Rights
Constitutional Chamber review, and a régimen de excepción since 2022
The Sala de lo Constitucional of the Supreme Court decides amparo, habeas corpus and abstract unconstitutionality claims, the last of which any citizen may bring. Since March 2022 a renewed régimen de excepción has suspended several constitutional guarantees, and any statement of Salvadoran rights that omits it would be misleading.
Key rules
- Any citizen may file an inconstitucionalidad claim in the abstract, without showing personal injury.
- Amparo protects constitutional rights against acts of authority and, exceptionally, private actors in positions of power.
- The régimen de excepción, renewed monthly since March 2022, suspends limits on detention length and the right to counsel on arrest.
- The Sala was replaced en bloc by the Legislative Assembly on 1 May 2021, a step the Inter-American Commission found incompatible with judicial independence.
- El Salvador accepts Inter-American Court jurisdiction, though compliance with its judgments has been contested.
Governing law
- Constitución de la República de El Salvador (Arts 29-30, 174, 183)Rights, emergency powers and constitutional review.
- Ley de Procedimientos ConstitucionalesAmparo, habeas corpus and unconstitutionality.
In practice
Under the régimen de excepción administrative detention without charge has been extended and mass hearings are common, so timelines in the ordinary statutes should not be assumed to apply. Verify the current renewal decree before advising on any detention matter.