After finishing the Council of State, Dina Boluarte reported that it has been decided establish a legal framework that supports members of the Police and the Armed Forces in the use of force to fulfill their duties. Furthermore, it was determined that these troops will be tried exclusively in the military-police jurisdiction, thus limiting its responsibility to this judicial area. The Government of Dina Boluarte must present this package of reforms to Congress, who will be responsible for approving them.
“In terms of citizen security, the formulation of the constitutional legal framework that guarantees members of the PNP and Armed Forces to use force in the performance of their functions has been addressed and agreed upon, determining that the Military Police Jurisdiction is the only one where they could be judged when they have used their regulation weapons and always after a report from the inspectorate as a requirement for predictability,” he said at a press conference.
This proposal had been smuggled into the proposal of the Executive power regarding the bill on urban terrorism, which was discussed last month. However, it was not included. Despite this, the Government of Dina Boluarte did its best to make it available at all costs.
Along the same lines, Dina Boluarte also announced that they will increase the penalties for those expelled foreigners who re-enter the country irregularly.
What does it mean for police officers and Armed Forces to be prosecuted in military jurisdiction?
In agreement, with the constitutional lawyer Heber Joel Campos, he recalled that only crimes directly related to the functions of the members of the Armed Forces (FF.AA.) and the National Police of Peru (PNP) can be prosecuted within the scope of military jurisdiction. In the event that they commit common crimes, they must be subject to civil or ordinary jurisdiction.
“And that does not exclude, of course, the alleged commission of common crimes in the exercise of their functions. It is serious that the Government has omitted this and proposes a rule that is foreign to the consolidated constitutional practice in our country,†he said for La República.
Campos also warned that, in situations where soldiers and police are denounced for their actions during the control of social protests under a state of emergency, they will be tried in military jurisdiction.
What is the Council of State?
The Council of State is a consultative body whose main function is to advise the President of the Republic on important public policies and strategic decisions. This council is made up of the heads of the main constitutional and political bodies of the country. It includes the President of the Council of Ministers, the presidents of the Congress of the Republic, of the Judiciary, of the Constitutional Court, of the National Board of Justice, of the Public Ministry – Prosecutor’s Office of the Nation and the Ombudsman’s Office.
The function of the Council of State is mainly deliberative and its opinions and recommendations are not binding, that is, the President is not obliged to follow its advice. This body is convened in an extraordinary manner and at the request of the President of the Republic, to address issues of high national relevance.
