Guidelines for transitional justice in El Salvador

Abstract

This document, based exclusively on the final judgment 44-2013 Ac, which declared the 1993 General Amnesty Law for the Consolidation of Peace unconstitutional, aims to highlight the rights of victims and their families—affected by both warring parties—as well as the duties of the State. These rights and duties must be taken into account in the implementation of the aforementioned ruling—that is, in the State’s decisions and actions aimed at combating impunity for crimes related to crimes against humanity and war crimes constituting serious violations of constitutional rights, committed during the armed conflict—so that such State decisions and actions are in accordance with the Constitution. The document is divided into two parts: a main section, which contains the “Guidelines for Transitional Justice in El Salvador”; and an appendix, which includes the summary of case law that served as the basis for developing the guidelines and an essential bibliography on transitional justice, which helps to understand its meaning, scope, and components. These guidelines are not a bill, but rather a document that summarizes and reorganizes the rulings of the Constitutional Chamber, intended to serve as a checklist to guide the drafting and discussion of government decisions, thereby ensuring the exercise of the rights of victims and their families and the fulfillment of the State’s obligations.