Envisioning Reform: Conceptual and Practical Obstacles to Improving Judicial Performance in Latin AmericaJudicial reform became an important part of the agenda for development in Latin America early in the 1980s, when countries in the region started the process of democratization. Connections began to be made between judicial performance and market-based growth, and development specialists turned their attention to “second generation” institutional reforms. Although considerable progress has been made already in strengthening the judiciary and its supporting infrastructure (police, prosecutors, public defense counsel, the private bar, law schools, and the like), much remains to be done. Linn Hammergren’s book aims to turn the spotlight on the problems in the movement toward judicial reform in Latin America over the past two decades and to suggest ways to keep the movement on track toward achieving its multiple, though often conflicting, goals. After Part I’s overview of the reform movement’s history since the 1980s, Part II examines five approaches that have been taken to judicial reform, tracing their intellectual origins, historical and strategic development, the roles of local and international participants, and their relative success in producing positive change. Part III builds on this evaluation of the five partial approaches by offering a synthetic critique aimed at showing how to turn approaches into strategies, how to ensure they are based on experiential knowledge, and how to unite separate lines of action. |
From inside the book
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... common-law counterparts.7 This is also true in terms of their participation in juries, which are usually mixed—a group of citizens with one or more judges. Although the investigation lies largely with one individual, both the prosecutor ...
... common Latin American versions,10 a certain short-circuiting of the early nineteenth-century European model, several additional legal details, and a general lack of professionalism on the part of many of the actors led to very different ...
... common observation that newly empowered prosecutors still operate much like investigating judges (in some instances, because that is where they came from) is a case in point. The Salvadoran enthusiasts are an exception but not a better ...
... common phrasing that the “Wscal would direct the police investigation” has received any number of practical interpretations, many of them not very helpful in terms of improving real performance. Had reformers expected less of their laws ...
... common and could be grounds for a retrial. Thus, the European transition to more accusatorial proceedings still retains many inquisitorial elements, as does the traditional English version—a more proactive judge, reliance on ...
Other editions - View all
Envisioning Reform: Improving Judicial Performance in Latin America Linn Hammergren Limited preview - 2010 |
Envisioning Reform: Improving Judicial Performance in Latin America Linn A. Hammergren No preview available - 2007 |