Justice in Guatemala 2023

Justice is the mechanism used to guarantee the fulfillment of the rights, freedoms, and duties of all individuals within a society. The justice flowchart in Guatemala is made up of six institutions that interact and form the justice system in the country. These institutions are: the National Civil Police —PNC—, the Public Ministry —MP—, the National Institute of Forensic Sciences —INACIF—, the Institute of Public Criminal Defense —IDPP—, the Judicial Branch —OJ— and the Penitentiary System —SP—. However, there are other institutions that also participate in decision-making in civil and criminal justice cases, such as the Supreme Court of Justice —CSJ— and the Court of Appeals —CA—, which are part of the judicial branch.

In 2021, an analysis of the justice system in Guatemala was carried out, which established that the absence of elections for magistrates to the Supreme Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals in 2019 violated one of the most important republican principles, the alternation in power.

On May 13, 2019, the Constitutional Court ordered that Congress should carry out an election of new suitable magistrates to ensure the rule of law. Although the election process should have taken place the same year, a stagnation occurred that prevented the alternation of power.

To ensure the rule of law in Guatemala, it is important to have an independent and impartial justice system. Its effective functioning ensures equality before the law for all individuals, as well as the absence of arbitrariness in the decision-making of public officials. A clean rule of law allows for the protection of the constitutional rights and freedoms of Guatemalans.

What is the rule of law in Guatemala like?

To measure the rule of law in Guatemala in 2023, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index —WJP— was used.

The WJP studies the rule of law in 142 independent countries and territories around the world. The measurement is from 0.00 to 1.00, where 0.00 represents a lack of compliance with the rule of law, and 1.00 represents full compliance. The WJP considers the rule of law to be compliance with four fundamental principles:

1. Accountability;
2. just laws;
3. open government; and
4. accessible and impartial mechanisms for resolving disputes.

For 2023, Guatemala obtained a score of 0.44, a score that has remained since 2021, and a ranking of 111 out of 142 countries, where 1 is the highest score and 142 is the lowest score.

In the region, Latin America and the Caribbean, Guatemala holds position 26 out of 32 countries.

Guatemala's low score compared to the world is due to the low scores and performance of the eight factors taken into account for the measurement:

1. Constraints on government powers, 0.49/1;
2. absence of corruption, 0.34/1;
3. open government, 0.52/1;
4. fundamental rights, 0.53/1;
5. order and security, 0.59/1;
6. regulatory enforcement, 0.40/1;
7. civil justice, 0.33/1; and
8. criminal justice, 0.30/1.

Data and challenges for the administration of justice in Guatemala

Corruption

The measurement of corruption throughout the study presents one of the greatest threats to the rule of law. In the factors of "absence of corruption" and "criminal justice," the country has scores below the global and regional average. This reflects the presence of abuse of power for personal gain in the form of bribes and informal payments.

The 2023 Capacity to Combat Corruption (CCC) Index places Guatemala in the regional ranking as 13/15 with a score of 2.86 out of 10, with 10 being the highest score.

Fundamental rights

Guaranteeing individual rights and freedoms is of high importance for a better rule of law. The best way to achieve this is through an independent, effective, and impartial justice system. Guatemala has a score of 0.53/1, a value that has remained since 2021.

Justice in Guatemala

Civil justice, with a score of 0.33/1, has slightly decreased since 2020. This indicates that public access to justice courts and knowledge of the available dispute resolution mechanisms in the country only reaches 33%.

The criminal justice factor has a score of 0.30/1, increasing by two decimal points since last year. Despite the improvement, the value confirms the room for improvement that exists to address the ineffectiveness in investigations, respect for due process, and impartiality in the administration of justice.

Conclusions

The WJP analysis shows that Guatemala lacks effectiveness in its justice system, a system that enables the proper functioning of a Republic.

As of November 2023, there is still no resolution regarding the election of suitable candidates for the CSJ and the CA; that is, there is a four-year delay from the date the process should have been carried out.

Citizens currently continue to await judges and magistrates committed to strengthening the Republic and upholding the rule of law. This delay prevents a rule of law with clear rules and, therefore, the development of the country and its citizens.