Provisions in the El Salvador Constitution Sample Clauses

Provisions in the El Salvador Constitution i. The Extradition of Salvadoran Nationals Over a decade ago, El Salvador passed a constitutional amendment overturning the prohibition on extraditing Salvadoran nationals.162 On December 22, 2009, the El Salvador Supreme Court of Justice voted to extradite Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx, a Salvadoran national convicted in the United States of sexual assault and indecency with a minor.163 The decision marked the first extradition of a Salvadoran national to the United States since the ratification of the 1911 Treaty.164 Anticipating the potentially positive implications of this historic landmark, Assistant Attorney General Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx stated, “Today’s extradition brings a criminal to justice and paves the way forward in our law enforcement partnership with El Salvador. This first extradition from El Salvador to the United States marks a turning point in our continued efforts to strengthen our joint efforts to hold criminals accountable.”165 Although Xxxxxxxx’x extradition indisputably warrants some optimism on behalf of U.S. prosecutors, it is important to note the less impressive practical implications of this otherwise positive shift in Salvadoran law and policy. Article VIII of the 1911 Treaty states, “Under the stipulations of this treaty, neither of the Contracting Parties shall be bound to deliver up its own citizens.”166 As a result, the Supreme Court of Justice retains sole discretion to extradite Salvadoran gang members jailed within El Salvador’s borders.167 Without any affirmative obligation to extradite nationals, the United States’ requests could fall victim to the judicial corruption and backlog in the Supreme Court of Justice.168 According to the State Department, the United States and El Salvador must negotiate, 161. Xxxxxxxxx, supra note 159, at B3. Note that U.S. Attorney Xxxxxxxxxx was commenting on the state of affairs prior to the Supreme Court of Justice’s December 2009 landmark decision to extradite a Salvadoran national to the United States. See infra Part III.B.i. 162. DOJ Press Release, supra note 139. 163. Id. 164. Id. 165. Id. 166. 1911 Treaty, supra note 9, art. VIII. 167. CONSTITUCIÓN DE LA REPÚBLICA DE EL SALVADOR art. 182(3) (1983). 168. See Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2009 Human Rights Report: El Salvador, DEP’T OF STATE (Mar. 11, 2010), xxxx://xxx.xxxxx.xxx/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2009/wha/136112.htm (listing “a judicial backlog, and corruption” as reasons for the Salvadoran public’s fleeting confidence in the country...