Law on Pardon

PURPOSE. This Law is of public order and social interest, whose purpose is to develop the constitutional power of the President of the Republic to grant pardons by complying with the requirements and conditions set forth in this Law.

DEFINITION OF PARDON. It is the power that the Constitution of the Republic grants to the President of the Republic to extinguish one or more penalties not yet served, imposed by final conviction sentence handed down by a competent judge or court. The figure of Pardon constitutes a benefit granted by the President of the Republic in consideration of particular circumstances of the convicted person, developed in this Law, without establishing a subjective right in favor of such person. SECTION II CLASSIFICATION AND EFFECTS

MODALITIES OF PARDON. Pardon is the remission or total or partial exclusion of the penalty imposed by final conviction sentence and is classified as: 1) Total Pardon: It is the complete remission of all penalties imposed not yet served; and, 2) Partial Pardon: It is that which is granted affecting only some or some of the penalties imposed not yet served. In the case of partial pardon that covers the penalty of incarceration, leaving the penalty of fine subsisting, it must be paid or a payment plan must be made therefor. In case economic insolvency is proven, the provisions of Article 53 of the Penal Code shall apply. General amnesties shall not be granted, understanding by these those that favor all persons convicted to a class of penalty, regardless of the crime, or to a crime regardless of the penalty.

EFFECTS OF PARDON. The figure of Pardon produces the following effects:

• 1)

  It extinguishes the principal penalty or penalties on which it has fallen;

• 2)

  Unless expressly mentioned, it does not extend to ancillary penalties of special or absolute disqualification, civil interdiction and forfeiture;

• 3)

  It does not relieve of the security measures imposed;

• 4)

  It does not exempt from civil liability derived from the crime;

• 5)

  It does not favor the pardoned person regarding the record of criminal antecedents for purposes of recidivism or habitual offender status; and,

• 6)

  The pardoned person must not reside, without the consent of the offended person, in the domicile in which such person resides or, failing that, in that of their spouse, companion, ascendants, descendants and siblings. This prohibition shall last for the entire time that, had the person not been pardoned, the imposed sentence should have lasted. SECTION III PERSONS ENTITLED TO PARDON. THEIR REQUIREMENTS

PERSONS ENTITLED TO PARDON. The persons in whom any of the following circumstances concur are subjects of the benefit of Pardon:

• 1)

  Persons over eighteen (18) years of age and under twenty-one (21) years of age;

• 2)

  Persons over seventy (70) years of age;

• 3)

  Women, when convicted of crimes which, based on the facts contained in the commission thereof, intended exclusively to benefit their spouse, household companion, sons and daughters;

• 4)

  The mother who proves that she has sons or daughters under ten (10) years of age, who require her special care, because they do not have another person who can provide such care, accrediting this by means of a report issued by the Interdisciplinary Technical Committee of the Penitentiary Center or the Social Work Department, where the convicted person is located, further defining their criminological profile, in accordance with their conduct, activities carried out, socioeconomic studies, psychological studies, progress in the individual treatment program and other aspects that determine that the convicted person does not constitute a danger to the victim or their family members and to society once they regain their freedom;

• 5)

  Persons convicted who have committed the crime under an incomplete exemption from responsibility, a circumstance that must appear in the conviction sentence;

• 6)

  Persons convicted who have rendered relevant services to the Republic prior to the conviction, duly recognized by an organ of the State Powers;

• 7)

  Persons convicted who after committing the unlawful act have carried out some act of great significance for collective benefit, or who have risked or endangered their life to protect the health, integrity or life of other persons, with such significance being recognized and qualified by the State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights, once it is proven in the corresponding pardon proceeding; and,

• 8)

  Persons convicted who, considering their personal circumstances, their conduct prior and subsequent to the commission of the act for which they were convicted, and who during the time they have been serving the imposed penalty, have incorporated themselves into training, education and work preparation processes, showing evidence of purpose of amendment and that the purpose of the penalty has been satisfied and do not represent a risk to society. Persons who have been convicted abroad and have been transferred to complete their sentence in Honduras in accordance with the Conventions signed that regulate the transfer of persons convicted abroad to complete the imposed sentence in their country of origin are equally entitled to Pardon, when they are in any of the circumstances set forth in this Article and satisfy the fulfillment of the requirements established by this Law, unless the Convention by virtue of which the transfer from abroad to Honduras took place expressly prohibits it.

