Legal and Justice Book

Archive for the ‘Rights & Justice’ Category

After President Juan Manuel Santos ensure that transitional justice has already been used paramilitary albeit “not very successful”, the attorney general, Eduardo Montealegre agreed with the president, noting that the purpose in the current process peace is to correct the shortcomings that left past experiences.

“Transitional Justice and the demobilization process was tested with the AUC has serious problems. One of them is that they tried to investigate all crimes and all those responsible for serious human rights violations committed by the paramilitaries, “said Montealgre.

The prosecuting body chief said transitional justice frameworks are experiences of the last decades worldwide. She also noted that the framework presented raised Colombia as the Attorney General to the Constitutional Court “does not violate the structure of the Constitution, it is an attack on human rights.”

Eduardo Montealegre considered it more sensible and contributes more to the fight against impunity transitional justice system focused on heads as a maximalist system which was tested against the AUC.

Finally, the face of criticism from some quarters to the framework for peace that arises in the current negotiations with the FARC guerrillas, the Attorney General’s Office issued an invitation to the “apologists of war rather ride on the big locomotive peace. “

Through the agreed 15/2013, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation established that the federal or national chambers and oral courts, without exception, publish-only-all judgments, and administrative rulings agreed to subscribe to through the Judicial Information Center, this, with legal safeguards respective courts adopt, as appropriate, in order to the protection of personal rights of those who, being part or others in the process, could be affected by the spread of protected data.

The High Court noted that transparency and publicity of governance are fundamental pillars of a democratic society, and recognized that the central principle of access to information held by the state is the right of every person to know how their leaders and public officials perform, as indicated in its judgment in the “Civil Rights Association c / EN – PAMI”.

He also said that “the principle of publicity of government acts is inherent to the republican system established in the Constitution, so that compliance is an essential requirement for public authorities”.

The agreed upon was signed by ministers Ricardo Lorenzetti, Elena Highton de Nolasco, Carlos Fayt, Enrique Petracchi, Juan Carlos Maqueda and Carmen Argibay.

The President of the Parliament of Andalusia, Manuel Gracia has championed transparency and closeness of justice in his opening speech of the Workshop on Reform of the Administration of Justice that develops in the Multipurpose Room of the House Andalusian world where professionals the right debate each other to generate suggestions to help improve this public service.

Grace said that “public perception of justice is not good. According to a recent opinion poll survey, sixty-nine percent of the population believes that malfunctions, so it is necessary to reform. Slowness and lack of media is the Achilles heel of Spanish justice, but a good judicial system is necessary and guarantee the rights of citizens. “

Grace said that “the separation of powers, parliamentary centrality and especially an independent and impartial judiciary is the basic objectives of a just and free society” but warned that “today large segments of the population do not know the reason for being these objectives, it is further away from them, despise them. “

Therefore, the President of the Parliament of Andalucia has said that “it is necessary to the debate on the reform of justice we want. It is essential not only to preserve the independence and impartiality of judges but also make available to the public scrutiny competence, accessibility, efficiency, reasonable length of judicial procedures, quality and predictability of its resolutions, as well as the equality of all before the law and the liability incurred when this does not happen. “

So Manuel Gracia has argued for a “more effective Justice and more resources, but also Justice serving a critical society, demanding and participatory, in line with the Charter of Rights of citizens before the law, approved by the House of the Congress of Deputies on April 22, 2002, in this way, but in my opinion very poor so it comes to the judiciary, in the Draft Law on Transparency, Access to Information and Good Government, currently before Parliament. As in other areas of life also in the fact of knowing Justice controlled improve our behavior or at least, can deter from committing errors that are caused by opacity, and in any case improve the quality of our democracy. “

The imposition of extractive mining model and the energy model in Guatemala, are a new invasion of our territories, because they mean dispossession, occupation, pollution, social control, repression and death for our communities. Guatemala’s government is determined to prepare the runway (legal reforms, militarization, criminalization of protest) to transnational companies with impunity to plunder our strategic assets such as water and minerals, this model of “false development” is being implemented by force, violating the fundamental law prior and informed consultation, ignoring the legitimate demands of the people, democratic and peaceful process of 75 community consultations nationwide.

The government of Otto Perez Molina in an effort to please the interest of foreign companies and the national oligarchy, has implemented a counterinsurgency strategy against the peaceful demonstration of the people, a campaign of delegitimization and disqualification; sharpening and justifying the criminalization of struggles social repression and intimidation, legal and political persecution against the peoples and human rights defenders, as has been the case of the slaughter of brothers Totonicapan kiches in October 2012, kidnapping and bombing Xinka town authorities, the repression against our brothers in San Jose del Golfo and San Rafael las Flores, harassment and intimidation against our brothers in Barillas and San Juan Sacatepequez, and more recently the case of Comrade Ruben Herrera, a political prisoner since March 15 and the abduction and murder of our brother Daniel Peter on 07 April this year.

