Rights
Constitutional Chamber amparo, with contested independence
The 1987 Constitution provides amparo, habeas corpus and habeas data through the Sala de lo Constitucional of the Corte Suprema. Since 2018 the OAS, the UN human-rights system and a UN Group of Human Rights Experts have documented the dismantling of independent checks, including mass deprivation of nationality, so the written guarantees and their practical availability diverge sharply.
Key rules
- Amparo lies against acts of officials violating constitutional rights, filed with the Tribunal de Apelaciones.
- Habeas corpus is available against unlawful detention and may be filed by a third party.
- 2014 and 2021 reforms removed presidential term limits and expanded executive powers.
- Laws 1040 and 1115 imposed foreign-agent and NGO registration rules used to close thousands of associations.
- A 2023 constitutional reform and accompanying decrees stripped nationality from hundreds of critics, which the Inter-American Court found unlawful.
Governing law
- Constitución Política de Nicaragua (Arts 45, 188-190)Rights and constitutional remedies.
- Ley de Amparo (Ley 49, as amended)Amparo and habeas corpus procedure.
- Ley 1115 General de Regulación de Organismos sin Fines de LucroNGO registration and dissolution.
In practice
Amparo must be filed within 30 days, but the Sala has in practice not ruled against the executive in politically sensitive matters since 2018. Advise clients that domestic remedies may be exhausted quickly for the purpose of an Inter-American petition.