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LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY-REPUBLIC OF EL SALVADOR
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DECREE NO 953
THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF EL SALVADOR,
CONSIDERING:
I-That the crime of extortion, provided for and sanctioned in Art. 214 of the Penal Code, currently has an insufficient legal configuration, which does not correspond to
the reality, since it itself, because of its character It is not only an injury or a danger to an individual's patrimony and even if it does not An effective asset impairment, such actions have already affected
other individual legal assets, such as personal autonomy.
II.-That the crime of extortion has evolved into more complex and systemic forms
and the damage it produces finally moves to families, small and medium-sized businesses and diverse sectors of national life by increasing production costs and discouraging investment, which is distorted.
the socio-economic system in general; it also produces damage to the social fabric and the peace, with what are injured collective legal goods, such as economic order and public peace, among others.
III.-That the telecommunications services provided by the Network Operators Commercial Telecommunications are used as instruments for the commission of the crime of extortion, especially those that are generated from
the interior of the penitentiary centers; for what is necessary, to counteract the misuse of telecommunications services.
IV.-The products obtained from this activity It produces not only the illicit enrichment of the members of the criminal organizations, but also is used for its expansion and strengthening, to the detriment of the
honest work of the population.
V. the purpose of avoiding impunity because of the criminal criminalization of the crime
of existing extortion, it is necessary to readjust it to the real circumstances faced by the victims and the operators of the criminal justice system, both police, Prosecutors and judges, who are facing such crimes, as well as
expressly acknowledge the procedural intervention of the different sectors of civil society and municipal and communal associations, in defense of the collective interests affected by the crime of extortion; and,
VI.- adopt special legislative measures that contribute to the prevention of the crime of extortion; as well as to
the effectiveness of the investigation and criminal prosecution and the extinction of the domain in favor of the State, of the goods obtained illicitly, proceeds from the crime of extortion and other related criminal activities.
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BY TANTO,
in use of its Constitutional powers and on the initiative of the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Justice and Public Security.
DECCRETA, the following:
SPECIAL LAW AGAINST THE CRIME OF EXTORTION
TITLE I
CHAPTER ONLY
Object
Art. 1. This Law aims to establish special criminal and procedural regulations,
as well as administrative measures for the prevention, investigation, prosecution and criminal sanctions of the crime of extortion.
TITLE II
CHAPTER I
CRIMES AGAINST WEALTH, PERSONAL AUTONOMY, AND COLLECTIVE OR DIFFUSE LEGAL GOODS RELATING TO ECONOMIC ORDER AND PUBLIC PEACE
Extorsion
Art. 2.-The one who will carry out actions to compel or induce another, even implicitly, to make, tolerate or omit an act or business of a patrimonial, professional or economic character, regardless of the amount, for the purpose of obtaining profit, utility, benefit or advantage for
if or for a third party, will be punished with imprisonment of ten to fifteen years.
Extortion will be considered consummate regardless of whether the act or business referred to
the preceding paragraph carried out and will respond as co-authors, both the one who carries out the threat or demands, and those who participate in the collection of money personally, through their accounts or financial transfers or receive property proceeds from crime.
Aggravated Extortion
Art. 3.-The penalty set out in the previous article will be increased by up to one third of the maximum set, if one of the following circumstances occurs:
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1) If the fact is committed by two or more persons or member of a grouping, association or unlawful organisation referred to in Article 345 of the Criminal Code;
2) Where for the commission of the criminal action, minors or unable to be employed shall be employed;
3) Where the criminal action is planned or ordered in whole or in partially from a prison, detention, detention facility or from abroad;
4) If the fact is committed against relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, adopter, adopted, spouse or partner of
life;
5) If the event is committed taking advantage of the trust placed by the victim in
the author or any of the unit-holders;
6) When the event is committed by an official, public employee, municipal, public authority
or an agent of authority, whether or not in exercise of his or her functions;
7) If the criminal action includes a threat to execute death, injury, deprivation of liberty, abduction or damage to the victim or relatives within the room
degree of consanguinity or second of affinity, adopter, adopted, spouse or life partner;
8) If the event is committed using any means for telecommunications traffic;
9) If the fact is committed to the detriment of an official, public employee, municipal,
public authority or agent of authority, in exercise of its functions; and,
10) If used any type of weapon.
Proposition and Conspiracy in the Delight of Extorsion
Art. 4.-Proposition and conspiracy in cases of extortion and aggravated extortion will be punishable by two to five years in prison.
CHAPTER II
SPECIAL PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS
Criminal Action
Art. 5.-The criminal action to prosecute the crime of extortion, its proposal and conspiracy, will be public and its investigation will be able to begin ex officio, by warning or denunciation.
