Honduras
1. Constitutional structure and position of IHL in domestic law
The Republic of Honduras has a presidential, democratic system of government, and general elections are held every four years. There are three branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The country is divided into 18 departments, each of which is headed by a governor appointed by the President of the Republic.
Article 21 of the Constitution stipulates that international treaties must be approved by the National Congress and ratified by the executive. They are binding by virtue of their promulgation and publication in the official journal, La Gaceta, at which point they become law.
The National Congress determines whether or not a treaty affects a constitutional provision. The treaty is approved by means of the procedure governing constitutional reform, i.e. it is approved by two different legislatures, so that no conflict exists.
As the basic law of Honduras, the Constitution establishes the principle of constitutional pre-emption. Article 315 stipulates that if a constitutional norm is incompatible with an ordinary law, the judge shall apply the former. Article 64 provides that governmental or other laws and provisions governing the exercise of the declarations, rights and guarantees established in the Constitution shall not be applied if they diminish, restrict or infringe on the Constitution.
Honduras ratified the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 on 31 December 1965 and both Additional Protocols on 16 February 1995.
2. Legal expertise, dissemination/training by national authorities
The armed forces have legal advisers in all military units and offices of the Defence Secretariat and in the field of international humanitarian law. The State Secretariat in the Office of National Defence has a Humanitarian Law Directorate that was established by Agreement No. 0012 of 4 January 1999. The mission of the Humanitarian Law Directorate of the Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff is to ensure that the law of armed conflict is disseminated and applied and human rights protected and respected within the armed forces by providing training at all levels of command and by investigating breaches.
The Humanitarian Law Directorate has incorporated the study of humanitarian law in military instruction programmes at training centres. It has trained officers to provide that instruction.
The National Defence Academy also has specialists on the law, trained by foreign armed forces personnel who conducted seminars on international humanitarian law.
The forces of law and order also have personnel trained to teach and spread knowledge of humanitarian law among institutions such as the police force and the National Red Cross Society.
3. Bibliography
CERRATO, Héctor Martín. Catálogo de las medidas adoptadas por el Estado Hondureño en cumplimiento de las normas del derecho internacional humanitario, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Instituto de Investigación Jurídica, Honduras, 2002.
