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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... judiciary to resolve political conflicts, once handled by fiat or simply nonexistent under prior regimes) have generated considerable confusion concerning the ultimate objectives of the reform movement both in Latin America and ...
... judiciary was considered “political.” Hence, judicial programs were seen by many as violating the mdbs' articles of agreement (which emphasized a role in promoting economic growth and explicitly prohibited political involvement). The ...
... judiciary looks like) or functional (how it operates) definition, the researchers relied on public opinion surveys or expert assessments, asking panels of local or international informants to rank the performance of national court ...
... judiciary. A related theme, the recognition or reactivation of traditional dispute-resolution mechanisms (indigenous law), entered at about the same time, although advances in this area have been minimal.49 Several Latin American ...
... judiciary's checks and balance function. This has been largely an internal initiative and has received little funding from or promotion by donors.50 This is understandable in that the major activity has been constitutional change to ...
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 |