Constitutional Court of Guatemala

Function

The Guatemalan Constitution lists nine broad functions of the Constitutional Court. These duties serve to establish state overreach but is not equal to the Supreme Court of the United States because it is not a control institution; its sole purpose is the interpretation of the constitution and see to that the laws and regulations are not superior to this. Instead, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court splits final appellate authority with the Supreme Court of Justice of Guatemala. The latter is responsible for reviewing whether a lower court interpreted the law correctly. The Constitutional Court is responsible for deciding whether a law or state action was consistent with the Constitution. Its specific duties are:

• To hear challenges of laws on the grounds of partial or total unconstitutionality.
• To serve as an Extraordinary Tribunal of Amparo for challenges against the Congress, the Supreme Court of Justice, or the President or Vice-President.
• To hear appeals of writs of amparo from other courts.
• To hear appeals of challenges of laws on the grounds of constitutionality.
• To issue an advisory opinion on constitutionality of treaties, agreements, and bills of law.
• To hear and resolve conflicts of jurisdiction in the realm of constitutionality.
• To maintain a jurisprudential bulletin on resolved questions of constitutionality.
• To confirm or reject Executive vetoes alleging unconstitutionality.
• To render opinions on matters under its jurisdiction as defined by the Constitution.

Appointment and Composition

Appointment

The Court is composed of five titular magistrates, each of whom has a designated substitute. When the Court hears cases against the Supreme Court of Justice, the Congress, or the President or Vice-President two substitutes are drawn by lot to hear the case with the main five. Every five years a new set of magistrates are appointed along with new substitutes. Each of the following bodies appoints one set of magistrates: The Supreme Court of Justice, the Congress of the Republic, the President and the Council of Ministers, the Superior University council of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala, and the Assembly of the College of Attorneys and Notaries.

Composition

For the 2021-2026 term the Court is composed of the following members:

Notable cases

Efraín Ríos Montt trial

The Constitutional Court, specifically the VI Magistracy, is best known internationally for overturning the conviction of Efraín Ríos Montt on charges of genocide. The Court ruled 3-2 that his trial did not proceed appropriately and ordered a new process. The majority found that the trial judges erred in expelling Ríos Montt's lawyer during the trial. The dissenting magistrates, Mauro Chacon and Gloria Porras, called the ruling disproportionate. A retrial was delayed by claims of inadequate health. This was the first time a nation tried a former leader domestically for genocide and thus drew significant scholarly and activist attention.