| • | Court Management and Administration |
| • | Judicial Independence |
| • | Judicial Ethics and Accountability |
| • | Strategic Planning and Program Design |
| • | Legislative Reform |
| • | Alternative Dispute Resolution |
| • | Civil Society Participation in the Judiciary |
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Projects: Latin America and Caribbean
Honduran component of Plan Merida to improve justice system (2010)
NCSC and its subcontractor, Federation of Development Organizations of Honduras (FOPRIDEH), were awarded a 17-month grant from the U.S. Department of State to conduct a project to the capacity of the Honduran courts to handle, in an effective and transparent manner, transnational drug trafficking cases.
The project is an important part of Plan Merida -- the cooperative approach among the United States, Mexico, the countries of Central America, Haiti and the Dominican Republic to promote regional security by confronting the marked increase in transnational organized crime.
Haiti Judicial Strengthening and Stabilization Initiatives (2005 – 2009)
Due to the success of a previous Haiti project, in 2005, NCSC was awarded a follow-on project focused on strengthening justice sector institutions, improving criminal justice capacity, and increasing citizens’ awareness of their rights and access to legal services. NCSC undertook activities in support of three objectives:
- increasing the administrative, management, and technical capacity of judicial authorities;
- reducing the ratio of the prison population in pretrial status and the average length of time spent in pretrial detention; and
- increasing the presence of justice sector personnel in Cite Soleil. NCSC sponsored a groundbreaking series of public consultations with the Parliamentary Justice Commissions, in which parliamentarians had the opportunity to gather views from stakeholders prior to voting on these bills. This assistance led to the passage of three key pieces of legislation regarding the independence of the judiciary. NCSC contributed to the establishment of a nationwide legal assistance program and piloted the program in three target jurisdictions. Under the pilot project, approximately 1,000 people benefited from the legal assistance program, which targeted backlogged cases.
NCSC also conducted activities to increase access to justice. Creation of a Roving Justice of the Peace program provided access to justice services for nearly more than 8,000 citizens in rural areas. In addition, NCSC contributed to the establishment of Kay Jistis, a multi-faceted justice service center located in Cite Soleil.
Haiti Training and Support to Judges and Prosecutors (2004 – 2005)
In 2004, NCSC was awarded a one-year Rule of Law Assistance project in Haiti, with four primary objectives: enhance organization and operation of Justice of the Peace Courts; strengthen local capacity to manage and administer the courts and the prosecutor’s office; facilitate uniform application of laws; and provide grants to nongovernmental organizations to conduct programs in support of these objectives.The project provided technical assistance in a number of areas including, legislative drafting, financial management, and capacity building of civil society organizations.
NCSC facilitated the development of Rules of Practice for Justice of the Peace courts to bring order and predictability to the citizens’ most used legal forum for disputes and allow for better case flow and adjudication of cases. In addition, NCSC trained more than 800 justice sector practitioners on key issues they encounter in carrying out their duties.
El Salvador Justice Project (2004 – 2005)
NCSC supported El Salvador's efforts to institutionalize its criminal law reforms, promote the use of alternative dispute resolutions in criminal and civil cases, and strengthen its commercial law framework.
NCSC’s efforts to consolidate criminal law reforms focused on updating the Judicial Training School’s training programs in criminal law and procedure; continuing the work of the FDR Mentor Program and initiating a public defender mentor program; introducing an inter-university moot court competition on oral trial litigation skills; developing the rules of evidence within the Criminal Procedures Code; and providing support to Legal Clinics.
To promote the use of ADR mechanism, NCSC established and/or strengthened 15 mediation centers through the General Attorney’s Office, two mobile mediation operating units, three mixed mediation centers, and six municipal mediation centers; developed mechanisms for identifying mediators through law schools and leaders of the community; provided extensive training, mentoring, and strengthening of local training capacity to institutionalize mediation and alternative dispute resolution; provided technical assistance to independent parties to open arbitration centers; strengthened the Arbitration Center of the El Salvador Chamber of Commerce; and conducted a public information campaign on ADR through radio and TV.
NCSC strengthened El Salvador’s commercial law framework by developing a training plan in commercial law; conducting a diagnostic assessment of the commercial law framework and of the services offered by five commercial courts of San Salvador; elaborating a Strategic Plan of Legal and Institutional Reform to deal with weaknesses in the area of commercial law; and strengthening of the draft Civil and Commercial Procedure Code.