In just two years of rule by Otto Perez Molina, the economic situation of Guatemalans has worsened, the imposition of a tax reform that has complicated the lives of the poorest population, charging excessive electricity, the increase in the cost of meat, sugar, basic food generally keeps the population in difficult conditions.

For this reason and for everything else, the Council of Peoples of the West-CPO-; CALL to all social organizations, the media, all the people in general to participate in the peaceful demonstration to be held in the city Huehuetenango Wednesday May first.

The Instruction No. 193 of July 8, 2009, the Governing Council of the Supreme People’s Court said in the first of the WHEREAS: The administration of justice in our country properly prioritizes the rapid processing of judicial proceedings in general and under it have taken various measures to expedite the processing of criminal and especially with acusadosen custody issues …

Judicial practice shows the opposite, because that adequate rapid processing of criminal cases with defendants in custody is uncertain, which can be found with just, keep an eye on the statistics reported under conciliation meetings or coordination, for the analysis of the issue, held periodically between Courts, the Chief Prosecutor and the Ministry of Interior, entities or their representatives, by order of that Instruction 193, to evaluate and update the accused criminal situation reporting in custody pending legal procedures, paying particular attention to the reasons that adversely affect retention cases with more than 90 days.

It is undeniable, that the measures taken are supposed to speed the processing of defendants in criminal proceedings on remand, have failed this purpose, as the number of subjects to remand defendants in criminal cases has not decreased, and far Rather continues to rise and remain in that situation exceeds too much, and not just the end of 90 days provided for in Instruction 193, and the SIX MONTHS, established to that effect, by Article 107 of the Law of Procedure Criminal.

Unlawful act which violates paragraph 3 of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within reasonable time or to unplazo release.

In that situation is from the July 31, 2012, like many, my wife MARIENYS ONATE turkey in the Western Women’s Penitentiary, within just three months reached the year, because of an alleged criminal offense and even has not been brought before the Court for trial or is released by the prosecution.

We often hear in our mass media with large audiences, such as the Round Table, and shame, as a grave violation of human rights in prisons in many parts of the world, remain prisoners indefinitely to which not even they have been formally charged, does the straw in your neighbor’s eye?

The Faculty of Law of the Universidad Austral warned that “Justice must follow blindfolded” in a public statement following projects and laws being discussed in Congress quickly approved the nation with the goal of “democratizing” Judiciary.

As for the election of members of the Judicial Council, said that “by joining the presidential election campaign, go to the right parties nomination, alliances require the submission of at least 18 jurisdictions, expand the liquefying the number of members present voting representatives and change the percentage of wills necessary to charge and suspend a judge or maid, the necessary sacrifices and sacred unfailingly judicial independence at the hands of a now fully politicized Council, which would be available who has won the presidential election. “

In the statement, signed by the dean, magister Jorge Albertsen, the Law School argues that “cause great concern the enactment of a law that alters the rights and guarantees of the people, by imposing severe restrictions on the human right to precautionary measures . It is an indispensable means of protecting the rights and required bypass the constitutional right of jurisdiction. “

Given the possibility that the other branches of the Nation could potentially impair the judiciary, the Faculty expressed confidence that “Supreme Court and lower courts, 150 years of its establishment, know honor a century of custody of their powers and the Constitution all “.

“So, the judges of this ground know defend institutions and citizens, declaring unconstitutional that might offend the Constitution because, as in Prussia more than a century ago,” there are still judges in Berlin “. Well be achieved Dike keep blindfolded, impartial, and not subject to the becomings of the wills of the changing electoral majorities, “he said. Read the rest of this entry »

On the occasion of the Judge retake our ties to the legal community, delivering a new number that we hope will continue to facilitate the exchange of ideas (always respectful and alturado), sharing experiences and generating creative ideas and useful.

They just renewed the governing bodies of the Judicial Branch, and also assume their functions, the new Congress and a new President with his council of ministers. We hope that the lack of clarity as to the perennial problematic of judicial reform, shown in the plans and programs of government in the election campaign, will be overcome under the leadership of the governing bodies of the judiciary.

We are very concerned how fully constitutional democratic government have enacted laws that violate manifestly judicial independence as the Law 29718 that regulate the regime of salaries of officials and authorities, has amended the Organic Law of Judicial Power.

We hope eventually imposed sanity and repeal that provision, which violates the constitutional right to compensation of judges or, in any case, be amended so that the income to be levied according to the rights acquired are not be undermined, given that constitutional rights are progressive and can never be reduced or curtailed.

We are also concerned about the way how they are losing the best people in the judiciary. The governing bodies should take steps to stop this brain drain, as evidenced by the resignation of honest, upright and efficient judges and court staff.

