HISTORY

El Salvador is a Central American country of about 6 million people with a rich history dating back to 3000 BC. Before the Spanish conquest in 1524, the country of El Salvador was populated by the Pipil tribe, a subgroup of nomadic people known as the Nahua, who migrated to Central America around 3000 BC. Later, the Nahua people came under the domination of the Mayan Empire until the Spanish Conquest in the 16^th century.

The Spanish forces led by Pedro de Alvarado entered El Salvador, or Cuscatlán, as it was known then, in June of 1524. The Spanish were defeated in their first attempt to conquer Cuscatlán and were forced to retreat to Guatemala. It took two more expeditions, in 1525 and 1528, to bring the Pipil under the Spanish control. Atlacatl, the Pipil resistance leader is still honored by Salvadorans.

The Spanish exploited the land of El Salvador for agriculture, mainly cocoa and indigo, and regulated the labor of the native Indians. The Spanish emphasized production for export at the expense of local consumption. Even today, El Salvador depends on imports for its subsistence, while it exports its most important commodity, coffee.

El Salvador and the Central American states (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica) declared their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821 and formed the United Provinces of Central America on July 1, 1823. The provinces eventually separated and El Salvador declared itself an independent country in January 1841.

El Salvador's recent history has been marked by civil war and a struggle for democracy. For many years, El Salvador was considered one of the least democratic countries in the world. An uneven distribution of land, electoral fraud and a military government that often resorted to political murder and forced exile catapulted El Salvador into a bloody civil war in the 1970s and 80s.

In 1979, reformist military officers carried out a coup and decreed major land reform and nationalization programs. Following the coup, a Christian Democrat civilian-military junta took power in El Salvador. In 1982, El Salvador elected its first Constituent Assembly and a provisional president, thus ending fifty years of direct military involvement in government. Around the same time, growing repression and lack of political participation fueled a massive guerilla movement that opposed the Christian Democrat government.

In October 1980, following the Sandinista victory in Nicaragua, the 5 guerrilla groups that formed El Salvador’s increasingly militant popular movement organized into a unified front, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), with the help of Cuba's Fidel Castro. At the same time, the military junta became more repressive and the country descended into civil war.

In the 1980s, El Salvador started on a path of liberalization and democratization with the emergence of a multi-party system and progress in the area of freedom of the press. But, at the same time, with the political and financial support from the United States, the military retained power in El Salvador. In 1989, Alfredo Cristiani, a member of the right-wing Republican Nationalist Alliance (ARENA), who had an important role in the repression and human rights violations during the war, was elected to a five-year term as president.

In 1990, the United Nations initiated the mediation of the peace negotiations (the Geneva Agreement of April 4, 1990), seeking to put an end to the armed conflict and the human rights violations, and to help El Salvador’s transition to a democratic form of government. A formal peace agreement, signed on January 16, 1992, in Mexico, marked the end of the war.

The peace negotiations were very successful at ending the armed conflict and reconciling the different political factions. The FMLN formally became the opposition party in El Salvador. On the other hand, human rights violations continued and judicial reform remained uncertain. Until 1994, the three branches of government were still under the control of ARENA and the Supreme Court, led by an ARENA hard-liner, remained subservient to the president.

Today, despite an alarming crime rate (El Salvador's murder rate was nearly 200 per 100,000 residents, compared with the U.S. rate of 5.5 murders per 100,000 residents in 2000), El Salvador lives in peace and is considered a success story among Central American nations.

Sources: Peace Without Justice: Obstacles to Building the Rule of Law in El Salvador by Margaret L. Popkin (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000) and Kevin Sullivan, El Salvador on an Unfinished Road to Reform, Washington Post Foreign Service,
Sunday, March 24, 2002; Page A26.
 
