Law of the Military Police of Public Order

The MILITARY POLICE OF PUBLIC ORDER OF THE ARMED FORCES OF HONDURAS (P.M.O.P.) is hereby created, with jurisdiction throughout the country, integrated by personnel of the Armed Forces of Honduras, whose principal function is to fulfill what is established in articles 272 and 274 of the Constitution of the Republic to guarantee the Sovereignty of the Republic, the maintenance and preservation of public order, as well as to come to the aid of the citizenry to safeguard the security of persons and their property in cooperation with the National Police. The Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) shall carry out its tasks and operations in coordination with the Combined Joint Interinstitutional Task Force created by the Executive Branch.

The State Secretariat in the Office of National Defense is hereby instructed to proceed through the Joint Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Honduras to form the military unit created in the preceding Article in accordance with the hierarchy and command established in the Constitutional Law of the Armed Forces of Honduras contained in Legislative Decree No. 39-2001 of April 16, 2001.

The personnel of the Armed Forces of Honduras that integrate the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) must submit to confidence tests and permit the investigation of their personal, patrimonial, labor, and family backgrounds, and comply with the requirements that the regulation of this Law establishes.

The personnel of the Armed Forces of Honduras that integrate the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) must receive the necessary training in dealing with the population, in accordance with the Regulation of this Law.

In addition to what is established in Legislative Decree No. 241-2010 which contains the Law Against the Financing of Terrorism, acts of terrorism shall also be considered those actions carried out by organized crime aimed at terrorizing institutions and the population through extortion, blackmail, or intimidation in any form that limits the actions of justice operators or the fundamental rights of citizens for free movement, freedom of enterprise, residence and other fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic and International Conventions on Human Rights.

Violations of Human Rights are considered to be actions against persons and their property perpetrated by organized crime, whereby members of the same are subject to corresponding legislation and shall respond civilly for indemnifications and reparations with their property.

The Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) has the obligation to cooperate within the framework of articles 272 and 274 of the Constitution of the Republic in the defense of Sovereignty and in the maintenance of public order, for which it has the following functions and attributions:

• 1)

  To act rapidly in circumstances of insecurity that affect public order which constitute emergency situations, and/or that affect persons and property, obliging the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) to mobilize the effective collaboration of its personnel and means, to safeguard peace, public order, and the rule of the Constitution of the Republic;

• 2)

  To cooperate within the framework of the National Defense and Security Strategy in the recovery of zones, neighborhoods, settlements, human settlements or public spaces where organized crime carries out criminal activities limiting free movement and endangering the lives or physical integrity of persons and their property or altering in any form public order, until peace and tranquility are returned to the population;

• 3)

  To effect the capture and place at the disposition of competent authorities in accordance with the Law persons associated with criminal organizations, or who in any form alter public order, as well as to send evidence of conviction for proper prosecution; and,

• 4)

  To exercise investigation and intelligence tasks in combating organized crime activities and other tasks assigned to the National Police by Law.

In the exercise of special missions, the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) must be accompanied by judges and prosecutors with national jurisdiction and competence who have passed the confidence evaluation tests administered by the National Investigation and Intelligence Directorate, preferably with experience in combating organized crime and common delinquency, who must be assigned by the corresponding authorities through the National Defense and Security Council. The judges and prosecutors assigned to fulfill the accompaniment functions of the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) may reside outside the country and report their entry and exit from national territory in a special manner as determined by the National Defense and Security Council. Judges and prosecutors may conduct hearings with the accused and other parties through electronic means without the need to determine the physical location of the judges or prosecutors. This provision applies throughout the trial, including for the issuance of the sentence. The trial file, as well as other proceedings in the cases mentioned in this Article shall be carried out in physical and electronic media, which shall be safeguarded by the Judicial Branch, in the manner determined by a Special Regulation issued by the Supreme Court of Justice, within sixty (60) days following the publication of this Decree.

