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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... critical changes during their review by the legislature, and, in at least some cases, they were for the worse, not for the better. Two dramatic examples are the “judicial” powers awarded to the public ministry (ability to order ...
... critical to the code's full implementation. In fact, one could argue that the police and prosecution are far more important than the judge in making the new systems work. The principles for their operations were usually included in the ...
... critical examination than does simple imitation. An Excessive Emphasis on the Oral Trial The oral trial lies at the center of the new procedures, as the principle means for guaranteeing immediacy and thus determination of the factual ...
... a similar conclusion, holding “that there is a critical limit at which each system would start to risk disintegration.” 59. The problem here is that many Latin American constitutionalists 48 five approaches to judicial reform.
... critical to maintaining whatever order existed. It was staff's memories and personalized systems that allowed documents to be located and kept the courtroom running. This explains why staff often enjoyed more permanence than the judges ...
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 |