 

LINKS

Peace Without Justice
El Salvador: Country Profile – U.S. State Department
Economic History of El Salvador
USAID El Salvador
Truth Commission Report & Peace Accord of January 16, 1992
Truth Commission Charter - El Salvador
World Rover - History of El Salvador
Library of Congress Country Study - El Salvador
History of El Salvador
Bibliography of Sources on Aztec and Mayan law
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pipil (Mayan language spoken in El Salvador)
 
 
 

THE GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMY OF EL SALVADOR

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Geography

With a population of over 5.8 Million living on 20,720 square kilometers, El Salvador is the smallest as well as the most densely populated country in Central America. It is a land of volcanoes and agriculture, bordered by Guatemala and Honduras. El Salvador is a land of volcanoes and has an uneven topography. Rich volcanic lava has contributed to a fertile soil where farmers plant coffee, cotton and sugar cane on the slopes of more than 25 extinct volcanoes. El Salvador is also a major exporter of balsam. In recent years, the timber industry has caused heavy deforestation in the highlands impacting the natural habitats of most native species of mammals. Still, there are over 400 species of birds and 200 species of orchids in El Salvador and eco-tourism is an important source of income for the country's tourist industry.

Source: Jose Guillermo Aviles Castaneda, Economic Reconstruction in Post-War El Salvador (Study project submitted to the faculty of the Strayer University, Graduate School of Business, in candidacy for the degree of Master in Business Administration), June 1998.
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Map Source

LINKS

Annual Economic Indicators
El Salvador at a Glance (World Bank)
CIA Factbook for 2001
El Salvador Facts – in Spanish
 

Banking, Investment & Finance

The Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador's main function is to supervise the functioning of the payments system. It encourages a competitive and solvent financial system. The Superintendence of the Financial System is the controller of the financial system and has administrative and budgetary autonomy. The Deposits Insurance Institute (DII) is a public credit organization which guarantees bank deposits up to US$6,285 and helps insolvent banks reorganize.

Source: http://www.bcr.gob.sv/efin002.htm

LINKS

Banking Laws – in Spanish
Economic Reports on El Salvador, as well as trade, investment and utilities reports - Economic and Commercial Section of the United States Embassy in El Salvador (also contains: Labor Code, Law of Investment, Law of the Regime of Free Zones and Fiscal Precincts, Import and Export, Registry, Consumer Protection, Reforms to the Labor Code, Environmental Law, Law of Trademark).
The American Chamber of Commerce of El Salvador
Intellectual Property: Ley de Fomento y Proteccion a la Propiedad Intelectual - in Spanish
Reforms to the Law for Protection of Intellectual Property – in Spanish
Law of the Industrial Free Zones and of Marketing – in Spanish
Monetary Integration Law (makes the U.S. dollar the legal tender in El Salvador)
Trade and Investment in El Salvador
Info on Customs
Superintendencia de Valores – in Spanish & English (Regulates the Securities Market)
Law of the Securities Market (Law of February 16, 1994)
Leyes de Comercio Exterior
Administrative steps to follow in order to open a business in El Salvador
Doing Business in El Salvador
Banking and Finance Legislation
Commercial Laws of El Salvador - in Spanish
Superintendencia del Systemo Financiero (Regulates all financial institutions in El Salvador)
The Central American Economic Integration Program (IMF)
 
 
 

HUMAN RIGHTS & LEGAL REFORM

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Human Rights

About 75,000 people were killed in El Salvador between 1978 and 1992 during the worst period of mass execution and repression in the history of the country. The civil war in El Salvador officially ended in 1992 with the signing of the Mexico City Peace Accords. However, the prosecution of those responsible for the killings was undermined by the adoption of a Law of National Reconciliation which granted amnesty to all the individuals responsible for the death squads (with the exception of the killers of Archbishop Romero in 1980). International organizations have been putting pressure on El Salvador to repeal its Amnesty Law and to prosecute those responsible for political crimes committed during the war.

