THIRD MEETING OF MINISTERS OF JUSTICE OR OF MINISTERS OR ATTORNEYS
GENERAL OF THE AMERICAS
March 1-3, 2000
San Jos�, Costa Rica
OEA/Ser.K/XXXIV.3 REMJA-III/doc.11/00 rev.1
1 March 2000
Original: Spanish
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ON THE JUSTICE STUDIES CENTER FOR THE AMERICAS
The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), having seen resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXVI-E/99) "Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas", adopted at the twenty-sixth special session of the General Assembly of the OAS, held in Washington, D.C. on November 15, 1999, decided, through resolution CP/RES. 765 (1222/00) (Annex I), to convene the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas for February 24 and 25, 2000, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States.
To that end and in keeping with dates mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, the Board of Directors of the Center held four work meetings, in which it accorded priority to addressing the matter of evaluating the site proposals submitted by the governments of Argentina, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Uruguay.
1. Members in Attendance
The following members were in attendance at the first work meeting of the Board of Directors of the Center/:
Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger (Costa Rica)
Dr. Karl Hudson-Philips (Trinidad and Tobago)
Dr. Jos� Ovalle Favela (Mexico)
Dr. Raphael Carl Rattray (Jamaica)
Dr. Federico Callizo Nicora (Paraguay)
Dr. Douglass Cassel (United States)
Ambassador Carlos Portales, Permanent Representative of Chile apologized for the absence of Minister Mar�a Soledad Alvear Valenzuela.
2. Opening of the Meeting
At 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, February 24, 2000, Dr. Douglass Cassel, member of the Board of Directors (United States) opened the first work meeting in the Columbus Room of the Main Building of the OAS.
Next, Ambassador Beatriz Ramacciotti, Permanent Representative of Peru to the OAS, welcomed the members of the Board of Directors.
For his part, Dr. Enrique Lagos, Secretary, Secretariat for Legal Affairs, General Secretariat of the OAS, on behalf of Mr. Cesar Gaviria, Secretary General of the OAS, extended a most cordial welcome to the members of the Center’s Board of Directors.
3. Other Persons Present
In addition to the members of the Center’s Board of Directors, also present were alternate representatives assigned to the permanent missions of Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, Costa Rica, United States and Venezuela. Also attending were Dr. Jean Michel Arrighi, Dr. Jorge Garc�a Gonz�lez of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs, General Secretariat of the OAS, and Dr. Reinaldo Rodr�guez Gallad, of the Secretariat of the Permanent Council of the OAS, and Technical Secretary of the First Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Center.
4. Agenda
Dr. Federico Callizo Nicora (Paraguay) submitted a draft agenda. After a number of suggestions were made regarding the said draft, the Board adopted the following agenda:
5. Election of the Provisional Chair of the Center
At the proposal of Dr. Jos� Ovalle Favela (Mexico), seconded by Dr. Douglass Cassel (United States), the Board of Directors elected by acclamation Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger (Costa Rica) as the Provisional Chair of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas.
6. Presentation of site proposals for the Center by the offering countries
In keeping with the agenda adopted and in light of the criteria set forth in the second transitory provision of the Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas/ the delegations of Chile, Peru and Argentina presented a short summary of their respective site proposals.
The Board of Directors took cognizance of the note transmitted by the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic, dated February 23, 2000, in which it informs of the withdrawal by that country’s government of its site proposal for the Center. The note shall be published as a document of the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice, or of Ministers, or Attorneys General of the Americas.
By the same token, the Board noted the retraction of the Peruvian Government’s site proposal by Ambassador Beatriz Ramacciotti, Permanent Representative of that country to the OAS.
In respect of the site proposal submitted by the Government of Uruguay, there being no representatives of that country present at the meeting, it was decided to undertake its respective analysis based on the documents presented.
7. Documents
For the first work meeting the Board of Directors of the Center was supplied with the following reference documents, which were distributed by the General Secretariat of the OAS:
During the proceedings the Board of Directors was also provided with supplementary documents presented by the delegation of Argentina in connection with its site proposal. The aforesaid documents shall be published as an addendum to the document cited in the foregoing paragraph as letter (c).
The first work meeting of the Board of Directors has been recorded on magnetic tapes, which shall be transmitted at an appropriate moment to the Center’s headquarters in order to be placed in the corresponding archives.
