PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON INTER-AMERICAN SUMMITS MANAGEMENT

OEA/Ser.G   CE/GCI-46/96
28 February 1996
Original: Spanish

PERMANENT MISSION OF URUGUAY TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Washington, D.C.

February 20, 1996

Her Excellency
Ambassador Harriet Babbitt
Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS
Chair of the Special Commission on the Management of Summits

Washington, D.C.

Excellency:

In response to your kind note of February 9 and in my capacity as Chair of the Working Group on Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas, I am pleased to inform you of the action taken in keeping with the Plan of Action adopted by the Summit of the Americas and with the two resolutions adopted at the XXV OAS General Assembly, held in Haiti in June 1995 [Ref. AG/RES. 1325 and 1326 (XXV-O/95)].

To add to the contents of the note sent to you earlier (No. 223/95 of November 1, 1995), I am pleased to inform you that notes were received from:

(a) the Permanent Mission of Nicaragua to the OAS, transmitting the interest of the Central American Court of Justice and of the Supreme Court of Justice, the former supporting the organization of regional workshops and seminars on the dissemination of international legal standards, and the latter expressing its desire to receive assistance to issue a new Penal Code, Criminal Investigation Code, and Business Code; replace the current Organic Law on Courts; and draft a Law on Administrative Disputes; and

(b) the Permanent Mission of Bolivia to the OAS, informing us of the aspiration that the School of Public Defense (EDP) in Tarija enlist the cooperation of the OAS for the organization of certain activities related to either training for public defense attorneys, or the administration of justice and ethical values in legal defense; the defense of human rights, topics of penal law, or the validity of the legally binding nature of agreements.

Both notes are attached for the purposes of duly informing the Special Committee.

With the above-mentioned material, this Working Group is pursuing its efforts, not only by selecting topics and defining approaches to them, but also by seeking sources of financing that will facilitate progress.

The hope of this Group to see both activities occur in the course of this year has certainly been bolstered.

Accept, Excellency, renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

Julio C�sar Jaureguy
Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the OAS
Chair of the Working Group on Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
COMMITTEE ON JURIDICAL AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS
Working Group on Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas

OEA/Ser.G CP/CAJP-1058/96
24 January 1996
Original: Spanish

OFFER BY THE PERMANENT MISSION OF NICARAGUA TO THE OAS TO HOST A REGIONAL SEMINAR ON THE DISSEMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STANDARDS EMANATING FROM THE INTER-AMERICAN SYSTEM

PERMANENT MISSION OF NICARAGUA TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Washington, D.C.

No. 498

December 11, 1995

His Excellency
Ambassador Fernando Gonz�lez Guyer
Alternate Representative of the
Permanent Mission of the
Eastern Republic of Uruguay to the OAS
Washington, D.C.

Excellency:

As promised when we spoke last week, I am pleased to send you, herewith, the letter of December 7, 1995 from the President of the Central American Court of Justice, Dr. Roberto Ram�rez, which is self explanatory. It confirms the offer he made earlier in the Working Group on the Administration of Justice headed by my distinguished colleague and friend, Dr. Julio C�sar Jaureguy, Ambassador of Uruguay.

Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

Jos� Antonio Tijerino
Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the OAS

CENTRAL AMERICAN COURT OF JUSTICE
The Secretariat
Managua

CCG-SG-OG-0222-95

December 7, 1995

His Excellency
Dr. Jos� Antonio Tijerino Medrano
Head of the Permanent Mission of the
Republic of Nicaragua
Organization of American States

Excellency:

I have the honor to address Your Excellency with reference to the offer made by the Delegation of the Republic of Nicaragua to the Organization of American States (OAS), for the Central American Court of Justice, headquartered in Managua, Nicaragua, Central America, to host one of the Regional Seminars on the Dissemination of International Legal Standards issued by the Inter-American System and, in particular, the instruments of which the OAS General Secretariat is the depositary. We feel that initiatives of this type should be embraced by the Central American Court of Justice, one of whose basic principles is observance of the principles and standards enshrined in the OAS Charter and in the treaties, conventions, and other international legal instruments related to the strengthening of regional integration, of which the OAS is itself the depository.

The legal security of relations between member states of the Central American Integration System requires an adequate framework for awareness and dissemination of international legal standards, which would contribute significantly to compliance with them and to their promotion.

As a result, the Central American Court of Justice in principle supports the organization of regional workshops and seminars on the dissemination of international legal standards, taking account of the capacity and powers of the Court, insofar as we agree to the content and organization of the regional cooperation programs, and subject to budget availability.

I appreciate the laudable initiative taken by the Delegation of the Republic of Nicaragua to the OAS.

Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

Roberto Ram�rez
President

PERMANENT MISSION OF NICARAGUA TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
Washington, D.C.

December 11, 1995

His Excellency
Mr. Fernando Gonz�lez Guyer
Ambassador and Alternate Representative
of the Permanent Mission of the
Eastern Republic of Uruguay to the OAS

Excellency:

Further to my note of today's date, I am pleased to send you, herewith, the letter of December 11, 1995 received from the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua, which is self- explanatory.

Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

Jos� Antonio Tijerino, Ambassador
Permanent Representative of Nicaragua to the OAS

THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE
Managua

November 11, 1995

His Excellency
Dr. Jos� Antonio Tijerino Medrano
Head of the Permanent Mission of the
Republic of Nicaragua
Organization of American States

Excellency:

Please refer to the document of November 6, 1995 which you very kindly sent us regarding resolution AG/RES. 1325 (XXV-O/95), "Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas," adopted by the OAS General Assembly at its session held in Haiti in June 1995. After examining with the Presiding Magistrate and other members of the Supreme Court of Justice the possibility of this Supreme Court implementing the resolution under reference, we received with special interest the OAS proposal to support the Process of enhancing the administration of justice in our country, which we began since 1991. Indeed, at this level, we are committed to a process of judicial reforms with a view to improving the content of a series of Codes and legal standards dating from the last century, which are no longer adapted to the social fabric prevailing in our country.

