USAID Sponsors Judicial Independence Week
Nicaragua celebrated, for the first time, Judicial Independence and Confidence in Justice Week, bringing together national and international judges and experts in the field, law students, law professors, government officials, businessmen and the general public to discuss this important issue. The week-long event, organized by the National Commission of Law Schools (CONADER) and financed through USAID’s Modernization and Reform Project, managed by Florida International University ’s Center for Justice Administration, was held in Managua and other major cities from Feb. 14-18.
Topics discussed and debated in the sessions, open to the public, included the economic impact of judicial corruption, the politicizing of justice, judicial ethics and citizen opinion on the administration of justice in Nicaragua.
The event’s conferences and roundtable discussions were led by internationally known judges and judicial experts: Dr. Lucia Arbelaez de Tobon, president of the Superior Judicial Council of Colombia; Dr. Juan Guzman Tapia, a Chilean judge who is currently presiding over the trial of Augusto Pinochet; Dr. Joseph Caldwell, a retired judge from New Mexico; Dr. Linn Hammergreen, a U.S. expert from the World Bank; Dr. Juan Carlos Campos, a magistrate from Spain; and Dr. Fernando Cruz Castro, a magistrate of Costa Rica’s Supreme Court.
During the week’s activities, CONADER conducted a survey of participants on the perception of justice in Nicaragua . Of those surveyed, 46% believed that judges were inadequately selected compared to 4% who favored the selection process, and 45% had little faith in the justice system compared to only 7% that felt the system was working fine. However, from the statements and comments made by participants, both in Managua and in the departments, there seemed to be a consensus on the importance of judicial independence for the economic development of the country and the welfare of the population.
