On March 26, 2026, the Constitutional Court of Guatemala confirmed the validity of Governmental Agreement 133/2024, which requires disclosure of beneficial ownership for public contracting processes. The decision, made public in mid-April, marks an important milestone for the advancement of transparency and anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala. In its ruling, the Court expressly acknowledged an amicus submission filed in September 2025 by the New York City Bar Association, with the support of the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice. The brief, submitted with a group of five civil society organizations – Acción Ciudadana, Centro Internacional para Investigaciones en Derechos Humanos,... read more
Post tagged in "amicus curiae"
Guatemalan Constitutional Court Aligns with Vance Center’s Amicus Brief in Decision Upholding Transparency and Anti-Corruption Efforts
Posted on May 7, 2026
10 organizaciones internacionales presentan un amicus curiae en el caso del periodista guatemalteco encarcelado José Rubén Zamora Marroquín
Posted on March 28, 202528 de marzo de 2025 – Un grupo de 10 organizaciones internacionales presentó esta semana un amicus curiae ante la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Guatemala en el caso del periodista José Rubén Zamora Marroquín. El amicus, presentado el 26 de marzo, argumenta que el retorno de Zamora a prisión preventiva constituye una violación de sus derechos fundamentales bajo el derecho guatemalteco e internacional, e insta a la Corte a otorgar un recurso de amparo pendiente y permitir que el Sr. Zamora lleve su proceso bajo medidas sustitutivas. José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, periodista y fundador del medio elPeriódico, fue detenido... read more
Vance Center, New York City Bar Association File Amicus Brief to UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Behalf of Guatemalan Indigenous Authorities
Posted on August 3, 2026New York, August 3, 2026 – The New York City Bar Association and its nonprofit program the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice today filed an amicus brief to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in representation of Luis Haroldo Pacheco Gutiérrez and Héctor Samuel Chaclán Batz, Indigenous authorities and former officials who have spent more than 15 months arbitrarily detained in Guatemala. The brief argues that their detention is arbitrary under four of the Working Group’s five categories. It asks the Working Group to declare Pacheco and Chaclán’s detention as arbitrary and call upon the Guatemalan state... read more
El Vance Center y el Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Nueva York presentan un amicus curiae ante el Grupo de Trabajo sobre la Detención Arbitraria de la ONU en apoyo de la denuncia de detención arbitraria de dos autoridades indígenas guatemaltecas
Posted on August 3, 2026Nueva York, 3 de agosto de 2026 – El Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Nueva York y el Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, un programa sin fines de lucro del mismo Colegio de Abogados, hoy presentaron un escrito de amicus curiae ante el Grupo de Trabajo sobre la Detención Arbitraria de las Naciones Unidas sobre la denuncia de la detención arbitraria de Luis Haroldo Pacheco Gutiérrez y Héctor Samuel Chaclán Batz, autoridades indígenas y antiguos funcionarios públicos que llevan más de 15 meses detenidos arbitrariamente en Guatemala. El escrito sostiene que su detención es arbitraria según... read more
10 International Organizations Submit Amicus Brief in Case of Imprisoned Guatemalan Journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín
Posted on March 28, 2025March 28, 2025 – A group of 10 international organizations submitted an amicus curiae brief to Guatemala’s Supreme Court in the case of journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín. The brief, filed on March 26, argues that Zamora’s return to preventive detention constitutes a violation of his fundamental rights under Guatemalan and international law, and urges the Court to grant a pending amparo appeal and allow Zamora to return to house arrest. José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, journalist and founder of the media outlet elPeriódico, was arrested on July 29, 2022 on charges of financial crimes and held in preventive detention for... read more
Vance Center Submits Amicus Brief to Guatemala’s Constitutional Court to Uphold Anti-Corruption Policies
Posted on September 3, 2025On September 3, 2025, the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice of the New York City Bar Association along with a group of civil society organizations – Acción Ciudadana, Centro Internacional para Investigaciones en Derechos Humanos, Diálogos A.C., Asociación Consejo Nacional Empresarial, and Involúcrate Guatemala – filed an amicus curiae brief to the Constitutional Court of Guatemala for the Case Regarding Governmental Agreement Number 133/2024. The amicus brief argues that Guatemala’s Constitutional Court should issue a ruling declaring an earlier action of partial unconstitutionality without merit and upholding the constitutionality of the Agreement’s Article 9(d)(ii), which ensures greater transparency and... read more