At 12:45 p.m. the Provisional Chair declared the first work meeting of the Center’s Board of Directors closed.
2:45 p.m. on February 24, 2000, the Provisional Chair of the Center’s Board of Directors, Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger, declared the second work meeting open, in the Columbus Room of the Main Building of the OAS.
1. Persons Present
The following members were in attendace:
Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger (Costa Rica)
Dr. Karl Hudson-Philips (Trinidad and Tobago)
Dr. Jos� Ovalle Favela (Mexico)
Dr. Raphael Carl Rattray (Jamaica)
Dr. Federico Callizo Nicora (Paraguay)
Dr. Douglass Cassel (United States)
2. Secretariat:
Dr. Enrique Lagos, Secretary, Secretariat for Legal Affairs, General Secretariat of the OAS.
Dr. Reinaldo Rodr�guez Gallad, Technical Secretary of the First Meeting of the Center’s Board of Directors
3. Observers
The alternate representatives were present of the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, United States, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
4. Summary of the meeting
Pursuant to what was decided in the first meeting, the delegation of Argentina proceeded to answer and clarify the queries and observations made, in turn, by the members of the Center’s Board of Directors.
Afterward, the Board listened to the clarifications offered by Ambassador Carlos Portales, Permanent Representative of Chile to the OAS, based on the observations put to him by the members of the Board of Directors.
The respective presentations having concluded, the Provisional Chair, on behalf of the members of the Board of Directors, thanked Chile and Argentina for their excellent presentations, and all the other offering countries for the willingness and interest shown for the good of the administration of justice in the Americas.
The Provisional Chair also informed that the Board of Directors, in its fourth session scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on February 25, would notify the interested parties and the general public of the recommendation adopted with respect to the headquarters site of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas.
The second work meeting of the Board of Directors has been recorded on magnetic tapes, which shall be transmitted at an appropriate moment to the Center’s headquarters in order to be placed in the corresponding archives.
At 3:30 p.m. the Provisional Chair announced the conclusion of the first stage of the evaluation of site proposals for the Center.
1. Private Meeting
At 3:40 p.m. on February 24, 2000, the Provisional Chair of the Center’s Board of Directors, Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger, declared the third work meeting open, in the Columbus Room of the Main Building of the OAS.
2. Persons Present
The following members were in attendance:
Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger (Costa Rica)
Dr. Karl Hudson-Philips (Trinidad and Tobago)
Dr. Jos� Ovalle Favela (Mexico)
Dr. Raphael Carl Rattray (Jamaica)
Dr. Federico Callizo Nicora (Paraguay)
Dr. Douglass Cassel (United States)
3. Secretariat:
Dr. Reinaldo Rodr�guez Gallad, Technical Secretary of the First Meeting of the Center’s Board of Directors
By decision of the members of the Board of Directors, the aforesaid third meeting was declared private. The members of the Board carried out an exhaustive analysis of the site proposals presented by Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.
Being a private meeting the corresponding information thereon is omitted, while the remarks made by the members of the Board have not been magnetically recorded.
Having concluded the aforesaid analysis, the members of the Board of Directors aired general comments regarding the Center’s Statutes. Among those comments, mention was made of the possible functions of the Advisory Groups and the appropriate moment for their appointment and that of the Executive Director of the Center, among other matters.
The members of the Board of Directors also made observations of a general nature in relation to the draft rules of procedure. In order to facilitate for the members of the Board of Directors the task of preparing the aforesaid draft rules of procedure it was decided, given the vast experience of the General Secretariat of the OAS, to recommend to the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice to request the Secretariat for Legal Affairs of the General Secretariat to draw up preliminary draft rules of procedure.
At 5:35 p.m. the Provisional Chair of the Center’s Board of Directors declared the third work meeting closed.
At 9:50 a.m. on February 25, 2000, the Provisional Chair of the Center’s Board of Directors, Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger, declared the fourth work meeting open in the Columbus Room of the Main Building of the OAS.
