Honor Tribunals in Uruguay today

Gregorio Alvarez, a Uruguayan Army General, served as the last President of Uruguay (1981-1985) in the civilian-military dictatorship that lasted from 1973 to 1985.  In 2014, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica and the Minister of Defense, Eleutherio Fernandez Huidobro, both former guerrilleros of the Tupamaros, sought to reintroduce "Honor Tribunals" in the Armed Forces for members of the military who were sentenced to prison by civilian courts for human rights crimes.  These "Honor Tribunals" were reintroduced in 2014 specifically to try Gregorio Alvarez, who had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the death of 37 "subversives" in 1977 and 1978.  Gregorio Alvarez, however, was in poor health and passed away in a military hospital before he could be brought before an "Honor Tribunal."

Some 20 military officers in 2009 were sentenced to prison terms of 20-25 years for the crimes of enforced disappearances of approximately 200 Uruguayans during the civilian-military dictatorship.  The majority of these disappearances occurred in Argentina as part of Operation Condor.  The surviving high level officials are detained in a special prison in Uruguay called "Domingo Arena."

The "Honor Tribunal" is designed to judge the moral and ethical conduct of the members of the military and are independent from the military justice system.  The three members of the Tribunal are of the same or higher level than the officer being judged and "honor" in the military is a virtue, par excellence.  Honor is a religion, the religion of duty, which signals, in imperative form, one's appropriate behavior in every circumstance.  If the Tribunal concludes that the officer's conduct does not reflect the honesty and professional ethics of the Armed Forces, it can sanction the officer to the loss of pension, the loss of the right to use a uniform and the loss of the right to be taken care of in a military hospital.

In January 2019, the "Honor Tribunal" of the Navy issued a decision on the case of a retired naval captain, Juan Carlos Larcebeau, who was convicted by a civilian criminal court for illegal detentions and forced disappearances of Uruguayans in Argentina and it decided not to sanction him.  The Tribunal didn't even make a verbal observation to Larcebeau, the weakest sanction that the Tribunal can apply.  Nevertheless, the Tribunal's decision must be approved by the Ministry of National Defense or by the President of Uruguay.  Since he has been sentenced by a civilian court, the Navy understands that the government is not going to approve the "Honor Tribunal's" decision and so it is looking for a way that the decision could be approved.  Military sources reportedly stated that the case has been appealed.

"Honor Tribunals" were common in Spain and started in the military context exclusively to judge officers, that is, they were not designed to judge lower ranking officials or troops.  In 1918, the law extended the application of "Honor Tribunals" to the public administration and later to professional associations.  They were comprised of equals to the person being judged, whether they were military, civil servants or members of professional associations.  The purpose was the judge the dignity of the person who belonged to the profession or body of which he was a member.  If he was found unworthy of dignity, the person was expelled from the profession or body, without being allowed any recourse against the decision of the Tribunal.  Today, "Honor Tribunals" for the military or professions are illegal in Spain.

The "Honor Tribunals" appear to exist today in other areas in Uruguay.  The Frente Amplio (Broad Front) political party, to which former Uruguayan President Mujica and current Uruguayan President Tabare Vasquez belong, recently expelled OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro because Almagro  did not reject the possibility of a military intervention in Venezuela to depose the regime of Nicolas Maduro.  In addition, President Vasquez announced that he would not support Luis Almagro for re-election to the post of OAS Secretary General when his term expires in 2020.