Honduras CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER LEGAL PROVISIONS
Members of the Honduran army's 7th battalion train in joint United
States-Honduran exercises.
Courtesy Department of Defense, Still Media Records Center
The 1982 constitution and the Constituent Law of the
Armed
Forces, issued in 1975, form the legal framework within
which the
military operates. According to Article 272 of the
constitution,
the armed forces is "a national institution that is
permanent,
essentially professional, nonpolitical, obedient, and
nondeliberative." Its mission is to "defend the
territorial
integrity and sovereignty of the Republic, to maintain
peace,
public order and the integrity of the Constitution, the
principle
of free elections and regular presidential succession."
Furthermore, the armed forces is directed to cooperate
with the
executive branch in developmental activities, including
education,
agrarian reform, extension of the transportation and
communications
infrastructure, health, and preservation of natural
resources.
At the top of the military command hierarchy is the
president of
the republic, who is the titular head of the armed forces
and is
given the title of general commander (comandante
general).
According to Article 19 of the constituent law, the
president is
empowered to maintain the territorial integrity and
inviolability
of Honduras and to preserve internal and external
security.
However, these and other presidential powers are
circumscribed by
Article 278 of the constitution, which specifies that
presidential
orders given through the chief (jefe) of the armed
forces
(who is the top active-duty military officer) are to be
obeyed by
the military. Unlike earlier constitutions, the 1982
document
contains no article explicitly reserving for the armed
forces the
right to disobey presidential orders. Lack of such a
provision
reflects growth in the number of "checks and balances"
between
military and civilian authorities that have been
incorporated into
existing legislation.
The president can declare war while the National
Congress is not
in session, but the National Congress must immediately be
convened
to confirm the action. The president can also permit
foreign
troops, ships, and aircraft to move through national
territory, if
congress has authorized such action in advance. The
president has
the power to send troops abroad in support of existing
treaty
commitments or other international agreements, but only
with prior
congressional authorization. Further provisions allow the
president
to call up the reserves in time of war or internal unrest
and to
organize and deploy military units on national territory
when these
actions are taken through the chief of the armed forces.
Honduran presidents have occasionally attempted to
construct an
independent base of power around control of the
Presidential Honor
Guard and to politically manipulate the promotion system.
To curb
the power of the president, the military has carefully
circumscribed presidential power in both areas by law. The
president names personnel to the honor guard, but only
with the
approval of the Secretary of State for National Defense
and Public
Security (as the Honduran minister of defense is formally
known).
Honor guard officers are selected from among active-duty
military
personnel, who thus remain under the direct control of the
chief of
the armed forces. Article 21 of the constituent law states
that the
honor guard "will consist of the number of officers and
enlisted
men strictly necessary for the accomplishment of its
mission."
Because this mission is largely ceremonial, the president
is
effectively prevented from expanding the unit. The
Presidential
Honor Guard was disbanded when the country returned to
civilian
rule in the early 1980s.
Article 279 of the constitution states that the chief
of the
armed forces must be a senior officer holding at least the
rank of
colonel or its equivalent, on active duty, and a native
Honduran.
The chief of the armed forces is chosen by congress from a
list of
three names proposed by Consuffaa, serves a five-year
term, and can
be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of congress
for reasons
such as permanent physical or mental incapacity. To
prevent the
concentration of political power in the hands of the
president, the
constitution specifies that no relative of the president
to the
fourth level of consanguinity can be chosen as chief of
the armed
forces.
Powers of the chief of the armed forces encompass the
full range
of organizational and administrative activities. The armed
forces
chief is empowered to "release the directives,
instructions and
orders that regulate the organization, functioning, and
administration of the armed forces," prepare military
plans,
inspect military installations and troop units, and assign
personnel to the various branches. Additionally, it is the
armed
forces chief who most directly controls, regulates, and
manages
institutional military relations with foreign governments.
The
chief decides which countries should supply military aid
and
training and to which countries officers and enlisted
personnel
will be sent for schooling. The armed forces chief also
holds
ultimate control over officer promotions, but rarely
overturns a
decision of the promotions board.
Although the powers of the chief of the armed forces
are
substantial, before April 1982 members of Consuffaa also
wielded
considerable power over the military. Its members include
the armed
forces chief (who serves as chairman), the minister of
national
defense and public security, the chief of the General
Staff of the
Armed Forces, the inspector general, commanders of the
various
service branches, and commanders of airbases and naval
fleets.
Consuffaa also includes commanders of combat and support
units
organized at the brigade level, or at the battalion level
when
independent; the directors of the various service schools;
and the
armed forces' auditor and paymaster general. Depending on
the
specific period of time and organizational structure of
the armed
forces, Consuffaa has had from twenty-five to forty
members.
The chief of the armed forces convokes regular
sessions of
Consuffaa at least four times a year. In addition,
extraordinary
sessions are held if called for by the president of the
republic,
the armed forces chief, or by one-third of Consuffaa's
members.
Consuffaa establishes its own internal rules, which
include the
following provisions: that two-thirds of the members be
present
before a meeting be held, that decisions be reached by
majority
vote, that ties be broken by the armed forces chief, and
that all
decisions be binding.
Consuffaa evolved from a predecessor body called the
Superior
Defense Council, which was established in 1970 to give
legitimacy
to the position of General López Arellano and to deal with
matters
of military succession. Under rules in effect in the early
1980s,
Consuffaa could propose a slate of three candidates to
congress to
fill the unexpired term of the chief of the armed forces
should the
position fall vacant. If congress is in recess, it is
called into
special session. However, Consuffaa is more than just a
body with
narrow, if important, procedural powers. Under both
military and
civilian governments, it has become the ultimate
authority,
determining broad matters of national policy. Consuffaa
has the
power to review and approve the national security budget
in
advance, to form commissions consisting of civilians and
soldiers
to study any national problem of interest to the armed
forces, and
to familiarize itself with national development plans.
Although not technically subordinate to the chief of
the armed
forces and Consuffaa, the Secretary of State for National
Defense
and Public Security occupies a position that responds to
their
actions. Appointed to office by the president, the
Secretary of
State for National Defense and Public Security
countersigns all
measures dealing with armed forces organization and
personnel
matters. He or she also serves as the channel through
which are
conveyed measures submitted by the military high command
for
discussion and approval by the executive branch and
congress. Each
year this secretary reports to congress on the current
activities
of the armed forces. The secretary of state heads the
Ministry of
National Defense and Public Security, which formally
controls the
Public Security Force (Fuerza de Seguridad
Públíca--Fusep). Actual
control of Fusep, however, is held by the chief and the
General
Staff of the Armed Forces.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces is the body through
which the
chief of the armed forces plans, coordinates, and
supervises
organizational activities. Planning functions include the
development of the strategic doctrine and tactics that the
military
will use in pursuit of national objectives. The general
staff is
also charged with incorporating these ideas into the
programs of
study of all military schools and with planning and
supervising
military exercises that reflect their character. Just as
important
as the general staff's planning function are the
supervisory and
coordinating functions that allow the chief of the armed
forces to
coordinate and control the activities of the various
service
branches. The General Staff of the Armed Forces is charged
with
seeing that the operational orders of the service branch
chiefs are
carried out and with compiling information concerning the
activities and requirements of subordinate commands. The
importance
of the position held by the chief of the general staff is
indicated
by Article 281 of the constitution, which stipulates that
the chief
of the general staff will perform the duties of chief of
the armed
forces when the latter is temporarily absent from duty.
Data as of December 1993
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