1. Recommendation of the Board of Directors on the site of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas
2. Persons Present
The following members were in attendance:
Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger (Costa Rica)
Dr. Karl Hudson-Philips (Trinidad and Tobago)
Dr. Jos� Ovalle Favela (Mexico)
Dr. Raphael Carl Rattray (Jamaica)
Dr. Federico Callizo Nicora (Paraguay)
Dr. Douglass Cassel (United States)
3. Secretariat
Dr. Enrique Lagos, Secretary, Secretariat for Legal Affairs, General Secretariat of the OAS
Dr. Reinaldo Rodr�guez Gallad, Technical Secretary of the First Meeting of the Center’s Board of Directors
4. Observers
The alternate representatives were present of the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, United States, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Provisional Chair of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas announced, on behalf of the members of the Center’s Board of Directors, the decision adopted by consensus to recommend Chile as the site for the Center, pursuant to Article 13 (6), of the Center’s Statutes.
The Provisional Chair then announced that, in the decision taken during its private session, the Board of Directors had taken into account, in first place, the decisions adopted by the Heads of State and Government at the Summit of the Americas in Chile in 1998, where they agreed to expedite the establishment of a justice studies center of the Americas, which will facilitate training of justice sector personnel, the exchange of information and other forms of technical cooperation in the Hemisphere/.
The Board also bore in mind the recommendations adopted by the Second Meeting of Ministers of Justice, or of Ministers, or Attorneys General of the Americas, held in Lima, Peru, in 1999, where it was decided, taking into account the different legal systems in the Hemisphere, that the objectives of the Center will be to facilitate the training of human resources; to facilitate the exchange of information; and to facilitate support for the reform and modernization of justice systems in the region./.
Finally, the Center’s Board of Directors, taking cognizance of the retraction of the site proposals submitted by the Dominican Republic and Peru, examined the presentations contained in document CP/doc.3263/00 and the clarifications made by offering countries, Argentina and Chile, during the first and second work meetings of the Board.
In the exhaustive analysis of the applications to serve as the Center’s headquarters site, the Board of Directors kept mind the guidelines clearly stipulated in the second transitory provision of the Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas, which provides that the Board of Directors shall evaluate the site proposals of member states according to the following criteria, among others: institutional affiliation, financial and/or in-kind support, staff support, and other contributions and facilities to be provided for the Center/.
In addition, the Board of Directors, in considering the definition contained in Article 1 of the Statutes, which establishes that the Center is an intergovernmental entity with technical and operational autonomy/, confirmed by the Statutes� above-cited second transitory provision, considered, among other aspects, that:
i. The headquarters of the Center is consonant with the aims and purpose of the Statutes.
ii. There is a permanent body of professional and administrative staff on hand to provide technical assistance to the Board of Directors, the Advisory Groups, when so required, and the Center’s Executive Director.
iii. The host country, apart from contributing material and human resources, commits for the Center’s start-up to providing a financial contribution, which, combined with that offered by the Government of the United States, will facilitate the launch of the Center’s activities.
In conclusion, the Board of Directors, based on the aforementioned parameters; on the criteria clearly specified in the Center’s Statutes; and on other characteristics that clearly arise from the proposals presented by the above-named OAS member states decided, by consensus, to recommend to the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice, or of Ministers, or Attorneys General of the Americas, that it adopt the decision to establish the headquarters of the Center in Santiago, Chile.
The Provisional Chair, on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanked all the offerers for the site proposals submitted, in particular the delegations of Argentina and Chile who displayed a commendable effort in their presentation of site proposals for the headquarters of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas.
The Board of Directors noted the comments made by Ambassador Carlos Portales, Permanent Representative of Chile to OAS, and by Mr. Eugenio Mar�a Curia, from Ministry of Justice of Argentina with respect to the above recommendation adopted by consensus by Center’s Board of Directors.
5. Summary of the meeting
During the fourth work meeting, the Board of Directors, apart from explaining the recommendation made on the site for the Center’s headquarters, also considered the following matters:
The Board of Directors considered the Draft Annual Work Plan for 2000 presented by Dr. Federico Callizo Nicora (Paraguay) (Annex II). In considering the plan the Board bore in mind Article 14, (c) of the Center’s Statutes, which provides that the Executive Director shall prepare and submit to the Board of Directors the draft annual work plan.
However, with a view to facilitating the task of the Executive Director of the Center, several observations were made to above plan, such as to negotiate the site agreement, in order to determine, among other matters, privileges and immunities for the Executive Director, and Center staff; a period of three months was fixed for receiving the preliminary draft rules of procedure that will be requested from the OAS General Secretariat with a view to approval by the Board of the draft rules of procedure.