Source: Human Rights in El Salvador: Introduction (by Mayra Gomez)

LINKS

El Salvador: The rule of law does not exist if there is impunity
Index of Amnesty International on El Salvador
Amnesty International 2001 Annual Report on El Salvador
U.N Treaties Ratified by El Salvador
Human Rights Law in El Salvador
La Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de El Salvador - in Spanish
Human Rights NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
El Salvador Documentos y Resoluciones Internacionales Sobre Derechos Humanos
 

Legal Reform

The legal reforms in El Salvador have focused on the criminal justice system, the independence of the judiciary and the role of the non-governmental organizations. The domination of the civil society by the military and the human right abuses perpetuated by the government were seen as the main problems facing El Salvador. The U.S was also pressured to bring to justice the perpetrators of four American church women who were brutally murdered in 1980. In 1984, five low-level National Guardsmen were convicted, but those who gave the order to kill the four churchwomen were never prosecuted. In 1989, another brutal murder occurred, this time of six Jesuit priests at the Central American University. The murder cases, although never solved, were attributed to the military government of the time. The military ordered investigations, but at the same time, assured that they would be ineffective and meaningless.

The U.S. efforts to reform the justice system and to help El Salvador transition to a democratic form of government were first undertaken in 1984. Between 1984 and 1989, $13.7 million were authorized (but only $5 million actually spent) for the Administration of Justice (AOJ) Program in El Salvador. A series of AOJ projects involved the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Information Agency and the Justice Department.

During the war years, the Salvadoran government did not make a concerted effort to promote judicial reform; however, those who were involved in the drafting of the 1983 constitution were mostly concerned with increasing the independence of the judiciary. Judicial reforms were undertaken again by the FMLN in 1991 in its proposal for constitutional reform. These included a two-third majority requirement for the election of the Supreme Court magistrates by the Legislative Assembly and the Attorney General; establishing mechanisms to enable the Supreme Court to assure prompt and full justice; creating a human rights ombudsman; and easing the procedural requirements for constitutional reform. To address the human rights abuses, a Truth Commission was appointed in April 1991.

Legal reforms continued after the war and the signing of the peace accords. The Criminal Investigative Unit (SIU), a product of the El Salvador AOJ Project, was placed under the responsibility of the Attorney General after the peace accords. The peace accords also envisioned a more adversarial system of criminal justice in El Salvador, but they failed to reach an agreement to reform the Attorney General's Office and to define the role of the SIU. The Criminal Procedure Code was passed in 1996. However, the post-war crime wave left Salvadorans frustrated and angry. In 1998, a new organization, "United Against Crime" (Unidos Contra la Delincuencia) began calling for aggressive measures to combat crime. In 1998, a new Criminal Procedure and Penal Code were implemented. However, lack of a comprehensive governmental anti-crime strategy and an under-skilled police force contributed to the continued failure of the government to effectively combat crime. The NGOs, most of which were created in the post-war period, played a critical, albeit limited, role in judicial reform.

The Criminal system in El Salvador is investigatorial, much like other Latin American countries. Reforms in the area of criminal procedure have focused on the need to improve the criminal investigations conducted by the police, discontinue the use of extra-judicial confessions and implement rules of evidence (currently being developed), increase the protection of the defendants' rights, decrease pretrial detention; as well as on the need for judicial training and the selection of impartial judges.

Source: Peace Without Justice: Obstacles to Building the Rule of Law in El Salvador by Margaret L. Popkin (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000).
 

LINKS

Probidad (Anti-Corruption NGO)
USAID - Building Democracy in El Salvador
Respondanet -  Worldwide Anti-Corruption Efforts (El Salvador)
 
 
 

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

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The Judicial Branch

The judicial branch is in independent branch of the government and is headed by the Supreme Court of El Salvador (Art. 172). The justices or "magistrates" (magistrados) of the Supreme Court are elected by the Legislative Assembly for a period of nine years from a list of candidates submitted by the National Judiciary Council (Consejo National de la Judicatura). Two-third majority is needed for the election and dismissal of magistrates (Art. 131 - 19 & Art. 186).

"In 1824 the National Constituent Assembly of the State of El Salvador elected the first Salvadoran Supreme Court. The first Salvadoran constitution (June 12, 1824) called for popular election of Supreme Court magistrates, who did not need to be lawyers. The 1841 constitution required the members of the Supreme Court be lawyers named by the legislature and that their appointments would be permanent (as long as they maintained 'good behavior')." In the past the Legislative branch was subservient to the executive as the President would nominate the Supreme Court justices who were elected to a five year term, to coincide with the term of presidency.

