Leyes.HN
Search with AI

Jump to

Support Leyes.HN

Leyes.HN is free for everyone. Your donation helps keep it that way.

Donate
January 22, 2026In force

Special Law on the Commission against Corruption

Congreso Nacional

  • Decree: 48-2025
  • Published: January 22, 2026
  • Issuing body: Congreso Nacional
  • Gazette: 37,050
  • Category: Criminal

Summary

AIThis summary was generated by AI and may contain errors. Always verify against the original law text below. Not legal advice. Learn how we use AI

This law establishes the CICIH, an independent international commission backed by the UN, to investigate and prosecute high-impact corruption cases in Honduras for 5 years. The CICIH acts as an autonomous complainant to combat public fraud, money laundering, illicit enrichment, and other serious corruption crimes, working with the Public Ministry.

Considerations

Whereas the Government of the Republic has a firm and unwavering commitment to guarantee the Honduran people a genuine struggle for justice and real combat against high-impact public-private corruption networks, rooted after the coup d'état of June 28, 2009, which ended the democratic order and gave way to a dark period of persecution, violation of Human Rights, drug trafficking, money laundering, illicit enrichment, tax evasion, prevarication, plunder of public finances and destruction of fragile democratic institutionality, reaching presidential reelection and the surrender of national territory through Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDE), both actions in violation of the Constitution of the Republic that continue in impunity.

Whereas the Bicentennial Government Plan for the refoundation of the Homeland incorporates the creation of new institutionality committed to transparency and accountability, therefore one of the first Government actions was the creation of the State Department in the Office of Transparency and Fight Against Corruption, the repeal of the Law for the Classification of Public Documents Related to National Security and Defense, contained in Decree No. 458-2013 of January 20, 2014, published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" dated March 7, 2014, more commonly known as the Secrets Law and the Installation of the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (CICIH), with the support of the United Nations Organization (UN).

Whereas, by Legislative Decree No. 4-2022, of February 2, 2022, published in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta" No. 35,840, dated February 4, 2022, which contains the Law for the Reconstruction of the Constitutional State of Law and to Prevent Facts from Repeating, the National Congress empowered the Presidency of the Republic to manage the installation of the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (CICIH), under the advice of the United Nations Organization (UN), which functions independently carrying out investigations, with emphasis on intelligence and financial analysis; as well as punitive actions to directly combat the plunder of public assets, among others, of high amount and harm to the public treasury.

Whereas, after the diagnosis by the Group of Experts of the United Nations Organization (UN) was concluded, it sent the first draft Convention on behalf of the Republic of Honduras and approved on December 22, 2023, in the UN Assembly, the Mandate to the Secretary General His Excellency António Guterres, it is necessary to approve the regulations that authorize, legitimize and grant legal personality to the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH), to exercise temporarily and for a period of five (5) years, the functions of investigating and combating with independence and autonomy, the high-impact public-private corruption networks that are responsible for the plunder and surrender of national territory and have remained in impunity.

Whereas the present Law incorporates the reforms proposed and requested by the Group of Experts of the United Nations Organization (UN). With its approval, the State of Honduras will be in a position to meet the legal requirements necessary to establish the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH).

Whereas in accordance with Article 205, Attribution 1) of the Constitution of the Republic, it is the power of the National Congress to: Create, decree, interpret, reform and repeal Laws.

Articles

Article 1.-

COMBAT AGAINST CORRUPTION NETWORKS. INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION AND IMPUNITY (CICIH) WITH LEGAL PERSONALITY AS AUTONOMOUS COMPLAINANT WITH ATTRIBUTIONS AND FACULTIES OF PRIVATE PROSECUTOR FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE (5) YEARS. To combat high-impact public-private corruption networks and the plunder of public assets, the State of Honduras grants and recognizes legal personality in the character of Autonomous Complainant, with attributions and faculties of Private Prosecutor to the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity CICIH, which shall be constituted and established in agreement with the United Nations Organization (UN), as an impartial, independent and autonomous international mechanism that shall last in its functions a period of five (5) years, counted from its official installation in the national territory. The Attorney General of the Republic shall be responsible for making the accreditations of Legal Personality as Autonomous Complainant to each member that integrates and requests the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH), through its highest authority.

