Arguing that the measures applied by the government directly harm employees and owners of restaurants and bars, a group of businessmen in Guatemala filed a legal action in the Constitutional Court.
Restrictions to productive activity have already been applied for days, since with the purpose of promoting actions aimed at interrupting the epidemiological chain of the Covid-19 disease, on April 17 Ministerial Agreement 87-2021 was published in the Diario de Centroamerica, a regulatory framework that requires a 25% reduction in the capacity of shopping centers, shopping malls, convenience stores and restaurants.
A few weeks before the new magistrates of the Constitutional Court take office in Guatemala, the business sector is asking that the new members of the highest court advocate for a real rule of law and provide legal certainty to investments.
In recent years, Guatemala's Constitutional Court (CC) has gained prominence in the country's economic sphere, as its rulings have affected different investments that were already operating locally.
After the Municipality of the head of the province of San Marcos, in Guatemala, decreed several trade restrictions to contain the advance of covid-19, the Constitutional Court decided to suspend them.
The country's highest court in constitutional matters heard the case after the Chamber of Commerce filed an action for protection against the provisions of the municipal corporation of the capital city of San Marcos, which were published on August 11 and are contained in Act 73-2020.
The Constitutional Court provisionally suspended the agreement that allowed companies that currently do not have the economic capacity to comply with the payment of the Annual Bonus, to reconcile the amortization of the obligation with the employees.
The agreement of the Ministry of Labor (Mintrab) 250-2020, which was published in the Diario de Centroamérica on July 10, stipulates that in order to postpone the payment of the Bono 14, employers who are not in a position to do so due to the economic crisis resulting from the outbreak of covid-19, could make an application to the Ministry.
In Guatemala, a group of deputies filed an unconstitutionality action against the ministerial agreement approving the Rocja Pontila hydroelectric project.
The authorization for the hydroelectric plant, owned by the Pontila Integrated Development Project and planned to be built on the Icbolay River in Alta Verapaz, was issued on January 13, 2020.
The legal appeal that the congressmen who make up the National Unity of Hope (Une) party presented to the Constitutional Court (CC), argues that Ministerial Agreement 019-2020 of the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) violates seven articles of the Constitution, including 1, 3, 12, 44, 66, 97 and 154.
Last December 2, the new Credit Card Law proposal received a favorable opinion from the Economy Commission of the Guatemalan Congress, and now it should be discussed in the plenary session.
Since November 26, the Guatemalan authorities have the power to access taxpayers' bank information for tax purposes, so they can now corroborate that the bank income of companies coincide with the payment of their taxes.
After the resolution of the Constitutional Court was published in the Diario de Centroamérica on November 25, in which the appeal of unconstitutionality filed by Escalas Mercantiles S.A., which was intended to prevent the authorities from having access to the banking information of companies and individuals, the law that empowers the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) to investigate taxpayers has come into effect.
The Constitutional Court revoked the $260 fine that the municipality of Guatemala would charge to heavy vehicles and double trailers that travel through the city in unauthorized hours, so now the penalty will be $65.
The action of unconstitutionality was brought to the Constitutional Court by the Central American Federation of Transportation (FECATRANS) and the National Coordinating Association of Transport, against Article 4 of Agreement COM-13-2016 of the Municipal Council of Guatemala.
Arguing to defend "the interests of the workers", labor union groups in Guatemala filed an appeal against the recently approved agreement regulating part-time employment in the country, and in response, the Constitutional Court decided to temporarily suspend it.
After several years of discussion, on June 27, 2019 Governmental Agreement 89-2019 was published in the Official Newspaper.
Arguing that the regulations contradict some articles of the Political Constitution, in Guatemala union groups brought an action against the agreement that allows companies to hire part-time personnel.
After years of discussion, on June 27th Governmental Agreement 89-2019 was published in the Official Gazette. This Agreement establishes the Regulations of Convention 175 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which will regulate the hiring of part-time personnel in the country.
The Guatemalan Nickel Company announced that it will go to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to request precautionary measures in response to the local authorities' decision to suspend operations at the Fénix mine in Izabal.
One year after the suspension of taxpayers' access to bank information for tax purposes, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court ruled definitively and revoked the suspension.
Arguing that it does not comply with the standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes, the OECD evaluated Guatemala negatively and recommended working on direct access to taxpayers' banking information.
As planned, following the temporary suspension by the Constitutional Court (CC) of the article of law facilitating access to taxpayers' bank information, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) decided to include Guatemala in the list of countries that do not comply with their fiscal information commitments.
Although in Guatemala the right to operate the El Escobal mine was granted in law, the project has been suspended for two years, making future investments in the country unviable.
The disadvantages for Minera San Rafael's operations date back to 2017, when in May of that year the Guatemalan Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (Calas) filed a protective action, arguing that the Ministry of Energy and Mines had not conducted the necessary community consultations before authorizing the licenses.
One month before the presidential elections in Guatemala, the Constitutional Court decided to remove from the election Zury Ríos and Thelma Aldana, two of the candidates with the highest voting intentions among the population.
The country's electoral process has been turbulent, since Zury Ríos and Thelma Aldana, presidential candidates who from the beginning headed the voting intentions for the 2019 General Elections, had multiple difficulties.