Starting a new phase of our magazine, to show that the Peruvian judiciary existed, exists and we hope, continue having judges of worth, and aware that the awards, however small they may be, should be in life, we dedicate this issue the distinguished composer Carlos Montoya Anguerry, former judge of the Superior Courts of Justice in Arequipa and Lima, former President of the latter, a university professor, lawyer of note and good man, as a small tribute for his services in our system Justice and, in general, for his contribution to our society.

Humans would have to live in a society, no one can last a long time isolated from other people. Some philosophers have expressed this idea with phrases like “human beings are social animals” or “we are what we are thanks to our relationships with others Currently, a number of philosophers still remember that the person is a subject that has always lived in the creative community .. But it is impossible to live in society without the minimal rules of justice as part of the moral and should be ratified by law.

A. Rules and the game with a fellowship

There are several types of standards that we humans are to guide the behavior of people in society: there is a moral, which is their universal needs, because they show how everyone should behave if you want to behave humanely, other legal entity, which is an established authority in each political authority, and directed to all members, and others use more social, which are practices that do not have a standard range of moral or legal validity of the bay, the dress code, etiquette, etc..

There are occasions when the law and morality against certain social practices.

Before the rules of all kinds, namely, the question at least three different things: the right, if it is legal and what extent it is true. When we ask whether the rule is right or wrong, we propose a moral issue, this is a matter of moral legitimacy, so that it focuses on the ethical aspects. To answer this question, we need to clarify our criteria of social justice, and we will draw on different theories of justice. But if we ask whether a law or illegal, we face the question of the validity or legality of the law: the rule of law can be part of a country, or at least not against the law, and then we say that it is legal, if not to say illegal, This aspect is to the knowledge of law, namely the right. Finally, when we consider the question whether a social rule at this time, we refer to the social success of the standard: a standard may have little social acceptance, but is morally correct or even if it is legally valid, and instead to other people who enjoy the recognition that widely in practice, regardless of whether they are supported by morality or law, the social aspects of the effective interest primarily to sociology.

Three analytical perspectives of social norms that we have noted (ethics, law and sociology) are somewhat independent under its own approach and methods, but there is some connection between them. For example, the law can not ignore ethics, since one of the legal function is to serve as a legal means to achieve and maintain a just society, and ethics that we have to clarify what social justice.

2. – The theory of justice.

Justice comes from the Latin word “iustitia” that Roman law is translated as “constant and continues to give everyone his rights. There are several theories of justice, is as follows.

Plato: justice and social harmony aristocratic. For Plato, perfectly just society would be one in which each function is performed correctly assigned to the authorities, according to their physical and mental abilities. Plato proposed to all political forces to guard wise, and distribute economic goods so that social goals have priority over the individual. As for how to allocate the functions, proposed to be carried out under natural talent shows in the early years of the boy or girl, without discrimination based on sex. Thus, command posts the best coverage, and you can achieve social harmony in which he says, is justice. Read the rest of this entry »

A criminal justice researchers’ conduct must be maintained with integrity to ensure the ethical reliability of the criminal justice system’s results.

A criminal justice code of ethics ensures that defendants’ constitutional rights are safeguarded and other research participants are protected from potential harm.

Code of Ethics Conduct

One of the key provisions of a code of ethics stresses that criminal justice researchers must inform all potential participants of the possibility of physical risks as well as possible negative emotional experiences. Invasions of privacy must be avoided by criminal justice researchers.

In addition, members must be especially careful if individuals are, “illiterate, under correctional supervision, minors or have diminished capacity,” suggests the Academy of Criminal Justice Science.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is paramount for researchers to embrace, if they are going to ethically request subjects to divulge information about crime or criminal justice processes. This is essential to ensure the information cannot be legally be used against them. Read the rest of this entry »

Criminal justice in the United States is a process consisting of five distinct stages. Any understanding of the criminal justice system requires at least a general understanding of the associated stages.

Investigation

The initial stage of criminal justice is investigation of an alleged crime. Various local, state and federal law enforcement agencies take part in investigating such allegations.

In some instances, agencies from different levels of government work together on the same criminal investigation.

A referral is made from a law enforcement agency to a prosecuting authority (a district attorney, state attorney or U.S. attorney, for example) upon a determination that a crime occurred and there is evidence that a certain person committed it.

Criminal Charge

Once an allegation of criminal conduct is turned over to a prosecuting attorney, he reviews the evidence and the statements of law enforcement officials.

He determines whether probable cause exists to support a formal criminal charge against the suspect.

Prosecution

Once a crime is charged, the prosecution of a case begins. It can take several possible courses. A trial represents the ultimate phase of the prosecution stage in the criminal justice system.

Through a trial, a defendant is found guilty or not guilty of the charge. In the alternative, during this stage of criminal justice, cases resolve through plea negotiations between the defendant and her counsel and the prosecuting attorney. Read the rest of this entry »