El Salvador: Does the law provide that a person acquitted after being tried for murder give surety or bail in order to obtain release from custody if no other charges have been laid against him/her?
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1990 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV6824 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Does the law provide that a person acquitted after being tried for murder give surety or bail in order to obtain release from custody if no other charges have been laid against him/her?, 1 August 1990, SLV6824, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab9d64.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A definite answer to your question cannot be provided, since particular circumstances may entail specific or exceptional measures, and up-to-date information on penal proceedings in El Salvador is not found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. For your reference, please find attached a copy of certain sections of a 1989 edition of the Penal Procedures Code of El Salvador which may be relevant. What follows is not a legal or official translation of the pertinent articles, but a paraphrased translation prepared by the IRBDC for your reference.
Article 373 (pp. 175-176) states that once a verdict of acquittal has been given, the parties involved will be notified and the release of the accused with the deposit of bail ("mediante fianza") will be ordered if there are no restrictions due to other causes or charges.
Article 508 (p. 204), in its last lines, states that a verdict acquitting the accused does not impede the judge from taking a decision on civil action ("pronunciarse sobre la acción civil), if pertinent.
Article 595 (p. 219) states that when a court decision ("sentencia") requires ending the detention of the accused, the latter's release shall be ordered by the court.
Article 619 states that a court decision of acquittal shall be immediately executed, unless there are possible recourses that can be produced against it that would suspend the decision, in which case the decision shall be executed after the time period for presenting such recourses has expired.
Please note that corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the IRBDC, the current application of the quoted Penal Procedures Code is not known to the IRBDC and the above translation in unofficial.
