Freedom of Expression
El Salvador
Legislation
111. On August 15, 2002, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved the new National Defense Act, whose purpose is “to establish the legal, organizational and functional basis for preparing and executing national defense.” Article 25 of this law provides that “Public or municipal officials and authorities and natural or legal persons must duly provide information officially requested by competent authorities for the purposes of national defense.” According to the information received, on August 20, the Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES), the Foundation for the Study of Applied Law (FESPAD) and PROBIDAD sent a letter to the President of the Republic, Mr. Francisco Flores, stating that the article in question violated the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, especially because it could force journalists to reveal their sources of information in the interests of “national defense.”[i]
112. According to the information received by the Office of the Special Rapporteur, a letter to the President dated August 20, signed by APES, the Foundation for the Study of Applied Law (FESPAD), and PROBIDAD, the President was asked to suggest that legislators amend Article 25 requiring journalists to reveal their information sources in the interests of “national defense.” In October 2002, according to the information provided by these organizations, President Francisco Flores presented his comments on the recently approved National Defense Act to the Legislative Assembly, suggesting that legislators amend the law to exempt natural and legal persons from the obligation to turn information over to the authorities for the purposes of defense.[ii]
113. On September 26, 2002, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved a package of reforms to the Court of Accounts Act (concerning the principal oversight institution in El Salvador), including an amendment to Article 46 to provide that “audit reports (...) shall be disclosed to the public as soon as a resolution of exoneration of responsibilities has been issued or the judgment of the Court of Accounts has been declared enforceable.” Previously, this article did not place any legal restriction on the disclosure of audit reports to journalists or citizens immediately following their issuance. According to the information received, with the approval of this reform, audit reports will henceforth be secret in character until responsibilities have been determined or judgments of the Court of Accounts have been declared enforceable, which normally takes several years. On October 16, 2002, President Flores approved the reforms to the aforementioned law.[iii] This reform could impede timely access to information.