The Constitutional Court (TC) declared well-founded the jurisdictional claim filed by the Executive Branch against the investigations initiated by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor's Office) into President Dina Boluarte, ordering the suspension of such proceedings until the end of her term in office.
The ruling specifies that the suspended investigations will resume once the presidential term ends, that is, starting on July 28, 2026.
According to the ruling, it will take effect from the day it is notified to the Public Ministry and the Judiciary.
Additionally, the ruling establishes that, from the issuance of this verdict, any investigations involving a head of state must take into account the institutional competence guidelines set forth therein.
The acts, now declared "void for lack of jurisdiction," pertain to three Public Ministry case files, as well as a resolution issued by the Judiciary authorizing the search of her residence in March 2024.
Actions will not be nullified
In the section "effects of the ruling," the Constitutional Court states that the actions of the Public Ministry and the Judiciary that were challenged by the claim undermined the powers and prerogatives of the president, "severely affecting the effective exercise of state authority."
However, the panel concludes that these acts should not be declared null and orders that their proceedings be suspended until the end of the presidential term.
"The interpretation of Article 117 of the Political Constitution established herein shall apply henceforth and must be followed by the Public Ministry and the Judiciary for cases currently underway or that may arise in the future," the ruling states in another section.
Cases that remain suspended
These are the prosecutorial and judicial proceedings against President Dina Boluarte that are suspended following the issuance of the Constitutional Court's ruling:
From the Public Prosecutor's Office:
1. Case File 153-2024: Order No. 1 of May 10, 2024, which initiated preliminary proceedings against Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra, President of the Republic, and Mr. Walter Ortiz Acosta, for the alleged crimes of personal concealment and abuse of authority.
2. Case File 277-2022: Order No. 2 of January 10, 2023, which initiated preliminary proceedings against Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra, President of the Republic, and Messrs. Pedro Angulo Arana, Luis Otarola Peñaranda, Cesar Cervantes Cardenas, Victor Rojas Herrera, and Jorge Chavez Cresta, for the alleged crimes of genocide, qualified homicide, and others (bodily injuries).
3. Case File 68-2024: Order No. 1 of March 18, 2024, which initiated preliminary proceedings against Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra, in her capacity as Minister of Development and Social Inclusion and President of the Republic, for the alleged crimes of illicit enrichment, genocide, qualified homicide, and others (bodily injuries), later expanded by Order No. 5 of April 24, 2024, to include an investigation for bribery and to incorporate Mr. Wilfredo Oscorima.
From the Judiciary:
1. Case File 00018-2024-1-5001-JS-PE-01: Resolution ONE of March 28, 2024, issued by the Supreme Court of Preparatory Investigation, which, among other things, upheld the requests for search, home search, personal search, and vehicle search; and authorized the seizure of Rolex watches and related documents from Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra.