It's not just Russia and Belarus that have been suspended from the upcoming Paris Olympics because of to the conflict with Ukraine that began in February 2022. Their athletes will be allowed to compete as neutrals, but without their national flag or their national anthem.

Guatemala faces a similar situation, albeit for different reasons. Since October 2022, a sanction has been in place due to the partial suspension of the statutes of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (COG) by the Constitutional Court, following a lawsuit filed by a presidential candidate for the organisation.

The suspension will remain in place until the COG's statutes, suspended by the court, are reinstated. As a result, Guatemalan athletes cannot compete in international tournaments with their flag or anthem, as was the case at the recent Pan American Games in Chile. This is despite Guatemala's long tradition of participating in the most important sporting event in the Americas since the inauguration of the Pan American Games in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

When the invitations to the 33rd Olympic Games of the modern era were sent out in July, IOC President Thomas Bach stated: "There are presidential elections; we hope that after the actions related to the electoral campaign, things will calm down, and Guatemalan athletes will be able to participate with their flag and anthem. If the situation is not resolved, we will invite the Guatemalan athletes to participate under the Olympic flag."

Therefore, while the suspension is currently in place, it is not out of the question that it could be lifted before the start of Paris 2024. This would allow Guatemalan athletes to compete under their own flag, rather than as neutrals under the IOC flag.

Recently, the Constitutional Court of Guatemala ruled that the Olympic Charter is once again above national law, after approving the withdrawal of a lawsuit filed on 22 September by a lawyer who had challenged the unconstitutionality of the suspension of phrases in the National Law for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport that mention the IOC.

On 2 October 2023 the Constitutional Court (CC), unanimously overturned the provisional suspension that it had ordered on 22 November2022 by a majority vote, thus excluding the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from certain representations within national sports and provided in the National Sports Law.

What does this unanimous decision by the Guatemalan Supreme Court mean? It means that Guatemala complies with the IOC Statutes and that the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (COG) is bound by the Sports Law and the Olympic Charter, the latter taking precedence over national law, as required by the IOC.

In other words, the IOC's international regulations take precedence over Guatemalan laws. This paves the way for the suspension to be lifted, as sooner or later the legislation required by the IOC to be considered a country worthy of participating in the Olympic Games will be applied.

This new criterion of the Constitutional Court drastically changes the criterion that it had presented a year ago, which led to the suspension of the application of the Olympic Charter to internal sporting decisions and the subsequent suspension by the IOC. In other words, the Court allowed the suspension of the Olympic Charter in 2022, but now it has changed its criterion, giving it supremacy over the internal legal framework. It has decided not to pursue the case that led to the suspension.

At the time, the decision on the applicability of the Olympic Charter and the unconstitutionality raised by Turton Avila aimed to give priority to the Sports Law over the document that regulates Olympism worldwide.

In response to the suspension of the articles of the Olympic Charter, the IOC declared that it would only recognise the National Executive Committee of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (COG), elected on the basis of the statutes approved by it and not on the basis of other regulations, as allowed by the criteria of the Constitutional Court, which have now been modified after a year of significant consequences.

Therefore, since the Constitutional Court lifted the provisional suspension it had imposed on 22 November 2022 and returned to its previous criterion, which recognises the constitutional supremacy of the Olympic Charter over internal laws, the door is open for Guatemala to rejoin the Olympic Movement and thus participate in Paris 2024.

However, victory cannot yet be declared as the core issue remains unresolved. The step taken is significant, but more needs to be done. In April 2023, the Federated Sports Electoral Tribunal (Tedefe) filed a petition to declare several articles of the internal law unconstitutional, in order to meet the IOC's requirements for lifting the sanction on the COG.

In conclusion, Guatemala's participation in the Olympic Games is still a long way off, but not as impossible as it seemed until recently. The Constitutional Court's criteria has changed, and all that remains is for it to consolidate its position and set a precedent for the future, either by declaring the unconstitutionality or the inapplicability of the norms that contradict the Olympic Charter in a complete withdrawal.

If this is achieved, Guatemalan athletes will once again be able to compete with the best in the world and have the honour of representing this Central American country of over 17 million people. The judges of the Court and all those involved in the world of sport will have a crucial role to play.