The Armed Forces of Honduras may lawfully call upon reservists to collaborate with the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) performing specific functions according to the importance of the tasks assigned, the personnel in reserve may be subject to what is established in Article 3 of this Law at the discretion of the Armed Forces of Honduras. CHAPTER II INCENTIVES, BONUSES AND SALARIES

The personnel of the Armed Forces of Honduras that integrate the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) shall have the bonuses and incentives that are determined by the State Secretariats in the Offices of Finance and National Defense. The bonuses, incentives and insurance to which this Article refers, as well as the necessary equipment, following the submission of logistical requirements by the State Secretariat in the Office of National Defense, shall be charged to the funds contained in Legislative Decrees No. 199-2011 and No. 235-2010. CHAPTER III GENERAL PROVISIONS

The Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) must have a specific budgetary allocation within the budget assigned to the State Secretariat in the Office of National Defense from the time the Legislative Decree No. 199-2011 expires, which shall assume the costs of this Military Unit.

The State Secretariat in the Office of National Defense must assume the legal representation of members of the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) for accusations or legal actions resulting from work performed in the exercise of their duties or operations in which civilian persons are affected, without prejudice to the accused being able to appoint their own defense.

When personnel of the Military Police of Public Order (P.M.O.P.) in the fulfillment of their functions are accused of the commission of alleged crimes, criminal actions shall only be initiated and heard by judges with national competence and jurisdiction who have passed confidence tests. In the event that a precautionary measure of preventive imprisonment is decreed against them, they must be confined in military establishments while the judicial process lasts.

The Armed Forces of Honduras (FFAA) are hereby authorized, in accordance with what their Constitutional Law establishes, to increase the number of military personnel up to five thousand (5,000) to strengthen the defense of National Sovereignty, protection of the citizenry, the environment, the borders and the territorial sea. For what is provided in this Article, the corresponding budgetary adjustments must be made by the State Secretariats in the Offices of Finance and National Defense for what remains in the present Fiscal Year 2013 and subsequent years.

The Technical Committee of the Trust Fund for the Population Security Fund contained in Decree No. 199-2011 is hereby instructed to acquire in an expeditious, immediate manner and through transparent mechanisms up to the amount of Twenty-Four Million Five Hundred Thousand Lempiras (L. 24,500,000.00) and with the accompaniment of the Armed Forces of Honduras, the equipment and accessories for the operation of the Military Police of Public Order, as well as its operating expenses.

The Regulations of this Law shall be issued by the Secretary of State in the Office of National Defense within a maximum period of fifteen (15) days counted from the day of publication of this Decree.

This Law shall enter into force as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Done in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the twenty-second day of the month of August of two thousand thirteen. MAURICIO OLIVA HERRERA PRESIDENT, FOR THE LAW GLADIS AURORA LÓPEZ CALDERÓN SECRETARY JARIET WALDINA PAZ SECRETARY To the Executive Branch. Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., August 23, 2013. PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC The Secretary of State in the Office of National Defense. MARLON PASCUA CERRATO Executive Branch EXECUTIVE DECREE NUMBER PCM-037-2013 THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC IN COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, WHEREAS: The President of the Republic is entrusted with the General Administration of the State and the supreme direction and coordination of the Centralized and Decentralized Public Administration and may, in the exercise of his functions, act alone or in Council of Ministers. WHEREAS: The XVII Population Census and VI Housing Census are framed within the priorities of the Vision Country (2010-2038), National Plan (2010-2022) and has been defined by the current Government of the Republic for the period 2010-2014, which is oriented toward the fight against poverty as the main objective, being necessary for this, to have demographic, economic, social and housing information for the adaptation of public order policies, plans and socioeconomic projects, measurement of progress made in actions taken in favor of achieving the objectives set forth in the Poverty Reduction Strategy (ERP) and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). WHEREAS: The Population and Housing Census is the appropriate instrument to obtain national information that will allow greater knowledge of the fundamental socio-economic reality of the country, for a more effective development of planning and evaluation of different programs and projects; and, for the formulation of national and municipal policies. WHEREAS: The last Population and Housing Census was conducted in 2001 and, for decision-making by the public and private sectors, timely and reliable statistical information is required. WHEREAS: In accordance with its Constitutional Law (Legislative Decree No. 86-2000 dated July 8, 2000), the National Institute of Statistics (INE) has among its functions the organization of national census surveys, agricultural and livestock censuses every five (5) years and population and housing censuses every ten (10) years.