Agreement-Attorney General's Office-006-2022

The Protocol of Action of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights is approved to standardize the actions in the services provided by the Public Ministry at the national level through the aforementioned fiscal office, strengthening the investigation process, respecting human rights, unifying the criteria for fiscal action and that of its auxiliary bodies in the implementation of measures for protection and prioritized treatment of the victim, guaranteeing that investigations of these cases are carried out with due diligence and effectiveness; allowing with said protocol, to objectively measure the performance of prosecutors assigned to the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights. "Protocol of Action of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights 1. Introduction: The State's Duty to Investigate (Competence of the FEDH) The Public Ministry initiates a process of institutional strengthening with the implementation of the Results-Based Fiscal Management Model, in which the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights (FEDH) is benefited through its sections to define and unify the different internal processes that allow for effective criminal investigation and prosecution, considerably reducing impunity indices related to serious violations of human rights; and thus guarantee victims effective access to justice. The Honduran State, by ratifying various international human rights instruments and the Rome Statute, assumes before the international community the commitment to adopt within the scope of its jurisdiction all legislative, administrative, judicial or other effective measures necessary to prevent, punish and eradicate acts of torture, as well as other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity and discrimination. As well as ensuring that the competent authorities proceed ex officio to conduct a prompt and impartial investigation and initiate, when appropriate, prosecution of persons with respect to whom it is presumed that they have committed such crimes and apply the penalties provided in national legislation in consideration of the gravity of these acts. Furthermore, in these treaties it is stipulated that once the remedies provided for in the internal legal system have been exhausted, the case may be submitted to the corresponding international bodies. We must bear in mind that international human rights law has as its principle the recognition of the person as the center and reason for being of States, who have the position of guarantors in the protection of universal rights that every human being possesses without distinction of race, creed or any other condition in any territory where they may be found, with public officials being the principal agents of protection of these rights. For its part, the United Nations Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors state that: "Prosecutors shall pay due attention to the prosecution of public officials who have committed crimes, especially in cases of corruption, abuse of power, serious violations of human rights and other crimes recognized by international law and, when authorized by the laws or in accordance with local practice, to the investigation of such crimes". Furthermore, within the scope of their competence, prosecutors and investigators must carry out their functions with impartiality and promptness, respect and protect human dignity and defend Human Rights thereby contributing to ensuring due process and the proper functioning of the judicial system. It falls to the Public Ministry to exercise the public criminal action (art. 25 CPP), as the institution responsible for organizing and conducting the investigation and criminal prosecution of serious violations of human rights constituting criminal conduct through the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights, either ex officio or through the receipt of complaints, shall elaborate a strategic investigation plan, provide guidance to the police in the investigation phase, request reports from other State agencies on the facts under investigation, interview and guarantee the protection of victims and witnesses, prepare the case for judicialization and assist in the respective hearings and oral and public trial so that those responsible for crimes of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity and discrimination are sanctioned in accordance with current criminal legislation. The obligation to investigate serious violations of human rights is one of the elementary duties of the Honduran State to guarantee their effective protection. Criminal investigation makes it possible to clarify the circumstances in which the facts that generate State responsibility occurred, constituting a necessary step for victims, their families and society to know the truth, as well as the punishment of those responsible and the establishment of measures to prevent the repetition of violations of human rights. Within this context, the scope of competence of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights was updated with the objective of outlining a criminal prosecution policy focused solely on the investigation of facts that constitute serious violations of human rights in accordance with what is established by international conventionality and domestic law. For all of the foregoing, the Protocol of Action of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights has been elaborated within the framework of the Results-Based Management Model so that the human rights prosecutors of the Public Ministry adjust their actions to the guidelines established therein, being an instrument that contains an approach of respect for human rights and constitutional guarantees of victims and defendants, with the objective of providing an eminently practical tool with basic and necessary elements for the conduct of effective and efficient criminal investigation and prosecution. The Protocol is structured as follows: in the first part, the general aspects are established that relate to the objectives, scope of application and guiding principles of fiscal action in the investigation and criminal prosecution of crimes against human rights; then we will find that it addresses fiscal activity both in the investigation stage and its strategic planning and in the judicialization of cases. Included as annexes are some normative texts that establish international standards for the effective investigation and documentation of crimes of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and forced disappearances; as well as different formats and matrices containing concrete guidance and directives for the elaboration and compliance with a strategic investigation plan, directed at clarifying the facts and obtaining evidentiary elements that make it possible to objectively determine the exercise of criminal action by human rights prosecutors of the Public Ministry. Finally, you will find the list of references of institutional manuals and normative texts that were consulted for the preparation of this Protocol. 