Complementary section · Emergency

Of when the document permits action without waiting

This section regulates the extraordinary regime that permits the operational action of Alerta when a decision does not admit the term of the ordinary tricameral procedure. The emergency regime is restrictive in its scope, brief in its duration and fully reversible. Its improper use authorizes the activation of the orderly dissolution procedure of Article XIV.

The emergency regime does not suspend the constitutional body. It enables immediate operational decisions within a defined perimeter and obligates the person who adopts them to submit them to tricameral ratification in the shortest possible term.

On what constitutes a constitutional emergency

A constitutional emergency is constituted by any circumstance that simultaneously meets the following three conditions:

First condition. A concrete, imminent and grave risk threatens the physical safety of a Vigía, of an observed person, or of the editorial team; or threatens the operational integrity of the system; or threatens the solvency of the inalienable corpus.

Second condition. The decision that mitigates the risk does not admit the minimum term of tricameral convocation and deliberation established in Article IV.

Third condition. Inaction would produce a substantially greater harm than the harm produced by the extraordinary action.

The absence of any of the three conditions excludes the possibility of invoking the emergency regime. Subjective urgency, external pressure, commercial opportunity or operational inconvenience do not constitute constitutional emergencies.

On who may invoke the emergency

The emergency regime may be invoked by any of the following three:

The editor responsible for the operational shift at the moment of the emergency, when the circumstance relates to the safety of a Vigía or to an operational risk of the system.
The presidency of the Chamber of Custody, when the circumstance relates to the inalienable corpus.
The editorial signature responsible for the document, when the circumstance simultaneously compromises more than one scope.

The invocation is recorded at the very moment of the action, with the signature of the person who invokes it, the description of the risk, the decision adopted and the foreseen duration.

On the limits of emergency action

Action under the emergency regime respects the following limits:

It cannot suspend the operation of Article V. Civic safety prevails even in emergency.
It cannot modify the composition or the procedures of the chambers constituted in accordance with Article IV.
It cannot alter the operational parameters of the inalienable corpus beyond temporary precautionary measures that preserve its solvency.
It cannot affect the ownership of the observations documented by the Vigías nor their right to portability in accordance with Article XIII.
It cannot extend beyond the term necessary for the convocation of the chambers and the tricameral decision, with an absolute maximum of fourteen calendar days.

The decisions adopted under the emergency regime are published in the public registry within the seventy-two hours following their adoption, with the exception of measures whose immediate publication would compromise the safety of identifiable persons. This exception is applied restrictively and remains subject to tricameral review.

On the ratification or annulment of emergency decisions

Every decision adopted under the emergency regime is submitted to tricameral ratification at the nearest possible session and, in any case, before the expiration of the fourteen-day term.

The tricameral ratification admits three resolutions:

Confirmation. The decision is incorporated into the ordinary operational regime with the adjustments that the chambers determine.
Annulment with retroactive effect. The decision is considered not adopted. The effects produced are reversed insofar as possible. Those who were affected receive reparation in accordance with the procedure that the chambers establish.
Annulment with future effect. The decision is considered adopted until the date of the resolution. The effects produced until that date remain firm. The continuity of the decision ceases with the resolution.

The absence of tricameral pronouncement within the fourteen-day term produces annulment with retroactive effect by silence.

On the proportionality control

Every action under the emergency regime is submitted to the control of proportionality between the invoked circumstance and the adopted decision. The control verifies:

That the adopted decision effectively mitigates the invoked risk.
That no less restrictive decision would have produced the same effect.
That the foreseen duration corresponds to the minimum necessary term.
That the decision preserves, insofar as possible, the rights of the affected entities.

The proportionality control is exercised by the Editorial Chamber in the first instance and by the three chambers jointly at the ratification session. The repeated invocation of the emergency regime by the same editorial signature within the same quarter activates the disciplinary review of its mandate.