Peru Congress commission advances bill protecting alleged perpetrators of crimes against humanity

[Judi Lynn]

Daniela Pulido | Facultad de Derecho PUCP, PE
MARCH 13, 2024 10:12:35 PM

The Constitutional Commission of the Peruvian Congress approved Tuesday the report of Bill No. 6951/2023-CR, which establishes that no one can be prosecuted, sentenced or punished for crimes against humanity or war crimes committed before July 1, 2002. As a result, emblematic cases from the period of internal violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000, which were still awaiting a definitive judicial response, could be closed.

According to the bill, the continuation of open trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, when such trials began before the entry into force of the Rome Statute (2002) and the Convention on the Imprescriptibility of Crimes of War and Crimes against Humanity (2003), is contrary to the principle of non-retroactivity in criminal law. In this regard, Article 7 of the draft law states the following:

The prescription of trials conducted on the presumption of crimes against humanity and/or war crimes is declared in cases where the maximum period established by the applicable criminal law has already been observed.

. . .

Although the Commission recommended that the crimes committed be promptly investigated, there are ongoing judicial processes related to crimes committed during the conflict that have been ongoing for more than 20 years. For instance, the Manta and Vilca case, which involves widespread and systematic acts of sexual violence committed by the military.

More:
https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/03/peru-congress-advances-bill-protecting-alleged-perpetrators-of-crimes-against-humanity/