fine for the amount of what was defrauded or the damage caused. When the crime is committed in representation of a legal person, in addition to the penalty imposed on the responsible party in accordance with article 34-A of Decree No. 191-96, dated October 31, 1996, the legal person shall be imposed the penalty of suspension of the exercise of corporate activity from six (6) months to two (2) years. In financial crimes, the legal person shall be imposed the penalty of permanent prohibition to carry out the activities in whose exercise the crime was committed, without prejudice to the provisions of the cited article of Decree 191-96 dated October 31, 1996, regarding the responsibility of natural persons who represent them.

The provisions contained in book one of this Code are applicable to misdemeanors, as pertinent, with the following modifications:

• 1)

  Only misdemeanors committed in national territory are punishable;

• 2)

  Only consummated misdemeanors are punished;

• 3)

  Only the perpetrators are responsible for misdemeanors;

• 4)

  The conditional suspension of sentence shall be applicable to imprisonment imposed for misdemeanors, during a probation period of two (2) years;

• 5)

  The security measures established in article 83 of this Code may be applied to the perpetrators of misdemeanors, but in no case shall it exceed one (1) year;

• 6)

  Recidivism in misdemeanors cannot be considered after one (1) year has elapsed from the date of the convicting judgment;

• 7)

  The seizure of instruments and effects of misdemeanors shall be decreed by the courts at their prudent discretion according to circumstances.

The judge may exempt the penalty in the judgment against anyone who commits a misdemeanor for the first time, when due to the mildness of the act, the determining motives, and the minimal dangerousness of the subject, there is probability that they will not commit crimes again; without prejudice to the civil liability that corresponds.

Shall be punished with imprisonment of thirty (30) to ninety (90) days:

• 1)

  Whoever causes to another injuries that produce illness or incapacity for work for up to ten (10) days;

• 2)

  Whoever, finding abandoned or lost a minor under twelve (12) years of age, does not notify their family or authority, or fails to take them to a safe place within forty-eight (48) hours following the discovery;

• 3)

  Whoever in a tumultuous quarrel has exercised any violence against the offended person, provided that they have not been inflicted more injuries than those mentioned in the first number of this article, and it is not clear who was the perpetrator;

• 4)

  Parents of families or legal guardians whose powers permit it, who do not provide the necessary means to give education to their children while they are minors.

They shall incur the penalty set forth in the preceding article, if the act is not covered by book two of this Code:

• 1)

  Whoever does not aid or assist a person they find in an unpopulated area, wounded or in danger of perishing, when they could do so without risk or detriment to themselves;

• 2)

  Whoever, by word, in the impulse of anger, threatens another with causing them harm that constitutes a crime, and through their subsequent acts demonstrates that they do not persist in the idea signified by their threat;

• 3)

  Whoever causes to another coercion or unjust vexation;

• 4)

  Spouses who scandalize with their domestic dissensions. What is said of spouses applies to man and woman who live a marital life.

• 5)

  Whoever threatens another with a weapon, or draws it in a quarrel except in self-defense.

Shall suffer imprisonment of fifteen (15) to sixty (60) days:

• 1)

  Whoever causes injuries that do not prevent the offended party from dedicating themselves to their habitual work;

• 2)

  Whoever mistreats their spouse or the woman with whom they make marital life, when it does not produce injury;

• 3)

  Whoever throws stones at a person or hurls objects or substances at them without causing damage;

• 4)

  Whoever assaults a pregnant woman, without causing damage, when the pregnancy is notorious or the perpetrator is aware of their condition;

• 5)

  Whoever hits or mistreats in fact a person without causing injury;

• 6)

  Whoever by word threatens another with causing them harm that does not constitute a crime;

• 7)

  Parents or guardians who exceed in the correction of their children or wards, provided they do not cause them injuries;

• 8)

  Guardians who abandon their wards exposing them to corruption or not providing them assistance and education.

Shall be punished with imprisonment of ten (10) to thirty (30) days:

• 1)

  The woman who mistreats in fact or by word her husband or marital life partner, without causing injury;

• 2)

  Whoever causes themselves to be accompanied by minors under eighteen (18) years of age in vagrancy or begging, or has them work in violation of labor laws;

• 3)

  Whoever insults another mildly, if claimed by the offended party, whose pardon shall extinguish the penalty. Articles 159 and 163 are applicable in their case;

• 4)

  Whoever, required by another or others to prevent harm, fails to provide the assistance requested, if no damage is to result.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of thirty (30) to ninety (90) days:

• 1)

  Whoever commits theft of movable property whose value does not exceed ten (L.10.00) lempiras.

• 2)

  The perpetrator of fraud that causes property damage not exceeding ten (L.10.00) lempiras.