In the context of the Supreme Court's efforts to promote the modernization of the administration of justice, we are seeking assistance to issue a new Penal Code, a new Criminal Investigation Code, and a new Business Code. We have also taken initiatives to replace our current Organic Law on Courts and draft a Law on Administrative Disputes, which is in keeping with the process of democratization and strengthening of the state of law in Nicaragua and the development of constitutional justice. Your efforts before the Working Group are therefore eminently timely, with a view to the OAS considering the Legal School of Nicaragua's Supreme Court of Justice as the Central American headquarters for holding seminars, workshops, and general training activities conducive to improving the administration of justice.

We appreciate your valuable interest in supporting the efforts of our Judicial Branch.

Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.

Enrique Villagra Morales
Vice President and Head of Legal Training
Supreme Court of Justice

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
COMMISSION ON LEGAL AND POLITICAL MATTERS
Working Group on Enhancement of the dministration of Justice in the Americas

OEA/Ser.G CP/CAJP-1077/96
Original: Spanish
26 February 1996

NOTE OF THE PERMANENT MISSION OF BOLIVIA ON THE POSSIBILITY OF ORGANIZING A REGIONAL SEMINAR IN TARIJA, BOLIVIA, ON ENHANCEMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

PERMANENT MISSION OF BOLIVIA TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
Washington, D.C.

OEA/MP/064/96
February 5, 1996

His Excellency
Ambassador Julio C�sar Jaureguy
Chair of the Working Group
on Enhancement of the Administration
of Justice in the Americas
Organization of American States
Washington, D.C.

Excellency:

At the last meeting of the Working Group on Enhancement of Administration of Justice in the Americas over which you so ably presided, I made certain tentative suggestions regarding the possibility of the School of Public Defense (EDP) in Tarija, Bolivia, receiving OAS cooperation for the implementation of a number of activities.

At the time, I gave a brief presentation on the School of Public Defense and its objectives.

I now wish to elaborate on that information and to make a firm request on behalf of my Government.

The EDP in Tarija, Bolivia, was founded in July 1991 at the joint initiative of the Superior District Court, the Bar Association, the District Comptroller, the Association of Judges, Magistrates, and Public Defense Attorneys. The EDP is a nonprofit institution of professional volunteers, whose aim is to give a human content to the application of penal legal standards. It proposes to defend the dignity of individuals, out of a desire to establish a balance between social behavior and the human rights recognized by the Political Constitution of Bolivia and by international conventions. To achieve these ends, the EDP deals with providing civil servants in the Justice Department and those responsible for legal defense with specialized training, with a view to obtaining an efficient and transparent administration of justice, effective supervision of the interests of the society, and legal defense in which the guarantees and constitutional rights of individuals in the process are actively safeguarded.

This is the first Bolivian experience in this field. With its achievements to date, the EDP is contributing in a positive and practical way to the intensified and growing independence of the Administration of Justice. An immediate result of its perseverance has been the reduction, in the jurisdiction of Tarija, of delays in dispensing justice, which is one of the social ills affecting various countries in our hemisphere.

My Government is convinced that the mandate entrusted by the General Assembly to the Working Group over which you preside, through its resolution AG/RES.1326 (XXV-O/95), offers an opportunity to benefit from the experience gained by the EDP in tasks related to enhancing the administration of justice.

Operative paragraph 1 of the resolution under reference clearly calls on the Working Group on Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas to organize regional seminars and workshops in cooperation with the General Secretariat and the Inter-American Juridical Committee, subject to budget availability. It calls for these activities to be coordinated with national and international institutions engaged in related activities, with the participation of judges, attorneys, and academics, to further common knowledge of the administration of justice in the various countries, with a view to achieving greater regional cooperation in legal matters.

By virtue of this mandate, my Government hereby submits for the consideration of the Working Group, a proposal to organize a seminar or a regional workshop in Tarija, based at the EDP, on one or more of the following topics:

1.Training of Public Attorneys
2.The Administration of Justice and Ethical Values in Legal Defense
3.The Defense of Human Rights and Ethical Values:
(a) The inapplicability of standards which violate constitutional principles
(b)Technical and scientific assistance from international agencies, institutions, and high officials in the area of legal defense
(c)Active participation of institutions, professionals, and students in improving public legal defense and the administration of justice
4.Foundations and Limitations of Preventive Imprisonment in a Democratic State
5. Access to Penal Justice and Most Recent Relevant Reforms in the Americas
6. Effectiveness of Constitutional Principles and Guarantees in the Penal Process
7. The Validity and Binding Nature of Conventions, Pacts, Agreements, and Treaties Signed and Consequences of Failure to Implement Them in Countries Party

The EDP in Tarija has earned the honor of being described as a pilot school by the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD), headquartered in San Jos�, Costa Rica.

My Government feels that schools such as this one could be set up in other cities, both in Bolivia and in other countries of the Hemisphere.

Lastly, it is noteworthy that the lessons that can be imparted to participants in any activity among those proposed here would be useful, in that participants would be able to disseminate the knowledge gained in their places of origin.

Although the EDP in Tarija is certainly still a modest institution in a small city, my Government feels that it deserves the incentive of an international event which, through the OAS, could have a significant impact on progress in improving justice.

Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.