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Faculty of Reporting or Querellar in Defense of Collective Interests
Art. 6.-May give notice, file a complaint or complaint for the crime of extortion, whether before the National Civil Police, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic or the Judge, any citizen or association of citizens legally constituted, in defense of collective interests.
In the same way they may denounce, give notice or want to whom the victim, their representative or proxy designates, without prejudice to the duty that every citizen has according to the Arts. 261, 263, 264
and 265 of the Code Criminal prosecution.
To want or represent the victim for the crime of extortion, do not know requires power
special and may be appointed to the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, stating that the appointment is made in separate minutes, in which it will be sufficient to indicate the key of the victim in case of application of the Victim and Witness Protection Regime.
Competition and Special Rules
Art. 7.-The crime of extortion will be the jurisdiction of the Common Ordinary Criminal Courts, except in its organized crime or complex execution, in which case they will know the Specialized Courts, in application of the Law Against Crime Organized and Realization Offences
Complexes.
This Special Law will be processed, crimes that are related to the crime of extortion.
Investigation and Probation Techniques
Art. 8.-In the investigation of the crime of extortion, police investigation techniques, such as the case of deliveries under police coverage or those established in Art. 282 of the Code
Criminal Procedure, such as agents, may be used. In addition, prior authorization from the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, as well as the recording of the calls of one of the interlocutors, in accordance with Art. 46 of the Special Law for the Intervention of Telecommunications.
In the prosecution of the crime of extortion, the application of advances of proof and admission of the reference testimony.
The Judges shall grant probative value to the analysis of call logs and the statements of law enforcement agents or individuals who participated in the negotiation and delivery under police coverage,
as well as any other probative, scientific or technological means that leads them to the conviction of the existence of the crime and the criminal involvement.
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Special Case of Extorsion from Penitentiary Centers
Art. 9.-In those cases that I will be involved as an author or participate in the committing of the crimes established in this Special Law, some inmates of the Prison System, the Special Lockdown Regime must be applied in the Center Security Penitentiary, in accordance with
as established by Art. 103 of the Penitentiary Law, where it must also serve the penalty for this fact.
In the event that a prison official or authority is involved, such as author or
accomplice, allowing the entry of illegal persons to allow the crimes set forth in this Special Law, shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of Arts 2 and 3 of this Special Law.
Electronic Information
Art. 10.- When in the course of an investigation or during delivery devices under police coverage, searches, prison searches or any place of detention, a
person is suspected of possessing constitutive information. of a crime or useful for the investigation stored in technological equipment or instruments, of their property or possession, it may be adopted prior to the functional direction of the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, the measures that guarantee the obtaining, protection or storage of the information, without prejudice to the possibility of its seizure.
Extinction Product Domain Extinction
Art. 11.-The Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic shall proceed according to its criteria of intervention in those cases where the parameters regulated in the Special Extinction Law of
Domain and the Administration of the Goods of Origin or Illicit Destination.
TITLE III
UNIQUE CHAPTER
SPECIAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATIONS
Obligation of Telecom Commercial Network Operators
Art. 12.-The Commercial Network Operators of Telecommunications will have the obligation to adopt and apply the commercial procedures and technical solutions that are necessary, in order to avoid the provision of the traffic services of
General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications willresponsible for issuing the
. applicable technique that contains the parameters for compliance with the
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this article, as well as the geographical perimeter that will be affected by the implementation of such measures.
Obligation of Temporary Suspension of Service in the case of Extorsion Crime
Art. 13.-The Commercial Network Operators of Telecommunications will have to carry out the immediate suspension of the telecommunications services required by the Office of the Prosecutor General of the
Republic, for being used in the commission of the extortion and other related crimes, which may not be rehabilitated or redeployed until such institutions authorize it.
In cases where the suspension has been carried out by fiscal order, the latter must request ratification by the Competent Criminal Judge within the period of seventy-two hours, who must resolve the requested within the same period, communicating that decision to the General Superintendence of
Electricity and Telecommunications and to the relevant Operator, to act as ordered by the judge. In the event that the corresponding judge does not respond within the period indicated above, the response to the tax request shall be considered to be positive.
Failure to comply with this article by the Network Operators Commercial Telecommunications will be sanctioned with a fine of five hundred monthly minimum wages in force in the sector of commerce and services for each infringement, without prejudice to the criminal liability in
that could be incurred by the administrators or employees who are responsible for the non-compliance.
Prohibition of Traffic Telecommunications in the Prison Centers, Prison Farms, or
Internet Centers
Art. 14.-Commercial Network Operators of Telecommunications are prohibited to provide or
to provide services of all kinds of telecommunications traffic in the physical spaces where the penitentiary centers are located, penitentiary farms or children's detention centers, for which they will be obliged to take all necessary technical measures.