• 3)

  Whoever, having found lost property, does not deliver it to the authority or to its owner if known, and appropriates it with intent to profit, when its value does not exceed ten lempiras (L.10.00);

• 4)

  Whoever for interest or profit interprets dreams, makes forecasts or divinations, or abuses the credulity of the public in a similar manner;

• 5)

  Whoever fraudulently obtains a service or benefit knowing that they cannot pay for it, if its value does not exceed ten lempiras (L.10.00);

• 6)

  Whoever acquires objects of suspicious origin, purchased from a minor or from a person presumed not to be the legitimate owner;

• 7)

  Whoever destroys, damages, or harms property of another causing damage not exceeding ten lempiras (L.10.00).

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of one (1) to twenty (20) days:

• 1)

  Whoever enters another's field or property to gather fruit and eat it immediately;

• 2)

  Whoever in the same manner gathers fruit, honey, and other forest products to feed immediately to pack animals or livestock, if the value does not exceed ten lempiras (L.10.00);

• 3)

  Whoever without the owner's permission enters another's field or property before the harvests have been completely gathered, to benefit from gleaning and other remains thereof;

• 4)

  Whoever enters enclosed property if the prohibition to enter is manifest;

• 5)

  Whoever enters to hunt or fish in enclosed property or protected land without the owner's permission;

• 6)

  Whoever for any reason or pretext crosses planted fields or crops without the owner's permission;

• 7)

  Whoever, driving vehicles of any kind, pack animals or harmful animals, commits any of the offenses provided in the two preceding subsections, if by reason of the damage deserves no greater penalty;

• 8)

  Whoever destroys or tears down hut, shelter, hedges, fences, palisades or other protections of properties, if the act does not deserve greater penalty;

• 9)

  Whoever causes damage by throwing stones, materials or projectiles of any kind, if the act does not deserve greater penalty;

Shall be sanctioned with a fine of five hundred (L. 500.00) to nine hundred (L. 900.00) lempiras, the owner of livestock that enters another's enclosed field or property and causes damage. If they cause no damage, the fine shall be two hundred (L. 200.00) to five hundred (lps. 500.00) lempiras.

If the livestock were introduced on purpose, or by abandonment or negligence of the owners or those in charge, in addition to paying the fine last mentioned, they shall suffer in their respective cases, imprisonment of thirty (30) to ninety (90) days, unless the act constitutes a crime.

Shall be sanctioned with the penalty of imprisonment of thirty (30) to ninety (90) days whoever commits arson of any kind not penalized in Book Two of this Code.

Shall be sanctioned with a fine of one hundred (L. 100.00) to four hundred lempiras (L. 400.00): 1) Whoever violates regulations or ordinances on burning of crop residue or forest goods or products; and, 2) Whoever violates ordinances on hunting and fishing.

Whoever causes damage whose value does not exceed five hundred (L. 500.00) lempiras shall be sanctioned with a fine equal to double the respective value. If the perpetrator of the damage removes or uses the objects or fruits of the damage caused, in addition to the fine provided in the preceding paragraph shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of twenty (20) to thirty (30) days.

Repealed.

Whoever, by taking advantage of water belonging to another or diverting it from its course, causes damage whose amount does not exceed ten lempiras (L.10.00), shall incur imprisonment of five (5) to twenty (20) days.

Whoever intentionally, through negligence or carelessness causes any damage not penalized in this book nor in the preceding one, shall be punished with a fine of one hundred (L.100.00) to two hundred (L. 200.00) lempiras.

Shall be punished with imprisonment of sixty (60) to ninety (90) days and a fine of seven hundred (lps. 700.00) to one thousand (lps. 1,000.00) lempiras:

• 1)

  Whoever offends public decency;

• 2)

  Whoever exhibits themselves naked offending public decency;

• 3)

  Whoever becomes intoxicated and because of this creates a scandal or endangers their own safety or that of others. If the intoxication is habitual, the judge may apply the security measure deemed appropriate; and,

• 4)

  Whoever in public places addresses a woman in an obscene manner or with disrespectful phrases or propositions; or bothers her with facts or attitudes offensive to decency.

See Forest Crimes, Protected Areas and Wildlife, Page No.169. Decree No.98-2007 of September 19, 2007, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 31,544 of February 26, 2008. Effective as of March 17, 2008.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of ten (10) to thirty (30) days:

• 1)

  Whoever fails to fulfill responsibility over persons that the law has placed under their surveillance.

• 2)

  Whoever having received in good faith false currency and after becoming aware of its falseness circulates it in an amount not exceeding ten (L.10.00) lempiras.

• 3)

  The owners or managers of establishments that sell or serve adulterated beverages or food items, harmful to health, or do not observe in the use and preservation of utensils intended for service, the established rules or customary precautions when the act does not constitute a crime.

• 4)

  Those who violate the sanitary provisions dictated by authorities regarding the transportation of corpses and burials, in cases not provided for in Book Two of this Code.

• 5)

  Those who, through acts that do not constitute a crime, desecrate corpses, cemeteries or places of burial.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of sixty (60) to ninety (90) days or a fine of eight hundred to one thousand lempiras, the physician or medical student, dentist or dental student, pharmacist or chemistry and pharmacy student, paramedic, nurse or midwife who, having provided assistance to a person regarding whom it may be suspected that they have participated in the commission of a crime, does not immediately report to the competent authority.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of sixty (60) to ninety (90) days and a fine of eight hundred (L.800.00) to one thousand (L.1,000.00) lempiras, whoever violates the regulations or ordinances of the authority regarding the elaboration and custody of flammable or corrosive materials, or chemical products that may cause devastation.

In the manner provided in the preceding article shall be sanctioned:

• 1)

  In violation of the orders of the authority, failing to carry out the repair or demolition of ruinous, insanitary or unsightly buildings;

• 2)

  Throwing into the street or public place water, stones or other objects that could cause damage to persons or things, if the fact is not subject to a greater penalty in the preceding book;

• 3)

  Having left debris, materials or other objects, or made holes or excavations in a place of public transit, fails to place signs, protective barriers or does not alert passersby about the existence of the danger;

• 4)

  On balconies, windows, parapets or other exterior points of buildings places or suspends objects that, in case of falling, could cause damage to passersby or neighbors;

• 5)

  In violation of the provisions of transit or police conducts livestock or vehicles of any kind in places where there is a concentration of persons; and,

• 6)

  Whoever drives or leaves on the public road a draft animal, pack animal or racing animal, or any other animal, without having taken sufficient precautions to prevent it from causing damage.

Shall incur imprisonment of sixty (60) to ninety (90) days and a fine of eight hundred (L.800.00) to one thousand (L.1,000.00) lempiras whoever: 1) Spreads false news from which some danger to public order or damage to the interests or credit of the State could result, if the fact does not warrant a greater penalty; and, 2) Without committing a crime publicly incites disobedience of the laws or constituted authorities, makes apology of actions or omissions constitutive of crime or offends morality, good customs or public decency.

Whoever causes damage or deterioration to streets, parks, gardens or walks, to public lighting, aqueducts or sewers, to telephone or telegraph services, to bridges or other infrastructure works, damages or steals road signs or objects of ornament, artistic works, historical monuments, archaeological or of public utility or recreation, even when belonging to private individuals, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of sixty (60) to ninety (90) days and a fine of eight hundred (L.800.00) to one thousand (L.1,000.00) lempiras, if the fact by its severity does not constitute a crime.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of sixty (60) to ninety (90) days and a fine of eight hundred (L.800.00) to one thousand (L.1,000.00) lempiras whoever: 1) By words, shouts, loud or repeated whistles or by means of sound instruments or in any other manner disturbs public order, the normal functioning of a court of justice or other state office or the peaceful development of a meeting or demonstration or other similar public act, if the fact by its severity does not constitute a crime; and, 2) Announces non-existent disasters, accidents or dangers and thereby causes public alarm.

Shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of sixty (60) to ninety (90) days and a fine of eight hundred (L.800.00) to one thousand (L.1,000.00) lempiras whoever:

• 1)

  By means of prints or engravings or in any other manner offends morality and good customs;

• 2)

  Fails in the respect and consideration due to a public authority or fails to comply with a legally issued ruling for reasons of justice, public security, public order or hygiene;

• 3)

  Offends or disobeys agents of the authority when acting in the exercise of their functions;

• 4)

  Fails to render to the public authority the assistance it requests in case of crime, fire, shipwreck, accident, flood or other calamity, being able to do so without damage or personal risk;

• 5)

  By means of noise or commotion or by means of sound instruments or acoustic signals, disturbs the occupations or rest of persons; and,

• 6)

  In a public place or open to the public or by means of telephone, doorbells or other sound means by impertinence or for any other reprehensible reason, causes annoyance or displeasure to a person. The provisions of this article shall not apply if by its severity the fact is constitutive of a crime.

In the same penalty as that established in the preceding article, shall incur whoever conceals his true name, status or domicile from the authority or official who asks for them by reason of their office.

In the same sanction of article 413, shall incur whoever exercises without a title acts of a profession that requires it, when the fact is not subject to a greater penalty in this Code or in other laws.

If in accordance with this Code the acts that are being tried or on which no sentence has been rendered do not constitute a crime or misdemeanor, the courts shall issue a dismissal or the imposed penalty shall cease to be executed.

The penalties of imprisonment, relegation, confinement and banishment applied in accordance with the Criminal Code of 1906, other codes and other special laws, shall be replaced by imprisonment without any modification with respect to the duration thereof, except that the sanctions contemplated in this Code are more lenient, in which case these shall be applicable, likewise, the penalty of suspension shall be converted ex officio into special disqualification.

The institutions of "Conditional Suspension of Execution of Penalty" and "Conditional Liberty" shall be applicable to those who have been convicted under previous laws.