REQUIREMENTS. The convicted person who is a beneficiary of the figure of Pardon in the circumstances set forth in the preceding Article 5 must meet the following requirements:

• 1)

  Not to have been previously convicted for the commission of a willful crime;

• 2)

  Not to have pending criminal proceedings where a warrant for arrest has been issued for the commission of another willful crime;

• 3)

  To pass the evaluation of the progressive treatment set for the convicted person in accordance with the Law of the National Penitentiary System;

• 4)

  To have served in actual incarceration more than half (1/2) of the penalty imposed in the conviction sentence. For the purposes of this Law, actual incarceration shall mean the time that the convicted person has remained in both detention and preventive prison;

• 5)

  To have complied with the sentence of civil liability when it has been handed down by the competent Execution Judge, or to subscribe to a payment plan in favor of the victim or their heirs or, failing that, of the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic in the cases that corresponds. In the absence of the foregoing, the convicted person must have proven, by means of a socioeconomic study, the inability of the convicted person to fulfill the civil liability derived from the crime due to current insolvency, ordered by a competent authority; and,

• 6)

  Not to have outstanding monetary obligations with the State of Honduras derived from the commission of the crime for which the imposed penalty is being served, or, failing that, to have proven by means of a socioeconomic study the inability of the convicted person to fulfill their pending obligations with the State due to current insolvency, with a favorable Opinion from the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, which must be issued within ten (10) business days. All socioeconomic examinations, medical examinations and other special examinations that this Law may require or that the State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights may request, must be conducted by the Interdisciplinary Technical Committee of the Penitentiary Center or the Social Work Department, where the convicted person is located or, failing that, by any other public institution that provides the required service in a specialized manner. SECTION IV PROHIBITIONS

CRIMES TO WHICH PARDON MAY NOT BE APPLIED. Even though the aforementioned requirements are met, the persons convicted of the commission of the following crimes are excepted from the benefit of Pardon:

• 1)

  Genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, defined as such by domestic law and by international law, in accordance with the Conventions and Treaties signed and ratified by Honduras;

• 2)

  Other serious violations of human rights that have caused social upheaval or that have been committed to the detriment of children, adolescents, elderly persons, women and groups or persons in situations of vulnerability; and,

• 3)

  Organized crime when it involves crimes of unlawful association, money laundering, human trafficking, organ trafficking, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. And the crimes of parricide, murder when motivated by payment or reward, infanticide, robbery followed by homicide, as well as those applicable to arson.

PERSONS IN FAVOR OF WHOM THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC CANNOT GRANT PARDON. The President of the Republic cannot grant Pardon to a person who was an official of their administration and has been convicted of the commission of crimes against public administration. Nor should they benefit with Pardon the relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity of the aforementioned officials, except for humanitarian reasons contained in this Law and fully proven.

INADMISSIBILITY OF GRANTING PARDON TO PERSONS ENJOYING OTHER PENITENTIARY BENEFITS.- It is not appropriate to grant Pardon to convicted persons who, at the time the application is presented, are enjoying action for justice or are enjoying penitentiary benefits or have had any of the following benefits revoked:

• 1)

  Conditional suspension of execution of the penalty;

• 2)

  Conditional release;

• 3)

  Community service as a consequence of a commutation granted; and,

• 4)

  Pre-release benefit. SECTION V PARDON FOR HUMANITARIAN REASONS

PARDON FOR HUMANITARIAN REASONS. Any convicted person can be benefited by the figure of Pardon for humanitarian reasons, even without complying with half of the sentence, except for cases excepted in Article 7, numerals 1) and 2) of this Law, and provided that they are in any of the following circumstances:

• 1)

  To suffer from a terminal stage disease, duly proven by the National Directorate of Forensic Medicine, in accordance with the technical criteria established by the Special Law for Persons Deprived of Liberty with Terminal Stage Illnesses and Degenerative Diseases of the Nervous System;