The National Judiciary Council was established after the peace accords in order to improve the independence and quality of the judiciary. The council was entrusted with proposing candidates for the Supreme Court, as well as the appellate and trial courts and justices of the peace. El Salvador is one of the three Latin American countries to have established an independent judiciary council to administer the judicial career. The Council members are to be selected by two-thirds vote of the National Assembly. The Council was also given the responsibility of evaluating the performances of judges at all levels, except for the Supreme Court, and recommending promotions, disciplinary measures and dismissals. However, as the Council was dependent on the Supreme Court for its budgetary needs, it remained relatively weak. Recent reforms have aimed at decreasing the influence of sitting judges on the Council in order to strengthen its oversight role.

Sources: Constitución de 1983 & Peace Without Justice: Obstacles to Building the Rule of Law in El Salvador by Margaret L. Popkin (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000).
 

The Courts

There is a three tier system of courts: the courts of first instance or Courts of Original Jurisdiction, the Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in El Salvador. The Courts are also divided according to subject-matter jurisdiction, such as the civil courts, criminal courts, family courts, juvenile courts, tenancy courts, etc. The Supreme Court is divided into four branches: the Constitutional Branch, the Civil Branch, the Criminal Branch and the Administrative Branch. There are 15 justices of the Supreme Court. The President of the Supreme Court is the head of the Judicial Branch of the government.

Source: Supreme Court of El Salvador/Corte Suprema de Justicia – in Spanish and English
Access to all legal codes and regulations (civil code, penal code, labor law, administrative law, etc.) – in Spanish

The Fiscalia General is the Attorney General's Office, which is charged with investigating and prosecuting criminal cases. The Fiscalia consists of more than 200 "fiscales" or prosecutors who are charged with the coverage of more than 400 courts in El Salvador. The constitutional changes of the early 1990s required the Fiscalia to take an active role in the investigation and prosecution of cases. The prosecutors attend the judges' daily sessions and are charged with overseeing the legality of the criminal process. In juried trials, they serve as advocates for the interests of the state and take a more active role in prosecution. In addition, the Fiscalia is charged with implementing crime prevention programs in El Salvador.

Source: 1992 Report on El Salvador's Administration of Justice Reform: Assessment of the Fiscalia General.

The Constitutional Chamber (Sala de lo Constitutional) is part of the Supreme Court and consists of 5 magistrates of the Supreme Court selected by the National Assembly. The Constitutional Chamber decides on the constitutionality of laws and regulations before they are promulgated. It also issues the writ of habeas corpus and has jurisdiction over disputes between the Legislative and Executive branches of the government (Art. 174).
The Supreme Court nominates all the magistrates of the courts of second instance, the judges of courts of first instance, the justices of the peace, as well as forensic doctors (Art. 182-9). The National Judiciary Council is an independent institution charged with the nomination of the magistrates of the Supreme Court, the courts of second instance and the judges of the courts of first instance, as well as the justices of the peace (Art. 187).

Source: El Salvador: Constitución de 1983
 
 

THE GOVERNMENT

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According to the Constitution of 1983, El Salvador has a republican, democratic and representative form of government (Article 85). It is a multi-party political system (Article 85) and the President of the Republic, the Municipal Authorities and Members of Congress are elected through popular vote. The President is elected for a five-year term (Art. 154). The members of the Legislative Assembly are elected for three years and can be reelected (Art. 124). The country is divided into 14 departments (departamentos).

The legislative process may be initiated by 1) the deputies of the Legislative Assembly, 2) the President, through the Ministers, 3) the Supreme Court in matters relating to the judiciary and 4) the Municipal Counsels in matters related to the municipalities (Art 133). All proposed legislation must be endorsed by a majority (simple majority) of the Assembly to become law (Art. 134). All proposed legislation, once endorsed by the Assembly, must be presented to the President of the Republic within ten days for approval. Once approved, the proposed legislation must be published to become law (Art. 135). If the President objects to the proposed legislation, he shall return it to the Assembly within 8 days of its receipt, giving reasons for vetoing the proposed legislation (Art. 137). If the President does not respond within 10 days of receipt, the proposed legislation is considered approved and may be published as law (Art. 137).

