El Salvador: Meaning of asterisk beside the phrase "in times of war" in penalties for desertion (follow-up to Response to Information Request SLV17945.E of 3 August 1994)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SLV18224.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, El Salvador: Meaning of asterisk beside the phrase "in times of war" in penalties for desertion (follow-up to Response to Information Request SLV17945.E of 3 August 1994), 1 August 1994, SLV18224.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac7014.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. |
The information that follows is an unofficial DIRB translation of a letter provided by the Human Rights Institute of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas, IDHUCA), commonly known as the Jesuit University, in San Salvador. It concerns an excerpt from the Code of Military Justice provided by IDHUCA for previous information requests.
The phrase "in times of war" (en tiempos de guerra) is followed by an asterisk because of a reform that took place in 1985 under Legislative Decree 345 (Decreto Legislativo 345), published in the official daily newspaper No. 63, Vol. 286 of 28 March 1985. The first article of the decree reformed the following articles of the Code: Art. 1; Art. 9; Art. 54, inc. 1; Art. 64, final inc.; Art. 78, inc. 1; Art. 192, inc. 3; Art. 199; Art. 200; Art. 247; and Art. 249, inc. 2. The second article of the decree established that all provisions which contain the term "Political Constitution" (Constitución Política) be replaced with "Constitution" (Constitución), and that the term "war" (guerra) be followed by the term "international" (internacional) [please note that in Spanish adjectives follow nouns, so the phrase "international war" would read in Spanish guerra internacional). This clarification can be found in editions published after 1985, at the end of the Code of Military Justice.
The above reforms were due to constitutional reforms, since the 1983 Constitution established in Art. 27 that the death penalty could only be applied in cases established by military law during an international war. Thus, it was necessary to harmonize the secondary [or lower hierarchy] legislation with the constitutional norm. IDHUCA has no knowledge of other reforms to the code after the 1985 ones mentioned above.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (IDHUCA), San Salvador. 12 August 1994. Fax received by DIRB.
