El Salvador: Free Trade Agreement Ruled Unconstitutional

The Salvadorian Supreme Court declared two agreements hidden within the text of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) as unconstitutional over the weekend.

All five Supreme Court justices ruled that the two articles declared unconstitutional took away power from the legislature to ratify international agreements or abolish existing laws.  

The ruling stemmed from lawsuits dating back to 2004, claiming that the CAFTA agreement had violated the county’s national sovereignty. 

The court reviewed 21 cases of unconstitutionality out of which only two were accepted as in violation of the country’s constitution. 

The court officials did not accept the legal allegations of violation of judicial independence, labor rights or national sovereignty. 

The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) was an expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement, that included five Central American nations (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua), and the Dominican Republic. It was signed May 28, 2004.