• 2)

  To suffer a serious permanent incapacity that prevents them from fending for themselves and that requires continuous care, accrediting such circumstance by means of an opinion issued by the National Directorate of Forensic Medicine; and,

• 3)

  To be mother or father of a person with physical or mental disability who cannot fend for themselves and who requires special attention from them, because they do not have another person who can provide such care, duly accredited as such before the State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights. CHAPTER II PROCEDURAL MATTERS SECTION I PARDON PROCEDURE

SUBMISSION OF PARDON APPLICATION. The benefit of Pardon must be requested before the State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights by the convicted person or by a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity. Likewise, it may be presented by the convicted person before the Director of the Penitentiary Center in which they are detained. Upon receipt of this together with the accompanying documents, this official must remit it by official letter to the State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights within a maximum period of five (5) business days counted from its presentation, so that this institution may continue with its processing and final resolution. Unjustified omission in the aforementioned remission shall result in the Director of the Penitentiary Center incurring the crime of non-compliance with the duties of public officials, without prejudice to the fact that the obligation to comply immediately with such remission for its corresponding procedure persists. In these related cases, power of attorney must be conferred to a legal professional.

DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED TO THE APPLICATION. The following documentation must be attached to the Pardon application:

• 1)

  Certification of the final conviction sentence, as well as of the sentences handed down by the Appellate Courts and Supreme Court of Justice, when a Motion for Review has been filed;

• 2)

  Certification issued by the Execution Court, regarding the computation of the imposed penalty and the remaining term to be served;

• 3)

  Certificate of criminal antecedents, issued by the competent authority;

• 4)

  Certificate of not having a warrant of arrest for the commission of another crime or crimes;

• 5)

  Certificate issued by the Director of the Penitentiary Center where the penalty is being served, of having observed good conduct during their stay therein;

• 6)

  Original certification or duly authenticated photostatic copy of the Birth Certificate of the convicted person or duly authenticated photostatic copy of the passport, in the case of non-nationals;

• 7)

  Opinion issued by the Interdisciplinary Technical Committee or the Social Work Department of the Penitentiary Center where the convicted person is located, defining their criminological profile, in accordance with their conduct, activities carried out, socioeconomic studies, psychological studies, progress in the individual treatment program and other aspects that determine that the person does not constitute a danger to the victim or the family members thereof and to society once they regain their freedom;

• 8)

  Certificate issued by the Execution Court regarding the enjoyment of penitentiary benefits by the convicted person, status of compliance with the fine penalty and, when applicable, compliance with the civil liability sentence or having subscribed to a payment plan or, failing that, socioeconomic study regarding the inability of the convicted person to fulfill their civil liability due to current insolvency;

• 9)

  Certificate issued by the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic stating that there are no pending obligations with the State of Honduras, or, failing that, socioeconomic study regarding the inability of the convicted person to fulfill their pending obligations with the State due to current insolvency, with a favorable Opinion from the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, which must be issued within ten (10) business days.

• 10)

  Sworn Declaration of the convicted person duly authenticated, in which their repentance or purpose of amendment is evident;

• 11)

  Sworn Declaration of the convicted person duly authenticated, that in the case of being granted the Pardon, will reside in a domicile different from that of the victim or, failing that, of their spouse and household companion, ascendants, descendants and or siblings, during the time that, had the person not been pardoned, the sentence should have lasted. This document may be dispensed with when the consent of the offended person to reside in the same domicile is proven; and,

• 12)

  Any other that the State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights may require, to prove the concurrence of the requirements contemplated in Article 6 of this Law. When the convicted person proves their economic insolvency to cover the costs of the Authentication Certificate, for the purpose of certifying the authenticity of the identity or acts of the person as established by Law, the condemned person can request it from the competent Court of Letters, Judgment or Execution. The competent Court of Letters, Judgment or Execution Judge, when required to certify photostatic or photographic copies, shall compare such copies with the photostatic or original copies, certifying their authenticity with these. For the validity of the certification, the competent Court of Letters, Judgment or Execution Judge shall briefly relate the documents in question, indicating, furthermore, the place or in whose possession the respective originals are. Likewise, the competent Court of Letters, Judgment or Execution Judge, when authenticating the identity of the convicted person, must leave a record of their presence, in the documents that for the Pardon procedure require it and shall do so always in compliance with what the Law provides.