Judicial Review of pending legislation is referred to the Supreme Court. If the President does not return the legislation to the Assembly on the grounds that the proposed law is unconstitutional, the matter must be referred to the Supreme Court within three days. The Supreme Court will hear arguments by the President and the Assembly and decide on the constitutionality of the legislation within 15 days. If the Supreme Court decides that the proposed legislation is constitutional, the President has an obligation to sign it into law (Art. 138). The citizens of El Salvador may also challenge the constitutionality of laws and regulations by petitioning the Supreme Court for judicial review (Art. 183).

Sources: El Salvador: Constitución de 1983 and El Salvador at de nosotros.com

LINKS

The Constitutions of El Salvador (11 constitutions since 1824, the latest is the Constitution of 1983) - in Spanish
The Executive (the Cabinet) – in Spanish
The Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) - in Spanish
Published Legislation – full text in Spanish of all laws published through 1998
Diario Oficial (1999-2001) – in Spanish
 

Elections and Political Parties

The Constitution of El Salvador, Chapter VII, establishes a Supreme Electoral Tribunal ("Tribunal Supremo Electoral"). The Tribunal consists of five magistrates elected for five years by the Legislative Assembly (Art. 208). Three of the magistrates are elected from the three leading political parties that have obtained the largest number of votes at the last presidential elections. The other two magistrates are voted by 2/3 majority of the representatives of the Legislative Assembly. They must be qualified as appellate judges and may not be affiliated with any political party. The President of the Tribunal is proposed by the winning party at the last presidential elections. The function of the tribunal is to monitor the elections without favoring any of the political parties (Art. 209). The President is elected for a five-year term by popular vote.

LINKS

The Electoral Law of 1997 – Código Electoral de 1997 – in Spanish
List of Salvadoran Political Parties - updated as of July 28, 1999 – in Spanish & English
Elections in El Salvador
Tribunal Supremo Electoral de El Salvador – in Spanish (includes election results for 2000 and maps).
List of Electoral Organizations and Parties in El Salvador
A bibliography of Books, Articles and Reports on Elections and the Electoral Process in El Salvador
ARENA Party of El Salvador
El Salvador Political Environment
 
 

THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND LEGAL EDUCATION

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Legal education in El Salvador starts with an undergraduate degree in law, the Licenciatura en Ciencias Juridicas, which lasts 5 years or 10 semesters (ciclos). The curriculum is similar to other European and Latin American Civil Law countries and consists of foundation courses in philosophy, Roman law, sociology and economics; as well as civil and criminal law, civil procedure and constitutional law. Upper division courses offerings are more specialized and include labor law, commercial law, investigative techniques and family law. Law professors and the Justices of the Supreme Court hold a doctorate in law.

Source: http://www.ugb.edu.sv/derecho/pensum_derecho.htm

LINKS

List of Schools and Universities in El Salvador
University Degree in Law (Licenciatura en Ciencias Jurídicas) – in Spanish
Lawyers – Law firms
List of Lawyers Specializing in Commercial Law (U.S. Embassy List)
 

Judicial Training & Selection
The peace accords provided the starting point for the creation of a new judicial service law to reform the selection and training of judges. The Justices of the peace, for example, had traditionally been appointed according to their political affiliations and did not necessarily have a legal education. The peace accords sought to increase judicial independence by establishing that justices of the peace should be nominated by the National Judiciary Council. The Judicial Service Act laid down the regulations for entry into the profession and mandatory training at the Judicial Training School.

Source: Margaret Popkin, Peace Without Justice.

MISCELLANEOUS

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Legislation

LINKS

General Law of Fishing Activities – in English
General Law of Fishing Activities – in Spanish
Telecommunications Law – in Spanish
The Reform of Property Registration Systems in El Salvador: A Status Report
Laws on the Control of Drugs, Money Laundering and Firearms

Other Links
El Salvador Internet Project and Internet Service Providers
List of Languages Spoken in El Salvador