US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA2459

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 002459 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, DRL/IL, AND EB/TPP 
STATE PASS USTR FOR AUSTR VARGO 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN 
DOL FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, SENV, ETRD, EAID, PREL, HO 
SUBJECT:  CAFTA LABOR/ENVIRONMENT QUESTIONS: INFORMATION 
FROM HONDURAS 
 
REF: State 283733 
 
1. Below are Post's responses to the questions raised in 
paragraphs 5-6 of reftel. 
 
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Labor Laws 
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2. The Ministry of Labor can levy fines against companies 
that violate the country's labor laws.  These fines can 
range from 20 to 10,000 Lempiras (USD 1.14 to USD 570) per 
violation, depending on the seriousness of the violation. 
Articles 359, 469, 500, and 625 of the Labor Code (reformed 
by decree 978 on July 14, 1980) govern sanctions and fines 
for labor issues.  Along with a fine, the Ministry can 
impose corrective measures that must be undertaken by a 
company.  The ministry can also suspend labor union board 
members or suspend a union's registration for violations. 
Serious labor violations (such as threats or violence 
against union organizers) could be classified as crimes and 
could result in criminal proceedings and a jail sentence. 
 
3. The Ministry of Labor can reach administrative decisions 
on allegations of unfair dismissal and fine companies but 
only a court can order reinstatement of workers.  (Note: 
There is no quasi-judicial system in Honduras.  End Note.) 
 
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Environmental Laws 
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4.  The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment can 
levy fines against parties which violate the country's 
environmental laws.  These fines can range from 1,000 to 
1,000,000 Lempiras (USD 57 to USD 57,000), depending on the 
seriousness of the violation.  The Ministry can also suspend 
or cancel the environmental permits issued by the Ministry 
which are required for many kinds of businesses to operate. 
Again, the length of the suspension depends upon the 
seriousness of the violation. 
 
5.  Most violations of environmental law are considered 
misdemeanors.  Extremely serious cases, however, could be 
classified as crimes and result in criminal proceedings and, 
theoretically, a jail sentence.  The Ministerio Publico 
(Prosecutor General's Office) does have an office 
specifically responsible for environmental crimes, and has 
brought criminal charges in cases involving burning of 
forests and deliberate destruction of the coral reef off the 
north coast.  To post's knowledge, however, no one in 
Honduras has ever been sent to jail for violation of 
environmental laws. 
 
6.  Under the Honduran legal system, an "acta", in and of 
itself, is nothing more than a legal declaration or finding. 
It is not, by itself, analogous to the U.S. concept of a 
compliance agreement.  The law does, however, make provision 
for an "acta de acuerdo" or "acta de compromiso" which would 
be roughly similar to a U.S. compliance agreement: an 
agreement by which the offending company agrees to come into 
compliance with the law.  (Even under an "acta de acuerdo", 
the company is required to pay a fine.) 
 
7.  While provision for an "acta de acuerdo" exists in the 
law, it is apparently very uncommon in practice: a legal 
contact who worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources and 
Environment until very recently knows of not a single case 
in which an "acta de acuerdo" was established.  Instead, 
companies seem to prefer to deny the allegations entirely 
and, if unsuccessful in doing so, pay the required fine and 
submit to corrective measures ("medidas de mitigacion y 
correcion del dano") imposed by the Ministry, which must be 
undertaken before the Ministry will re-issue the company's 
environmental permit. 
 
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Amparo 
------ 
 
8. In Honduras an "amparo" (Article 183 of the Constitution) 
can only be filed against a governmental entity, not against 
a private company.  Also, for environmental issues, an 
"amparo" can only be brought once the Ministry of Natural 
Resources and Environment has twice found an environmental 
complaint to be without basis. 
 
9. For example, if an environmental NGO believes that a 
certain company is violating the nation's environmental 
laws, the NGO must first file a complaint with the Ministry 
of Natural Resources and Environment, presenting evidence of 
their complaints against the company.  The Ministry will 
then undertake an investigation to determine if the 
complaint is valid.  If the Ministry rejects the complaint, 
the NGO may then file a "recurso de revision" or "recurso de 
reposicion", to request that the Ministry re-evaluate the 
case.  If the Ministry again rejects the complaint, then and 
only then may the NGO bring an "amparo" against the Ministry 
(not against the company) to claim that its constitutional 
rights are being violated.  The "amparo" is brought directly 
to the Supreme Court. 
 
Palmer