Article 2.-

EXCEPTIONAL ATTRIBUTIONS AND FACULTIES GRANTED TO THE AUTONOMOUS COMPLAINANT TO INVESTIGATE, ACCUSE AND BRING TO TRIAL PUBLIC-PRIVATE CORRUPTION NETWORKS. Exceptionally and to directly combat public-private corruption networks, the Autonomous Complainant of the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) is empowered for the independent exercise of investigative actions, the presentation of fiscal requirements and its appearance in trial at all levels, for which it is granted the attributions and faculties provided in the Law of the Public Ministry and the Criminal Procedural Code for the full exercise of public criminal action, with the accompaniment of the Public Ministry. The facts subject to investigation and trial under the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Complainant must include public credit contracts for: Infrastructure works abandoned or defective; Smuggling; Fraud of subsidies and aid; Airport concessions; Fishing sector concessions; Contracts and concessions to the energy subsector, radio spectrum and telecommunications; Contracts and concessions to the water, forest, metallic and non-metallic mines sectors and other natural resources; Misappropriation of public funds; Fraud to the State; Electoral crimes that seriously alter the popular will; Fraud to social security and the pension system; Approval of corrupt laws, contracts and concessions in the National Congress; Trusts; Public-private partnerships; Tax fraud and evasion; Prevarication and bribery of judges and prosecutors; Illicit enrichment and money laundering; Straw man operations; As well as the administrative conduct of the holders of the Powers of the State to the detriment of the Honduran People.

Article 3.-

RECEIPT OF COMPLAINTS. The International Mechanism in accordance with its legal personality in the character of Autonomous Complainant with attributions and competencies of Private Prosecutor of the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH), is empowered to receive complaints from natural and legal persons, notwithstanding those that fall outside its scope of competence, shall be registered and forwarded to the Public Ministry.

Article 4.-

CRITERIA FOR THE SELECTION OF COMPLAINTS AND FACTS TO INVESTIGATE. For the selection of complaints and facts to investigate, the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) must apply as a criterion the severity and amount of damage and/or harm caused, regardless of the date on which the fact occurred anywhere in the national territory and the countries where effects have been produced.

Article 5.-

COMPETENCIES. COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF HONDURAS. The International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) in its character as Autonomous Complainant, shall act strictly within the competencies established in this Special Law and the Bilateral Agreement approved by the State of Honduras and the United Nations Organization (UN). In the exercise of its attributions, the CICIH must comply with the Constitution of the Republic, international treaties and agreements and the laws and regulations in force in Honduras.

Article 6.-

FINANCING OF CICIH. The expenses of the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) shall be defrayed with contributions from the State of Honduras in the terms that the parties agree to and from the international community, prior agreement with the Government of the Republic.

Article 7.-

IMMUNITIES OF CICIH PERSONNEL. The personnel of the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) shall have the privileges and immunities granted to experts on missions of the United Nations Organization (UN), in accordance with Article VI of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. In particular, it shall have:

  • 1)

    Immunity from arrest or personal detention and confiscation of personal luggage;

  • 2)

    Immunity from all legal action with respect to words spoken or written and acts performed by them in the performance of their mission. This immunity from all legal action shall continue to be granted after they have ceased to provide services to the CICIH;

  • 3)

    Inviolability of all papers and documents;

  • 4)

    The same immunities and facilities with respect to their personal baggage granted to diplomatic envoys; and,

  • 5)

    Exemption from taxes in Honduras on their salary, emoluments and benefits.

Article 8.-

PERSONAL SECURITY. The Government of the Republic shall provide the International Commission Against Corruption and Impunity (CICIH) and its personnel, throughout Honduras, the necessary security for the effective fulfillment of its functions and commits to ensuring that no CICIH personnel, whether national or international personnel, be in any way subject to abuse, threats, reprisals or intimidation by virtue of their status as CICIH personnel or by the performance of their work as personnel of the same.

Article 9.-

REFORM OF ARTICLE 28 OF THE LAW OF MUNICIPALITIES. Article 28 of the Law of Municipalities is reformed, which shall henceforth be read as follows: "ARTICLE 28. The members of the Municipal Corporations, depending on the economic capacity of the respective municipalities, shall receive per diem for their attendance at sessions or shall receive salaries when they perform full-time functions and shall enjoy the following prerogatives: 1) Not to be called to perform military service; and, 2) Not to be responsible for their initiatives within the law nor for their opinions expressed in relation to their functions in the sessions of the Municipal Corporation, excepting what is provided by legislation on civil and criminal liability."

Article 10.-

The present Decree shall enter into force as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the eighteenth day of the month of June of two thousand twenty-five. LUIS ROLANDO REDONDO GUIFARRO PRESIDENT LUZ ANGÉLICA SMITH MEJÍA SECRETARY JOSUÉ FABRICIO CARBAJAL SANDOVAL SECRETARY To the Executive Power Therefore: Execute. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., June 25, 2025. IRIS XIOMARA CASTRO SARMIENTO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE STATE SECRETARY IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY

Notes

Loading…