New Report on Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office Calls for Actions to Prevent Abuse of Power, Ensure Accountability
October 8, 2024 – The Rule of Law Impact Lab at Stanford Law School, alongside The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice of the New York City Bar Association, today issued a report documenting serious misconduct and abuse of power by Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office under its current leadership. The two organizations highlight the lack of an independent and impartial mechanism for holding the Attorney General accountable for misconduct and issue recommendations to the State of Guatemala for reform.
The report, titled “Above the Law: The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Guatemala”, for the first time compiles and analyzes scores of official findings made by several multilateral bodies and governments against the Public Prosecutor’s Office. This includes reports that the office obstructed corruption investigations, used criminal law as a tool to persecute justice operators, journalists, and human rights defenders, and attempted to subvert democracy.
“The official record of the abuse of power by the Public Prosecutor’s Office is overwhelming and cannot be ignored,” said Amrit Singh, law professor and Executive Director of the Rule of Impact Lab at Stanford Law School. “Yet, Guatemalan law provides no independent and impartial mechanism for holding the Office accountable as required under international law. The State of Guatemala must ensure that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is held accountable and respects the rule of law.”
“This report demonstrates how Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has abused its power to block efforts to root out corruption, harass human rights defenders and undermine democratic processes. In order to restore trust in public institutions and truly address Guatemala’s endemic corruption, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and its prosecutors must begin conducting transparent investigations and act with the impartiality and objectivity necessary for that office. Without accountability mechanisms in place, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will only continue protecting impunity, at great cost to Guatemala,” said Jaime Chávez Alor, Associate Executive Director of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice.
The report collates official findings issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations, the European Union, and the governments of Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
These findings raise serious concerns about the possible violation of Guatemala’s international obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
Guatemala ranks 13 out of 15 among Latin American countries in its ability to detect, punish, and prevent corruption, according to a 2023 Americas Society/Council of the Americas report. In 2023, anti-corruption campaigner Bernado Arévalo and his party, Semilla, unexpectedly won the general elections. Since then, legal maneuvers by the previous administration and its allies, as well as the Public Prosecutor’s Office under its current leadership, have sought to subvert the election results and undermine the President and his party.
The report documents how the Public Prosecutor’s Office under the leadership of María Consuelo Porras Argueta de Porres, who took over as Attorney General in 2018, has played a key role in thwarting anti-corruption investigations, weaponizing criminal law against judges, journalists and human rights defenders, and undermining democracy.
Forty-two countries have individually or collectively issued sanctions against the Attorney General for corruption and attempts to subvert democracy. These include the European Union (comprising 27 states) and the governments of Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Lichtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Guatemalan law does not provide an independent and impartial mechanism for holding the Attorney General accountable, which is required under international law. The only means for holding the Attorney General accountable is his/her removal on the basis of a final criminal conviction for an intentional crime committed while in office. Any criminal investigation against the Attorney General would have to be initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which he/she heads and either by personnel who are all hierarchically inferior to him/her, or an external “special prosecutor” who is appointed by and can be removed by the Attorney General. The hierarchical structure of the Public Prosecutor’s Office makes it practically impossible to hold the Attorney General accountable for misconduct.
To remedy this situation, the report calls on the State of Guatemala to take the following actions:
- Ensure that the Public Prosecutor’s Office and its prosecutors act with impartiality, objectivity, and professionalism.
- Implement fair and transparent disciplinary procedures to hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct.
- Guarantee the independence of investigations, especially into figures such as the Attorney General.
- Reform Guatemala’s laws and regulations so that the hierarchical structure of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is not an obstacle for high-level officials in that office to be held accountable for misconduct.
To read the full report:
PARA LEER EL REPORTE EN ESPANOL
About the Rule of Law Impact Lab
The Stanford Law School Rule of Law Impact Lab studies and deploys legal tools – litigation and legal research, documentation, and advocacy – in close collaboration with local practitioners and academics to combat democratic decline around the world, including in the US The Rule of Law Impact Lab is inspired by the university-wide Stanford Impact Labs model, which focuses on addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges through the combined efforts of researchers and policymakers working across a range of disciplines. Learn more: www.law.stanford.edu/rule-of-law-impact-lab
About The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice
The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, a non-profit program of the New York City Bar Association, promotes global justice by engaging legal professionals around the world to support the work of civil society and an ethically active legal profession. It brings together leading law firms and other partners around the world to promote international justice initiatives and provide pro bono legal representation to civil society organizations that fight for social justice. Learn more: www.vancecenter.org
Media Contact:
- Rule of Law Impact Lab: asingh@law.stanford.edu
- Vance Center: nsouthwick@nycbar.org