Decree 187-2020
Congreso Nacional
- Decree: 187-2020
- Published: January 27, 2021
- Issuing body: Congreso Nacional
- Gazette: 35,499
- Category: Constitutional
Summary
This decree authorizes the Electoral Justice Tribunal to create its own jurisdictional rules and procedures through unanimous resolutions, allowing it to quickly resolve electoral conflicts without depending on other laws. The measure is temporary and expires when Congress approves a permanent electoral law. It benefits citizens by ensuring swift protection of their political rights.
Considerations
That by means of Decree No. 200-2018, of January 24, 2019 and published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" on January 28, 2019, Edition No. 34,856, articles 51 through 53 of the Constitution of the Republic were reformed, aimed at strengthening electoral institutions by creating the National Electoral Council and the Electoral Justice Court, for the purpose of separating administrative, technical, logistical, and jurisdictional functions.
That articles 53 of the Constitution of the Republic and 17 of Decree No. 71-2019 dated August 15, 2019, and published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" on August 20, 2019, Edition No. 35,027, states that the Electoral Justice Court is the highest authority in electoral justice matters, has an autonomous and independent character, with no subordination relationships to the State powers, functions permanently, with full jurisdiction and competence throughout the entire territory of the State.
That there currently does not exist the Law that regulates the manner of administering justice in electoral matters, therefore, the Electoral Justice Court has applied supplementarily the Administrative Procedure Law and in matters not provided for therein, by legal mandate the Civil Procedural Code, both legal instruments of an auxiliary nature that do not allow for the resolution of electoral remedies with expedience.
That the Special Law for the Selection and Appointment of Electoral Authorities, Powers, Competencies and Prohibitions, contained in Decree No. 71-2019 dated August 15, 2019 and published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" on August 20, 2019, Edition No. 35,027, establishes the power of the Full Court of Judges of the Electoral Justice Court (TJE) to approve administrative regulations and manuals, but not jurisdictional regulations or manuals.
That while pending the approval of the Electoral Procedural Law that will regulate the specific competencies of the Electoral Justice Court, and in addition to the fact that the National Electoral Council has called for internal elections and primary elections of the political parties, it is necessary to provide the Full Court of Judges of the Electoral Justice Court with the necessary powers so that they may issue regulations, jurisdictional manuals, as well as agreed orders that they deem necessary for the filing, processing, and prompt and expeditious resolution of the remedies presented before it.
That in accordance with Article 205 Attribution 1) of the Constitution of the Republic, it is within the power of the National Congress to: Create, decree, interpret, reform and repeal laws.
That Honduras is a Member State of the Central American Integration System created by the Tegucigalpa Protocol of December 13, 1991, as well as the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration of December 13, 1960 and reformed by the Guatemala Protocol of October 23, 1993;
That in accordance with article 6 of the Protocol to the General Treaty on Central American Economic Integration (Guatemala Protocol), Central American economic integration shall advance in accordance with the will of the Member States and all or some members may advance with greater speed towards economic union;
That the Enabling Protocol for the Process of Deep Integration towards the Free Transit of Goods and Natural Persons between the Republics of Guatemala and Honduras (Enabling Protocol), to which the Republic of El Salvador has acceded, establishes the legal framework that allows the Member States to achieve gradually and progressively, a Customs Union between their territories, as well as the free transit of natural persons between their territories, in accordance with the legal instruments of Central American economic integration;
That in the terms of the Fourth Ordinal of the Enabling Protocol, it corresponds to the Ministerial Body of the Customs Union to define and adopt the
Articles
To grant the attribution to the Plenary of Magistrates of the Electoral Justice Court, so that through resolutions adopted by unanimity, it may issue regulations or manuals of jurisdictional procedures, as well as agreed orders that are necessary in accordance with the applicable current regulations on the matter, in order to regulate the filing, processing, resolution and execution of electoral judicial processes, with the objective of protecting the electoral political rights of citizens in compliance with Article 53 of the Constitution of the Republic.
The provisions contained in the preceding Article, the regulatory instruments that are approved within the framework of what is provided, shall be in force while the Legislative Power approves the Law that governs the electoral process, once said Law is approved it ceases to be in force automatically.
This Decree enters into force as of the date of its publication in the Official Journal "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session held by the National Congress in a Virtual manner, on the thirtieth day of the month of December of two thousand twenty. MARIO ALONSO PÉREZ LÓPEZ PRESIDENT
JOSÉ TOMÁS ZAMBRANO MOLINA SECRETARY ROSSEL RENÁN INESTROZA MARTÍNEZ SECRETARY To the Executive Power. Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., January 12, 2020 JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICES OF GOVERNANCE, JUSTICE AND DECENTRALIZATION HÉCTOR LEONEL AYALA ALVARENGA Secretary of Economic Development MINISTERIAL AGREEMENT No. 044-2020 THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, CONSIDERING: That Honduras is a Member State of the Central American Integration System created by the Tegucigalpa Protocol of December 13, 1991, as well as the General Treaty of Central American Economic Integration of December 13, 1960 and reformed by the Guatemala Protocol of October 23, 1993; CONSIDERING: That in accordance with Article 6 of the Protocol to the General Treaty of Central American Economic Integration (Guatemala Protocol), Central American economic integration shall advance in accordance with the will of the Member States and all or some members may advance with greater speed toward economic union; CONSIDERING: That the Enabling Protocol for the Process of Deep Integration toward the Free Transit of Goods and Natural Persons between the Republics of Guatemala and Honduras (Enabling Protocol), to which the Republic of El Salvador has adhered, establishes the legal framework that allows the Member States to achieve gradually and progressively, a Customs Union between their territories, as well as the free transit of natural persons between their territories, in congruence with the legal instruments of Central American economic integration; CONSIDERING: That in the terms of the Fourth Ordinal of the Enabling Protocol, it corresponds to the Ministerial Instance of the Customs Union to define and adopt the
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- Acuerdo Jurisdiccional No. TJE-01-2021 — Manual Procesal sobre Recuento Jurisdiccional — This manual establishes the procedure that the Electoral Justice Court must follow to conduct judicial vote recounts when citizens are dissatisfied with electoral results. It explains when a recount can be requested, how to file the petition, and how it is conducted publicly with observers, ensuring transparency in resolving electoral disputes. (Decree TJE-01-2021, 2021)
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