2. Objectives of the Protocol The present protocol has as its main objectives the following: a) To establish standardized actions and processes based on legality and respect for human rights, so that the FEDH implements strategic planning in its investigative and criminal prosecution activities. b) To define the principles and general procedures of action of special prosecutors for human rights in the investigation and criminal prosecution of crimes of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity and discrimination in accordance with international human rights standards and internal legislation. c) To unify criteria for fiscal action and its auxiliary bodies in the implementation of measures for protection and prioritized treatment of the victim, guaranteeing that investigations of these cases will be treated with due diligence and effectiveness. d) To guide the functions that must be performed by FEDH prosecutors to operationalize priorities in the performance of investigative acts and criminal prosecution that make it possible to define clear, concrete and specific objectives that ensure an efficient, serious, thorough and impartial investigation to guarantee access to justice by victims. e) To determine strategies, mechanisms and investigation directives that allow compliance with short, medium and long-term goals within a strategic planning directed at reducing impunity with the human rights perspective required in the criminal prosecution of crimes within its scope of competence. 3. Scope of Application of the Protocol All prosecutors assigned to the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights at the National level must comply with and ensure compliance with this protocol. It is the responsibility of immediate supervisors to ensure that personnel under their charge know and comply with its content. 4. Definitions For purposes of this Protocol, the following terms shall be understood as: a) Human rights: the set of universal values and principles that all persons possess for the simple reason of being human beings. b) Serious violation of human rights: those acts in which there is a possible participation or involvement of public servants (or private parties with knowledge, tolerance or acquiescence of the State), whether by action or omission, and human rights are put at risk or violated in a relevant manner (individual, economic, social or cultural), taking into account the context and the profile of the victim or perpetrators. These serious violations may also occur repeatedly, massively or systematically against one or more persons, regardless of the prior legal classification of the facts, including that of organized crime. c) Respect for human dignity: Prosecutors who know of crimes that constitute serious violations of human rights shall act in absolute respect for fundamental rights, guaranteeing, both in the investigative and judicial stages, the application and interpretation of the norm in the manner most favorable to the person. 5. Guiding Principles of Investigation and Criminal Prosecution of Serious Violations of Human Rights. The human rights prosecutors of the Public Ministry, in the exercise of their functions before the knowledge of criminal facts that fall within their scope of competence must keep in mind, in addition to respect for the principle of human dignity and equality and the due process guarantees established in the Constitution, international treaties on human rights ratified by the Honduran State and in the Criminal Procedure Code, the following principles: 5.1. Respect for the Rights of the Victim and Non-Revictimization One of the fundamental principles for the criminal prosecution of violations of human rights refers to the recognition and guarantee of victims' rights as a mechanism for the legitimacy of the criminal justice system, such as: the right of access to justice; protection of their life and physical integrity when in danger as a result of their participation in the criminal process; dignified reparation for the damage caused by the crime; care by specialists to address the physical and psychological consequences of the crime; and provide guarantees of non-repetition of these acts. Fiscal agents and personnel who have direct contact with victims of serious violations of their human rights shall be trained to provide direct and personalized attention to avoid their revictimization. 5.2. Vulnerable Groups Approach Although the principle exists that the victim should have a leading role in the criminal process, it must be borne in mind that within the set of victims there are some with greater vulnerability, such as women due to their gender condition; and persons belonging to diversity groups (LGBTI), who due to their sexual orientation suffer discrimination in different areas, and even have to endure secondary victimization within police, prison, forensic and judicial institutions. Due to this condition, it is important that the Public Ministry develop knowledge and skills so that agents of the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights can support these victims as vulnerable sectors. 5.3. Approach of Conventionality Prosecutors within their scope of competence shall have the obligation to promote, respect, protect and guarantee the validity of human rights. The requirement for compliance with human rights before international justice has made it possible to develop a normative framework applicable in internal legislation, as well as important jurisprudence, which is enforceable and applicable before local judicial bodies; therefore, it is fundamental that FEDH prosecutors are familiar with this normative framework of international treaties and their jurisprudence at the time of criminal investigation and litigation of cases related to serious violations of human rights. 