GUATEMALA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ignacio Andrade Aycinena, Alejandro Solares Solares, Claudia Pontaza Rubio and Lester Meda Ruano, Lex Atlas
disability and survival) – in Guatemala for workers and regulations issued by its board of directors; • the Governmental Agreement 221-94; the Regulation for the Negotiation, Homologation and Denunciation Procedure of the Collective Pacts of Working Conditions of Company or Certain Production Centre; • Convention 175 of the ILO, under which part-time work is applicable in Guatemala, although there are uncertainties around how best to apply it, with initiatives that seek to regulate it more efficiently; part-time work in Guatemala is nevertheless legal, and there is a regulation for such work in Government Agreement 89-2019; and • Government Agreement 79-2020, which is a home office regulation, has also been issued. 2.6 National Security Review There are no provisions for a national security review for foreign investments in Guatemala, for either acquisitions or mergers. In Guatemalan Congress, a specific initiative for the regulation of the topic has been discussed for more than three years, but there are still no laws enacted in this regard except for existing regulations on restricted military items, chlorates, nitrates, ammunition, explosives and similar. The same is true regarding firearms and the import of nuclear residues as well as similar topics. 3. Recent Legal Developments 3.1 Significant Court Decisions or Legal Developments Community Consultations and Mining There have been no regulations enacted in the mining and energy sectors to determine how the consultation mechanism of ILO Agreement 169
should be applied. The court has found insuffi - cient consultation methods in these cases, and the absence of clarity has affected investment in these areas. The government decided to under - take the consultation procedure, and a state of emergency was declared in the zone. Cases Presented Before the Ministry of the Economy In October 2024, Mayaniquel, a nickel Mining operator, submitted a request to submit issues regarding its mining operations in Izabal against the Government of Guatemala. Corruption Criminal corruption cases and irregular elections financing criminal cases have had an impact on how transactions are structured, providing for between-parties relief and warranties in situa - tions in which the target or their principals or agents are targets of investigations or criminal proceedings. Locally, corruption prosecution activities were reduced during 2024, and the government discontinued prosecution in some major cases. The authorities focused on the prosecution of some who, in the past, were cor - ruption prosecutors or judges, which has result - ed in the jailing or prosecution of anti-corruption actors. Tax A law was enacted requiring companies to dis - close their shareholders and their tax identifica - tion annually, and the shareholders’ stake in the company. The tax authorities, on recent interpretation, have presumed that any cash transaction between the company and its shareholders in which pay - ments are made to the latter constitutes a divi - dend payment subject to withholding tax, unless
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