Experts say the president incurs “disobedience”, sanctioned in the Penal Code.
Several constitutionalist lawyers have told El Diari d’Avui that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is the one called by law to give priority to compliance with the Constitution by President Nayib Bukele, for refusing to abide by the mandate of the Assembly of dismiss Maurici Arriaza Noies from the post of Director of Police.
“Everyone has the housework to comply, if the resolution of the Assembly says to dismiss the director of police and the president (Bukele) ignores, then the other crime that is disobedience occurs, the prosecution has to assess whether this crime occurred and manage compliance with the resolution of the Assembly this should be in the Judiciary, “said constitutionalist lawyer Francisco Bertrand Galindo.
He added that from here derives a whole process that is generated as a result of the conflict between the two State Bodies: the Assembly and the executive “can reach the Constitutional Chamber through the judicial channels that are dispose, “he argued.
SEE ALSO: Constitution obliges Bukele to abide by dismissal of Police Director
The crime of “disobedience” is contemplated in article 322 of the Penal Code, which states that: “The public official or employee, agent of authority or public authority who openly refused to give due compliance to sentence, decisions or orders of a superior, issued within the scope of his competence and covered by the legal formalities, shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of six months to one year and disqualification for the exercise of the occupation or position for the same time. ” .
In this regard, the criminal lawyer, Marcela Galeas, also relates the obligation of the President of the Republic established in article 236 of the Constitution, to be accountable to the Assembly for “official and common crimes committed” , by means of a process of prejudice to retire the law to him.
Constitutionalist lawyer René Hernández Valent mentioned that both Bukele and Arriaza Noies are being prosecuted. Bukele for “disobedience” and Arriaza Girls for “usurpation of functions.”
“The call is to the prosecutor (Raúl Melara), if the Assembly has already decided and if the president disobeys, the order itself is already issued. In the case of Arriaza Noies he is no longer director of the Police and if they don’t obey, they are usurping public functions, there are sanctions, that’s up to the prosecutor, “said Hernández Valent.
The lawyer lamented that Bukele’s disobedience will make the country look bad in terms of international agreements, in fact, in his report the Assembly invokes the Inter-American Democratic Charter of which El Salvador is a party in the Organization of American States (OAS).
SEE ALSO: Opposition MPs denounced that police and army harassed them before and during 9F as in the war years
Hernández Valent lamented that the countries where totalitarian regimes rule do not comply with the provisions, which implies serious repercussions such as the “isolation” of these governments from international aid and cooperation programs.
“If the President of the Republic is ignored, ignoring the Constitution when any program comes, he is isolated from international cooperation, it is extremely serious,” said Hernández Valent, adding that if the Prosecutor’s Office does nothing, El Salvador it would enter a “constitutional crisis.”