5.4. Due Diligence It should be understood as the obligation of prosecutors to attend with agility, reasonable care and quality the facts reported in order to opportunely guide the investigation in an autonomous, independent, immediate, impartial, effective manner; and conducted with thoroughness and compliance with constitutional rights. 5.5. Specialization in Police Investigation The investigation and criminal prosecution of serious violations of human rights entails a level of risk for the sectors and institutions involved: victims, human rights organizations, witnesses, prosecutors and judges because the main subjects involved as direct or indirect perpetrators belong to the security forces or to sectors of economic and political power with great influence within power structures; Therefore, it is key to the success of investigations to have the support of a specialized police investigation team in human rights that can guarantee professionalism and safety so that the technical-legal guidelines for investigation are carried out in a timely and appropriate manner, without putting at risk victims, witnesses, prosecutors and judicial officials. 5.6. Confidentiality Fiscal agents of human rights as servants and officials of the Public Ministry may not disclose under any circumstances information about matters they are handling, except when such information is requested by someone in the hierarchical chain of command or when they have the proper authorization from the Prosecutor General of the Republic. All information of the Public Ministry is subject to the limitations contained in articles 275 and 278 of the Criminal Procedure Code; article 7 of the Law of the Public Ministry and what is contemplated in Agreement FGR-07-2918 on Classification of Reserved Information of the Public Ministry. 1.7. Access to Information The agents of human rights prosecutors shall guarantee access to information in a responsible manner, and only to affected persons and those with legal interest in the case, provided that the development of the investigation is not affected. Within the justice system, victims -direct or indirect- have the right to receive quality service, characterized by constant communication and their permanent assistance, which facilitates their right of intervention and information both in the investigation stage and in the criminal process to mitigate secondary victimization. 1.8. Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of Investigation Criminal investigation of serious violations of human rights constituting crimes will require a strategic plan of technical-scientific investigation -as a principle of criminal prosecution- that serves as a guide to prosecutors and police who participate in the investigative process, which must contain the description of the facts to be investigated, a preliminary hypothesis that serves as the basis for testing the objectives, results and actions of concrete investigations in accordance with the investigation agenda aimed at proving the hypothesis raised. Once the hypothesis is proven, the litigation strategy will be established. In such a way that as the investigation plan is executed, monitoring and evaluation thereof must be carried out. 6. Due Diligence in the Investigative Stage The obligation to investigate serious violations of human rights is one of the elementary duties of the State to guarantee the effective protection of fundamental rights recognized in the Constitution and in the conventions and international treaties ratified by Honduras. This obligation has special relevance in cases of forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, torture and other serious violations of human rights in which an investigation without delay, serious, impartial and effective and in accordance with the requirements of due process is considered a fundamental and conditioning element for the protection of fundamental rights such as: dignity, freedom, personal integrity and life, especially if there is a context of systematic violation of human rights. Therefore, investigative and criminal prosecution acts should be aimed at clarifying the circumstances in which the facts occurred, at establishing measures for protection and care of the victim, as well as the punishment of those responsible in accordance with current criminal legislation. 6.1. The Criminal Notice and Fiscal Action in the Preliminary Investigation In this section, the aim is to provide prosecutors with a useful instrument that allows them to gather elementary and necessary information from the moment they have knowledge of a criminal notice -obtained through formal and non-formal sources- they should proceed to carry out investigative acts that make it possible to determine the occurrence of the fact, the identification of the victim and of those possibly responsible in accordance with what is established in articles 272, 273 and 279 CPP. Formal sources of the criminal notice are the complaint or any other means of official origin, such as police reports or from any other authority that had knowledge of the occurrence of the fact (articles 268 and 269 CPP). As for non-formal sources, we have that knowledge of the fact may originate from information obtained through telephone calls, news broadcast by media, informants, email. 6.2. Receipt of the Complaint The complaint is a verbal or written statement that can be made by any person who witnesses or has direct knowledge of the commission or perpetration of a crime or misdemeanor, including the victim or their legal representative (art. 268 CPP) that allegedly constitute criminal conduct. The official receiving the complaint shall inform the complainant of the criminal liability provided for in article 271 CPP for presenting a false complaint, as well as their right to have their identity kept in reserve if they so wish. When it is in written form, prosecutors shall read the complaint to the victim so that they may ratify, approve, sign or affix their digital fingerprint, and ensure that they understand what they are signing. This is done in order to correct errors, omissions of the victim in their interview. In case the complainant cannot read or write, it must be ensured that they understand the content of the document where they affix their digital fingerprint or signature. The interviewer shall also sign, and must identify themselves with their respective credential. Once a complaint is received regarding a fact related to a serious violation of human rights, actions of inquiry and investigation shall be carried out to establish whether the reported conduct has criminal relevance for being constitutive of a