FORMATION OF FILE. CONFIDENTIALITY. The State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights, through its General Secretariat, with the Pardon application, shall form a file that shall have confidential character, in order to avoid the stigmatization of the convicted person with the disclosure of information related to the Pardon procedure or benefit, all in virtue of protecting their right to social reintegration. Access to the file shall be granted only to those persons who prove a legitimate interest in the content of the petition, a condition that is held by the petitioner, the victim or their family members, as well as their legally constituted representatives in the proceeding.

VERIFICATION OF INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE APPLICATION. The State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights, ex officio or at the request of a party, must at any time order the corresponding proceedings to verify the truthfulness of the information presented with the Pardon application or to correct the same.

REQUEST FOR OPINIONS ON PARDON. Once the Pardon application is presented with all the supporting legal documentation, the State Secretariat in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights, within a maximum period of ten (10) business days, shall send the original file to the Supreme Court of Justice, so that within a maximum period of fifteen (15) business days it renders an opinion on what in its view should be resolved. Once the file is received by the Supreme Court of Justice, it shall refer it to the Public Ministry so that within a maximum period of five (5) business days, the Chief Prosecutor issues an illustrative opinion on the admissibility or inadmissibility of the Pardon application. Once the period has expired, without issuing the respective opinion, it shall be understood that there is no objection to the admissibility of the application on the part of the representative of the Public Ministry.

EXPIRATION OF THE TERM GRANTED TO THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE TO ISSUE AN OPINION. If the Supreme Court of Justice does not remit to the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights the case file within the designated term, it must request that the Supreme Court of Justice remit it with the corresponding opinion within the next five (5) business days, in which case, if it persists in such silence, it shall be brought to the attention of the Judicial Council and the Judicial Career so that it may proceed in accordance with Law, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Supreme Court of Justice to issue without delay the opinion of merit.

RESOLUTION ON THE REQUEST FOR THE BENEFIT OF PARDON. Upon receipt of the opinion issued by the Supreme Court of Justice, the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights, following the opinion issued by the Legal Department of the Secretariat, shall issue a resolution recommending to the President of the Republic to grant the requested Pardon, which shall be remitted to the Office of the President of the Republic along with the case file, so that it in turn remits it to the President of the Republic for the issuance of the corresponding Pardon Agreement. The State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights must issue a favorable or unfavorable resolution regarding the pardon in accordance with the study it makes of the case file. No appeal whatsoever may be filed against the resolution issued. Likewise, the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights must recommend the type of Pardon that could be granted, the sentences that it deems should be pardoned, and any other circumstance that it considers to be of social utility and interest. The Resolution that declares without merit or denies the Pardon application shall not prevent that, after one (1) year has elapsed, the sentenced person may file a new application with the President of the Republic through the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights, requesting the legally established procedure again.

EXECUTIVE AGREEMENT GRANTING THE BENEFIT OF PARDON. Upon compliance with what is indicated in the previous Article, the President of the Republic, in the exercise of his or her constitutional authority to pardon sentences, shall issue the Executive Agreement granting or denying the requested pardon or granting it in a manner different from that recommended. No appeal whatsoever may be filed against the Executive Agreement adopted by the President of the Republic granting or denying the benefit of Pardon or filing it. Once the Pardon is granted by the President of the Republic, the Office of the President shall remit to the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights the file containing the Executive Agreement that grants the Pardon, so that it shall issue the certifications, official letters, and other communications to the competent Enforcement Court, so that it, in coordination with the Director of the Penitentiary Center in question, without delay executes the Pardon granted, prior to its publication, if so ordered by the Executive Agreement.

PUBLICATION. Once the Pardon is granted by the President of the Republic by Executive Agreement, it must be published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" at the cost of the applicant or any person who shows legitimate interest so that it may be executed. In cases qualified in the Executive Agreement, it may be published on the Transparency Portal of the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights, as requested by the benefited person or his or her legal representative.

NULLITY. Any Executive Agreement of Pardon that does not make express mention of the sentence or sentences pardoned is null and shall have no effect whatsoever, nor shall it be executed by the Enforcement Court. In such case, the corresponding Court must inform such circumstance to the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights so that it may proceed with the correction of the relevant procedure, as applicable.

INAPPLICABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE SILENCE. Pardon applications are totally and absolutely excluded from the application of Affirmative Fiction or administrative silence, being a special and exceptional procedure, in virtue of the fact that this process is subject to the terms granted to other institutions and to the will of the President of the Republic, without prejudice to the obligation of the officials involved to process Pardon applications in accordance with the established terms. SECTION II EXECUTION OF THE PARDON

EXECUTION OF THE PARDON. The Executive Branch, through the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights, shall remit to the respective Enforcement Judge a certified copy of the Executive Agreement where the Pardon is granted and a copy of its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta in original form or photostatic copy collated with the certification of its publication on the Transparency Portal of the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights. Upon receipt of the foregoing, the competent Judge shall consider the corresponding sentence or sentences extinguished and shall order, where applicable, the immediate release of the pardoned person, who shall always be personally notified of the scope of what is provided in articles 4 and 26 of this Law. Similarly, the Judge shall make the necessary precautions to the pardoned person to enable his or her reintegration into society.

EXECUTION OF CONDITIONAL PARTIAL PARDON. In the event that the Pardon has been granted partially, under conditional suspension to the execution of another or other sentences, the pardoned sentence or sentences shall be extinguished once the respective condition has been fulfilled. CHAPTER III SUPPLEMENTARY, TRANSITORY, AND FINAL PROVISIONS

INADMISSIBILITY OF REFUND OF AMOUNT PAID FOR FINE PENALTY. Refund of the amount paid for the commutation of the principal penalty of imprisonment or the fine, prior to the date on which the Executive Agreement ordering the Pardon becomes effective, shall not be admissible.

PENDING PARDON APPLICATIONS. Pardon applications being processed in accordance with the Law on Pardons and Commutations contained in Decree No. 136 dated April 9, 1927, upon the entry into force of this Law, must be processed until their conclusion in accordance with that regulation, without prejudice to those aspects that prove to be more favorable in this Law for the sentenced person.

REVOCATION OF THE PARDON. The Pardon must be revoked by the President of the Republic, at the official request of the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights, when at the moment in which the Enforcement Judge initiates the proceedings to give compliance with the Executive Agreement ordering the Pardon, the sentenced person has fled the penitentiary center where he or she is incarcerated or has committed a new crime during the processing of the pardon or it is demonstrated that the benefit was obtained fraudulently; or that the pardoned person has failed to comply with or violated the security measures that have been imposed upon him or her. For such purpose, the Enforcement Judge, the Director of the Penitentiary Center, or any other person must inform the State Secretariat of Justice and Human Rights of such circumstance so that, documenting the foregoing matters, that State Secretariat may recommend to the President of the Republic the revocation that is appropriate.

PRIMACY AND SUPPLEMENTARITY. In the processing of the Pardon procedure, this Law has primacy over any other, except for what is provided in the Law on Constitutional Justice and in the Children and Adolescent Code, and supplementarily in the Administrative Procedure Law.

REPEAL. This Law repeals the LAW ON PARDONS AND COMMUTATIONS, issued by Decree No. 136 of the National Congress of the Republic, dated April 9, 1927, and its amendments, without prejudice to the regulation established in the Penal Code regarding commutations.

EFFECTIVE DATE. This Law shall be published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta and shall enter into force on the date of its publication. Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the twenty-eighth day of the month of February of two thousand thirteen. LENA KARYN GUTIÉRREZ AREVALO PRESIDENT RIGOBERTO CHANG CASTILLO SECRETARY GLADIS AURORA LÓPEZ CALDERÓN SECRETARY To the Executive Branch Therefore; Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., March 15, 2013. PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE STATE SECRETARY OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS. ANA A. PINEDA H.