It was also decided to include in the Work Plan the preparation, in line with Article 5 of the Statutes, of a database to be included in a page on the Internet.
With respect to subject areas, it was agreed that Board of Directors, in consultation with the Executive Director, should identify the areas that the Center will treat as priorities, bearing in mind the recommendations and conclusions of the REMJA/.
Finally, a note was made of the observations presented by certain members of the Board with respect to the subject of corruption and human rights.
In addition to the Drafting Committee, which will be agreed on at the third meeting of the Board with a view to drawing up draft rules of procedures and composed of the members Dr. Karl Hudson-Philips (Trinidad and Tobago) and Dr. Jos� Ovalle Favela (Mexico), the Board also decided to form the following committees:
Committee I: To evaluate applications for the position of Executive Director of the Center’s Board of Directors; composed of Dr. M�nica Nagel Berger (Costa Rica) and Dr. Mar�a Soledad Alvear Valenzuela (Chile).
Committee II: To negotiate the site agreement; composed of Dr. Federico Callizo Nicora (Paraguay) and Dr. Douglass Cassel (United States).
Committee III: To prepare the Second Meeting of the Center’s Board of Directors; composed of Dr. Mar�a Soledad Alvear Valenzuela (Chile).
In accordance with the provisions set forth in its Statutes, the Board of Directors decided that the country selected by the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice, or of Ministers, or Attorneys General of the Americas as the Center’s headquarters shall widely publicize through the available communications media the invitation for applications for the position of Executive Director of the Center.
To that end the country headquarters shall present to the members of the Board of Directors the competition announcement, which must accord with the indications contained in Article 14 (2) of the Center’s Statutes. By the same token, it was decided that the Executive Director must be totally bilingual in English and Spanish and have a firm grasp of French and Portuguese.
As to the statutory selection procedures for the Executive Director of the Center, the Board of Directors, bearing in mind that the next REMJA would take place two days after the present meeting, that no date had yet been set for the Fourth REMJA, the urgent need to have an Executive Director of the Center, and, furthermore, the text of Article 6 of the Statutes which reads "In the event that a REMJA does not meet in a particular year or period, the powers and functions assigned to REMJA by these Statutes will be performed through the General Assembly of the OAS," decided to recommend to the Third REMJA that it request the General Assembly, at its next regular session, to approve the appointment of the Executive Director of the Center.
The Center’s Board of Directors fixed the second fortnight in May as a possible date for the Second Meeting. It was also mentioned that this meeting should have a duration of at least two days.
The fourth work meeting of the Board of Directors has been recorded on magnetic tapes, which shall be transmitted at an appropriate moment to the Center’s headquarters in order to be placed in the corresponding archives.
At 1:25 p.m. the Provisional Chair declared the First Meeting of the Center’s Board of Directors closed.
The Board of Directors of the Center, in compliance with the provisions contained in Article 12 (i) and with the second transitory provision of the Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas, submits to the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice, or of Ministers, or Attorneys General of the Americas, this report which contains the following recommendations adopted during its first meeting:
To establish the headquarters of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas in Santiago, Chile.To request the cooperation of the Secretariat for Legal Affairs, General Secretariat of the OAS, for the preparation of preliminary draft rules of procedure of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas.
To urge the governments of the OAS member states and permanent observer countries to provide contributions for financing the Center’s activities, in accordance with Article 17 of the Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas.
That given the need to have an Executive Director of the Center as soon as possible, and pursuant to Article 6 of the Statutes, the General Assembly of the OAS is requested, at its thirtieth regular session, to approve the appointment of the person proposed by the Board of Directors of the Center.
ANNEX I
PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
OEA/Ser.G CP/RES
765
(122/00)
11 February 2000
Original: Spanish
CONVOCATION OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
THE JUSTICE STUDIES CENTER FOR THE AMERICAS
THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES,
HAVING SEEN resolutions AG/RES. 1 (XXVI-E/99), "Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas," and AG/RES. 2 (XXVI-E/99), "Election of the Members of the Board of Directors," adopted by the General Assembly at its twenty-sixth special session, held in Washington, D.C. on November 15, 1999;
CONSIDERING:
That the aforementioned resolution AG/RES. 1 (XXVI-E/99) stipulates in the second transitory provision of the Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas that until a site has been selected, the Center shall operate at OAS headquarters;
That the Permanent Council, in fulfillment of the decision taken by the General Assembly through resolution AG/RES. 2 (XXVI-E/99), elected the members of the Board of Directors of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas at its regular meeting on January 19, 2000, on the basis of the rules set forth in the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly and the Statutes of the Center; and
That the Permanent Council, through resolution CP/RES. 754 (1207/99), scheduled the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA) for March 1 to 3, 2000, at which time the Board of Directors of the Center is to present to the Meeting for its consideration the results of the evaluations of, and recommendations on, the member states’ offers to serve as the headquarters site; and
RECALLING that the Permanent Council, at its January 19, 2000, meeting, took note of and transmitted to the Board of Directors of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas the offers to serve as the headquarters site presented by the delegations of Argentina, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Uruguay,
RESOLVES:
To convene the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas for February 24 and 25, 2000, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States.To request that the General Secretariat provide technical and administrative support for the first meeting of the Board of Directors, as necessary.
To instruct the Secretary General to conduct the activities described in the previous paragraph on the basis of specific voluntary contributions received for that purpose, in keeping with Article 17 of the Statutes of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas.
Justice Studies Center for the Americas
Board of Directors
Washington, D.C. February 24 and 25, 2000
JUSTICE STUDIES CENTER FOR THE AMERICAS
DRAFT ANNUAL WORK PLAN FOR 2000
This Draft Work Plan for 2000 will be presented for consideration by the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas, to be held in San Jos�, Costa Rica, on March 1-3, 2000. It was drafted once only and approved by the Board of Directors following guidelines issued by the REMJAs. It reflects the objectives of the Center set forth in the Statutes adopted at the twenty-sixth special session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) and establishes the Center’s medium- and long-term work plans.
In writing the Draft Work Plan, the Board of Directors also bore in mind the mandates arising out of the Summits of the Americas and resolutions adopted by the OAS General Assembly.
This draft work plan will be submitted to the Executive Director for the purposes contemplated in Article 14.c. of the Statutes.
To put this work plan into effect and in keeping with the transitory provisions in its Statutes, the Center will, in its first phase, develop topics related to criminal justice, seeking to take advantage of the experience acquired in this field by other organizations in the Hemisphere.
Permanent ObjectivesPursuant to Article 3 of its Statutes, the Center’s activities will keep the following objectives in mind:
To facilitate the training of human resources;To facilitate the exchange of information; and
To facilitate support for the reform and modernization of justice systems in the region.
Activities
Medium term
Over the medium term, through its Board of Directors, the Center will carry out the following activities:
Prepare and approve the Center’s Rules of Procedure. To that end, it formed a drafting committee, which shall submit draft rules of procedure to the Board of Directors within three months of receiving the preliminary draft rules of procedure it requested from the OAS General Secretariat.Appoint the Executive Director of the Justice Studies Center for the Americas in accordance with the provisions of its Statutes.
Negotiate the site agreement, in order to determine, among other matters, privileges and immunities for members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director, and Center staff.
Establish such advisory groups as it considers necessary to meet the objectives of the Center as set forth in the Statutes and the Rules of Procedure to be adopted.
Write a report to be presented to the thirtieth regular session of the OAS General Assembly in accordance with the last phrase in Article 12.i. of the Statutes.
Prepare its program-budget in accordance with its Statutes.
Take steps to obtain the funds needed to implement the work plan as provided for in the Statutes.
Contact other organs and agencies of the inter-American system and other international bodies to request information on work and activities in the justice sector with a view to fostering cooperation and avoiding duplication of tasks.
Enter into cooperation agreements with the member states of the OAS and other states, as well as with national and international, government and nongovernmental organizations, as provided for in the Statutes.
Appoint an external auditor for the purposes set forth in the Statutes.
Prepare, in line with Article 5 of the Statutes, a database to be included in a page on the Internet.
b. Long term
Over the long term, the center will carry out the tasks entrusted to it by the REMJAs and perform the functions described in Article 4 of the Statutes, which are:
III. Subject areas
After consulting the members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director must identify the areas that the Center will treat as priorities.
The following is a list of subject areas:
[Justice/tracker.htm]