crime within the scope of competence of the FEDH, to decide whether or not to issue the order requiring investigation and, in its case, the preparation of the Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI). Now, from the moment the complaint is registered, an investigation process begins, which must be carried out with due diligence (art. 267 CPP). Being clear that the complainant does not have to provide any proof of their complaint; however, it is pertinent and of great utility if at the moment of its receipt some indication or information can be obtained that facilitates verification of the veracity of the reported facts, that is, there must be a reasoned probability of the commission of a crime and therefore, it must be understood that the authority must gather sufficient evidentiary elements to consider that the person who is to be investigated may be responsible for the fact being investigated. If the complainant provides evidentiary elements, they shall be received initiating the Chain of Custody. The requirement of reasoned probability requires the development of minimal investigative activity that makes it possible to verify the initial indication against the defendant, especially when the indication is solely the complaint raised by the victim. As part of the actions to be carried out, the victim of the crime and witnesses to the fact shall be interviewed, which shall be conducted by the Prosecutor, the Fiscal Assistant, or investigator, whose mission shall be to obtain information that makes it possible to reconstruct the history of the illicit act. When the criminal notice is received through non-formal sources, the official receiving the information shall complete the complaint opening format for non-formal sources (Annex 1.); subsequently, investigation and analysis work must be initiated to verify the facts. Prosecutors may also raise a complaint ex officio when they have knowledge by any means of communication of the commission of a crime or in cases of flagrancy. It is not necessary that it be directed against a specific person, although if there were any suspect, they should specify it. Given the transcendence of the legal right affected in crimes of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity, war crimes and discrimination, it is not necessary that there be action on the part of the victims or their relatives to initiate or continue investigative acts on the basis of the principle of ex officio investigation. 6.3. Registration of the Complaint in SIGEFI The criminal notice in its different modalities shall be entered through complaint reception offices, such as the Complaint Reception Module (MRD), Integrated Citizen Service Centers, MAIE (Specialized Comprehensive Care Module) and others. The Units for Immediate Response to Complaints (URID) or the agency designated by the Prosecutor shall attend to cases in flagrancy when appropriate, otherwise the complaint shall be referred to the on-duty prosecution office so that it may instruct the department, section or analogous unit competent according to the crime, by means of the respective order requiring investigation. After receiving the complaint, the criminal investigation official shall prepare the report in the established format for this purpose, which contains the requirements for its content and shall be inserted into the "NACMIS", "SIGEFI" system or the tool that will be developed for this purpose. Once the complaint is registered in the system, delivery of a copy to the complainant must be guaranteed. 6.4. Diligences, Investigative Acts and Immediate Actions Once the complaint is registered, acts of inquiry and investigation begin to verify the criminal notice through the preparation and compliance with an investigation plan. To prevent the loss or degradation of evidentiary material derived from the scene of the discovery on the victim's body, investigators must immediately perform all urgent acts such as inspection at the crime scene, physical evaluation of the victim or inspection of the body, interviews and interrogations (Art. 203 CPP). In accordance with the legal requirements established in the Criminal Procedure Code and institutional protocols for urgent acts and preliminary diligences, it is essential that investigators (forensic technicians and medical examiners) identify, collect and technically package the elements of evidentiary material and physical evidence, and also record in writing, magnetic or phonetic recording the interviews and interrogations that are conducted with strict respect to what is provided in article 88 of the Constitution. The collection of all evidence, including that taken by electronic means (video cameras, cell phones, tablets among others), must be subjected in a rigorous manner to the proper chain of custody. In the development of urgent actions and preliminary diligences, meetings must be held at 24 hours of knowledge of the criminal notice between prosecutors, analysts and investigators to evaluate investigation progress under the coordination of the on-duty prosecutor. It is fundamental that in the first investigative actions all information related to facts that preceded, were concomitant with, or were subsequent to the criminal fact can be recovered, such as the registration of reports of prior violence before police, administrative or judicial authorities; recordings from security cameras at places where the victim or perpetrator is located, vehicle parking, shopping centers, public parks; findings on manipulation, disproportionate use of force or arbitrary interference and the violation of the dignity, integrity, freedom or life of the victim. Subsequently, meetings must be held at 72 hours to evaluate new progress. Once the initial information has been analyzed and where there are reasons to determine the existence of criminally relevant facts, having a case to investigate; therefore, the on-duty prosecutor must refer the case to the corresponding section and a prosecutor must be assigned and the work team formed to jointly develop the task of formulating a case hypothesis and proceeding to the preparation of the Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI) that allows for effective criminal investigation, work that implies setting concrete and specific goals that ensure a result, determining strategies and establishing investigation directives that allow the assigned prosecutor in the corresponding section to assume the direction, coordination and control in an effective and efficient manner - the investigation. 