These physical spaces will be established by the General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
found in this prohibition, fixed telephony services, internet and data connection contracted by the management of such prison centers.
It is the responsibility of the operating society to ensure compliance with established in the previous paragraph, empowering the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to verify its compliance, in
coordination with the General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications and in accordance with Art. 6 of the Regulation of the Use of Electronic Media Surveillance in Criminal Matters.
responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in coordination with the General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications, to monitor that telephony services are not used to originate or receive communications to the interior of prison facilities, prison farms or detention centers for minors.
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The unjustified breach of the provisions of this Article shall be sanctioned with a fine of three thousand monthly minimum wages in force in the trade and services sector, for every day
incurs one or more infringements.
In the event of repeated or continued infringement for a period of more than one day, the calculation of the
value of the fine in no case will be greater than ninety days.
In case of In addition to the fine, five or more infractions will be incurred within a year, in addition to the fine, will be
sanctioning the infringing Operator with the revocation of the concession, prior to exhaustion of the respective sanctioning procedure.
All the above without prejudice to the relevant legal responsibilities based on current legislation.
The General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications will be the competent entity to deal with and resolve the sanctioning procedure with regard to the Commercial Network Operators of Telecommunications in accordance with the Special Law and Telecommunications Law and its
regulation, as the case may be, should inform the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic.
Obligatory of the Inter-Institutional Collaboration
Art. 15.-State institutions shall collaborate within the framework of their legal powers with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in the coordination and implementation of policies and
guidelines for the implementation of the present Special Law.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security in coordination with the General Superintendence of
Electricity and Telecommunications, in the face of non-compliance with technical regulations, will order the Operator to carry out the corresponding adjustments. The unjustified breach of the order by this one, will constitute an infringement and will result in the beginning of the corresponding sanctioning procedure.
TITLE IV
UNICO CHAPTER
FINAL PROVISIONS
Disposition Transient
Art. 16.-The General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications will issue the corresponding technical regulation and technical measures to enforce the prohibition regulated in this Special Law, in a period not greater than ninety days from from the validity of this Decree.
Such provisions will further establish the time limit for making the adjustments that correspond, the parties involved, the mechanism to carry out the corresponding monitoring that may be made by third parties.
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Operators will not be responsible for the affectation of services in areas close to the set perimeters.
Drogatory
Art. 17.-Defeat Art. 214 of the Criminal Code, as well as any other provision that would oppose the provisions of this Special Law.
Substitute
Art. 18.-As not provided for in this Special Law
the provisions
the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure and other applicable laws will apply as appropriate.Vigencia
Art. 19.-This Decree shall enter into force eight days after its publication in the Official Journal
.
GIVEN IN THE BLUE HALL OF THE LEGISLATIVE PALACE: San Salvador, at the eighteen days of the
month of March of the year two thousand fifteen.
OTHON SIGFRIDO REYES MORALES,
PRESIDENT.
ENRIQUE ALBERTO LUIS VALDEZ SOTO, GUILLERMO ANTONIO GALLEGOS NAVARRETE,
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT. SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT.
JOSÉ FRANCISCO MERINO LÓPEZ, LORENA GUADALUPE PEÑA MENDOZA,
THIRD VICE PRESIDENT. FOURTH VICE-PRESIDENT.
CARLOS ARMANDO REYES RAMOS,
FIFTH VICE PRESIDENT.
GUILLERMO FRANCISCO MATA BENNETT, MANUEL VICENTE MENJÍVAR ESQUIVEL,
FIRST SECRETARY. SECOND SECRETARY.
SANDRA MARLENE SALGADO GARCÍA, JOSÉ RAFAEL MACHUCA ZELAYA,
THIRD SECRETARY. FOURTH SECRETARY.
IRMA LOURDES PALACIOS VÁSQUEZ, ERNESTO ANTONIO ANGULO MILLA,
FIFTH SECRETARY. SIXTH SECRETARY.
FRANCISCO JOSE ZABLAH SAFIE, JOSE SERAFIN ORANTES RODRIGUEZ, SEVENTH SECRETARY. EIGHTH SECRETARY.
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PRESIDENTIAL HOUSE: San Salvador, at twenty-three days of the month of March of the year two thousand Fifteen.
PUBESQUIESE,
Salvador Sánchez Cerén, President of the Republic.
Benito Antonio Lara Fernández, Minister of Justice and Public Security.
D. O. No. 56 Took Nº 406 Date: March 23, 2015
SV/adar 28-04-2015
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