El Salvador · Overview
The legal system of El Salvador
A civil-law system under the 1983 Constitution, fully dollarised since 2001. Two features are unusual: Bitcoin was made legal tender in 2021 (amended in 2025 to remove compulsory acceptance), and the country has operated under a renewed régimen de excepción since March 2022, suspending several constitutional guarantees including the limit on pre-charge detention. Any citizen may ask the Constitutional Chamber to strike down a statute.
Legal tradition
El Salvador belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system under the 1983 Constitution, fully dollarised since 2001. Two features are unusual: Bitcoin was made legal tender in 2021 (amended in 2025 to remove compulsory acceptance), and the country has operated under a renewed régimen de excepción since March 2022, suspending several constitutional guarantees including the limit on pre-charge detention. Any citizen may ask the Constitutional Chamber to strike down a statute.
How power is divided
Unitary, with 14 departments. A 2023 reform cut municipalities from 262 to 44 and the Legislative Assembly from 84 seats to 60.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Article 144 places ratified treaties above ordinary statutes.
- Statutes of the Legislative Assembly
- Single chamber; some organic statutes need a qualified majority.
- Codes
- Civil Code 1859, Labour Code 1972, Criminal Code 1997, Family Code 1994.
- Constitutional Chamber precedent
- Binding, including its self-executing remedies.
The legal profession
The Supreme Court itself authorises the exercise of the profession and holds disciplinary power, so a lawyer's licence can be suspended by the court rather than by a bar. Notarial function is granted separately, also by the Supreme Court.
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