Following two 10-year bans on holding public office imposed on former Attorney General Delia Espinoza, a request was filed on June 23 for her “permanent removal from the position of Dean of the Lima Bar Association (CAL)”; in “strict compliance” with Law 32645, which establishes the Professional Association of Artists of Peru. What about the autonomy of professional associations?
Currently, Supreme Prosecutor Delia Espinoza has held the position of Dean of the Lima Bar Association (CAL) since last April, while Law 32645 was published in the official gazette *El Peruano* on June 13—that is, months after she was democratically elected by the CAL, an independent institution governed by the Civil Code, its bylaws, and laws governing professional associations. Can a law be applied retroactively to private, non-criminal positions?
It would be inapplicable. According to Peru’s 1993 Constitution, which governs the country, laws are not retroactive, except in criminal matters and when they favor the person under investigation, on trial, or convicted. Previously, the 1979 Constitution provided for three types of retroactivity—criminal, labor, and tax—but it was amended.
Attorney Fernando Valdivia Correa requested Espinoza’s permanent removal from the position of dean of the CAL based on a provision that prevents disqualified individuals from holding positions in the governing bodies of professional associations. The PPC member submitted the request to the Supervisory Board, the CAL’s oversight body, citing the second disqualification against Espinoza.