6.5. Case Assignment to a Prosecutor and Formation of the Work Team The nature of the crimes that fall within the scope of competence of the FEDH of the Public Ministry, their violent modalities and the way in which the criminal notice is produced, in accordance with the high social impact of the crimes, which relate to serious violations of human rights -in some cases in a generalized and systematic manner- a work team shall be formed (prosecutors, police, forensic personnel among others) responsible for guiding in the initial phase the preliminary investigation acts (article 272 and s.s of the CPP) and the investigation objectives that allow them to plan what is going to be done, how, with whom, with what resources based on the analysis of the information provided by the criminal notice, making a provisional legal classification of the facts. Team work must have the following characteristics: • Respect and trust must prevail among team members regardless of the institution they belong to. • There must be a good channel of oral and immediate communication. • Respect the division of functions that exists between the prosecutor (coordination and direction) and the police investigator (operative and technical investigation). Within the team work, each member must perform the role that corresponds to them, the prosecutor as a legal advisor to the investigation is responsible for the legality, pertinence, suitability and demonstrative force of the evidentiary means. Support staff: investigator and experts shall perform field, technical-scientific and operative investigative work aimed at obtaining evidentiary means that demonstrate the existence of a crime and its alleged perpetrator. To avoid conflicts of competence, contamination of the scene and alteration of physical evidence and other evidentiary material, it is recommended to implement the different institutional manuals and action protocols, in order to facilitate the work of prosecutors, especially in initial actions and immediate investigation acts. In the initial or preliminary hypothesis (Annex 3.), the work plan and lines of investigation must consider the human rights approach for the investigation of facts in accordance with the scope of competence of the FEDH. This hypothesis may be proven or not according to the results of the investigation. The heads of department, section or analogous units shall supervise the preparation and compliance with this instrument. As we can see, in the flowchart on the transfer of the complaint to the FEDH, which is found below, the cycle of effective criminal investigation begins with the criminal notice or information from the case, that is, the primary indications provided by the information contained in or arising from any of the forms of the criminal notice or from other initial investigation acts that require the integration of a work team for the conduct of the preliminary investigation that concludes with the assignment of the case to a human rights prosecutor. 6.6. Referrals or Dismissal of Complaint The complexity of the reported facts could generate a certain degree of difficulty in classifying them; that is, framing them within one or several criminal figures. However, given that in the preliminary investigation phase a provisional legal classification is handled, it is essential to conduct a thorough analysis in order to be as accurate as possible with the classification of facts; and although the classification may ultimately vary, it is the approach or development of each of the elements of the criminal type that will define success in the investigation or, conversely, lead to the dismissal of the complaint and send the case to the archive in accordance with what is established in the Special Regulations on Organization and Functioning of the General Prosecution Office. For the administrative control of fiscal action in the preliminary investigation phase, an Initial Instructions Guide is proposed, which is found in Annex 2 of this protocol. It should be borne in mind that the preparation of this format should not be confused with the registration of actions in the Fiscal Management System (SIGEFI) and the Police's own records; although ideally this format should be part of SIGEFI. 7. Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI) Applied to Criminal Investigation The Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI) is a tool for planning, direction and control of the investigation, prepared jointly by the prosecutor and their team of investigators, with clear, concrete, measurable, verifiable and achievable objectives by investigators and technicians, in accordance with available resources, in relation to the criminal conduct object of investigation, which makes it possible to: obtain the evidentiary elements that accredit the structural elements of the crime and the responsibility or innocence of the defendant; establish the truth, avoid impertinent, inconducive and useless investigative activities. The new Results-Based Fiscal Management Model requires the implementation of a dynamic based on strategic planning of criminal investigation by the FEDH, which includes techniques and practices for knowing and learning how to handle the structures of the different criminal types that fall within its scope of competence, and then establish what is the relevant and useful evidence and proof that makes it possible to formulate a hypothesis and build a case theory. By virtue of the principle of comprehensive investigation, the moment to begin the preparation of the Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI) is once the prosecutor and investigator have carried out all the initial investigation actions to secure the material evidentiary elements and physical evidence in relation to the notitia criminis linked to crimes against human rights committed by servants, officials or employees of the State (article 214 of the RDGF). Since it is likely that the previous actions and urgent acts have not been performed by the assigned prosecutor who must investigate the case in the corresponding section of the FEDH, it is necessary to form an investigation team that will be responsible for conducting the investigation of the facts and making an assessment of the set of indications, physical evidence and other information that has been obtained in previous actions, especially at the crime scene, autopsy of the body and expert opinions conducted, in order to establish in a clear and orderly manner the problems that arise in relation to:

• a)

  The clarification of the facts, including, for example, the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person;

• b)

  The typical adequacy of legally relevant facts (that is, whether it is a crime against human rights committed by servants, officials or employees of the State), if it is considered that there could have been a homogeneous or heterogeneous concurrence of criminal conduct;

• c)

  The evidentiary needs, the type and classes of evidentiary material that should be decreed, practiced, collected or evaluated to demonstrate the hypothesis that was formulated preliminarily or modify it as appropriate (Annex 3). To proceed with the preparation of the Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI), the assigned prosecutor and investigators -as a work team- must start from a simple scheme of questions to be resolved before a criminally relevant fact: What do you want to prove? How and with whom am I going to achieve it? What resources do I have? As a work tool, the use of a flexible format (see Annex 5) is recommended that allows for keeping a written legible record and/or electronic easily accessible for permanent updating and for performing subsequent follow-up and management control. 7.1. Case Theory: Formulation of the Case Hypothesis In very synthetic terms, the case theory is the result of the conjunction of the factual, legal and evidentiary elements that the prosecutor handles with respect to a specific case; that is, the set of facts that have been reconstructed through evidence, to subsume them within an applicable criminal norm in a way that can be proven in a criminal trial. The hypothesis is a tentative explanation that requires more information to be confirmed or denied. The construction of a hypothesis must be subject to the rules of logic to prevent this instrument from vitiating explanations. To formulate the hypothesis of a case, the following requirements must be met:

  • •

    That it is formulated in clear terms, that is, using precise words that do not give rise to multiple interpretations. The clarity with which they are formulated is fundamental, because they constitute a guide for the investigation.

  • •

    Having an empirical referent (data or aspect of reality that is observed and analyzed in the search for truth), makes it possible for it to be verifiable. A hypothesis without a referent transforms into a value judgment, which, not being able to be proven and verified, lacks validity. Therefore, the hypothesis is a tentative theory that requires more information to verify the veracity of the final hypothesis in accordance with the format of Annex 4, in which the following questions must be answered: Once the investigation is developed in accordance with the Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI) and the final hypothesis is proven, the case theory emerges. This constitutes the succinct narration of the criminally relevant facts or the story that the prosecutor will present at trial and that they want the judge to accept. The case theory is not begun to be developed at the moment of the preliminary hearing, but from the beginning of the investigation. The construction of the case theory allows the prosecutor in the investigative phase to: conduct a strategic analysis of the case; order and classify information; adapt the facts to the criminal type; select relevant evidence and detect weaknesses in the investigation process based on which important decisions are made; consequently, in the procedural part it avoids falling into inconsistencies and incongruities; prepare the opening and closing statements; organize the presentation of evidence; and guides us in examination and cross-examination. In general terms, this story begins to be assembled like a puzzle from the criminal notice and is completed as evidence is collected to prove or refute the initially formulated hypothesis. Subsequently, elements must be added and discarded according to the development of the investigation, in which the Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI) has great importance, which will have as its main objective to demonstrate the three main components of the case theory: Factual Elements The objective of this component is to develop factual propositions that make it possible, on the one hand, to know in detail the event subject to imputation and on the other to identify the relevant facts that make it possible to demonstrate the responsibility or lack thereof of the defendants. Fiscal investigation must establish the factual basis of the case: circumstances of time, manner and place in which the facts subject to investigation occurred, identification and/or individualization and location of presumed perpetrators, material elements involved, the manner in which they occurred, the actions deployed or executed, the elements used and their consequences (damage caused), protection of direct and indirect victims. The work team must meet to examine in detail all these factual elements. The construction of factual elements is facilitated if a chronological sequence of what is criminally relevant is applied, which allows everyone to understand what happened and makes it possible to compare the story with the different criminal types to fit it into one of them. This has a procedural correlate with the principle of congruence that will be of great relevance for the accusation, in the measure that the factual basis of the case will determine the object of the process, and will limit the possible scope of debate in the trial to the facts contained in the fiscal requirement. Legal Elements The second aspect that the investigation work team must consider is related to the provisional legal classification it makes of the facts. The legal component establishes the way in which the factual story is framed within the applicable criminal norm(s) to the fact, in this case, those of crimes of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity and discrimination through legal analysis of the facts with substantive and procedural legal provisions. The foundation of the legal component is the legal evaluation of the facts to demonstrate each of the elements of the crime. To formulate a hypothesis it is necessary that there be an adequacy of the facts of the case to a criminal type. This is important to keep in mind because from the typical adequacy, a main or general investigation objective is raised: gather information that serves to demonstrate each of the structural elements of the crime or crimes being investigated. As a starting point, the viability or non-viability of typically adapting the facts and eventually imputing the responsibility of the active subjects must be examined, assuming as the main hypothesis that they have incurred in some of the crimes typified in the Criminal Code and that fall within the scope of competence of the FEDH. As derivative hypotheses, it could be studied whether, according to the facts and evidence collected so far, it is possible to consider other alternatives for attributing responsibility, such as the attribution of concurrence of crimes. It is important to note that the legal viability of the hypotheses which are formulated will depend directly on the evidentiary material gathered in urgent acts, immediate acts or in the initial investigation actions. Its joint analysis may determine which modalities established in the criminal type will be the subject of investigation and which should be discarded. In any case, investigation activities must be organized in such a way as to allow for the gathering of evidentiary means necessary to demonstrate the structural elements of the criminal type or types that form part of the main hypothesis: protected legal right, active subject, mode of action, possible motives for the fact, degree of participation, passive subject, governing verbs, descriptive, normative and subjective elements, generic and specific aggravating circumstances, concurrence of crimes among others. An important aspect is to take into account the particular nature of the possible motive for the fact, the motives of discrimination and hatred in crimes of discrimination, for example. Taking into account the nature of the crimes that the FEDH knows, the application of circumstantial modifications of criminal responsibility should be avoided. Evidentiary Elements The third fundamental aspect of the case theory is related to the evidentiary substrate of the case, to the means of proof and evidentiary material elements that are required to support the factual and legal theory raised, taking into account their quantity and quality; as well as, the means or elements of conviction relevant that make it possible to establish the occurrence of the fact, the criminal conduct raised and the responsibility of the person(s) responsible, proving before the judicial authority the consistency of the case theory formulated by the Public Ministry, through a fiscal agent of the FEDH. The fiscal agent and their team shall formulate a judgment of pertinence, necessity and conduciveness of the evidentiary means gathered and those that must be gathered -anticipated evidence- or produced at oral trial to prove the validity of their hypothesis before the judicial authority. The investigation of the motives or reasons that gave rise to the commission of the crime must be careful, methodical and exhaustive, taking the investigation beyond the crime scene or where the body was found. The following table describes the elements of the case theory structure. In short, the prosecutor's work in the construction of the case theory is to ask in order to know the chronological order, until achieving "to assemble a credible theory" with logical sequences, that fits into a criminal norm through the analysis of the objective and subjective elements of the criminal type and the evidence gathered during the investigation process planned in the PEI. Once the hypothesis is proven, the litigation strategy will be established, so that as the PEI is executed, monitoring and evaluation thereof must be carried out. 7.2. Development of Investigation (Work Plan) Investigation Guidelines: In order to prove all the elements of the hypothesis raised in the Strategic Investigation Plan (PEI), the investigation team must take into account the following guidelines:

  • •

    A plan to identify and interview the victim -direct and indirect- and witnesses who were present at the time of the commission of the crime, or were in the vicinity of the crime scene.

  • •

    A plan for the collection of information and testimonies from persons who may offer evidence about the facts constituting serious violations of human rights and that are typified in the Criminal Code.

  • •

    The collection of evidence and evidentiary elements, such as the detention of the suspect; the identification and statement of witnesses; inspection and registrations of the place, body inspection, expert opinions and forensic examination and obtaining samples must comply with the directives set forth in the Unique Investigation Manual so that they have legal validity.

  • •

    To inquire about the record of administrative background on complaints of torture or disappearances, previously filed against the official who is being denounced.

  • •

    The physical and psychological damages suffered by victims -direct or indirect- or their relatives must also be valued, and the necessary measures that offer guarantees of non-repetition by the perpetrator or perpetrators. It is the duty of the investigation team to ensure that during the development of investigation activities, systematic patterns that allowed the commission of serious violations of human rights are valued as a way of guaranteeing an effective and efficient investigation. Likewise, possible hypotheses or lines of investigation derived from the analysis of existing information in the factual, legal and evidentiary components of the case must be formulated. The objective of these investigation lines must be

FORCE. This agreement shall enter into force as of the date of its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta and must be made known to all servants and officials of the Public Ministry at the national level and to the general public, by means of the General Secretariat and the Division of Public Relations, Education and Communication, respectively. Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District, September 2, 2022. OSCAR FERNANDO CHINCHILLA BANEGAS PROSECUTOR GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC