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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... reasons, corruption is a nearly universal problem, meaning that those with money to pay bribes can avoid any involvement while those without funds become the scapegoats. An antiquated tradition of weighted evidence (prueba tasada)19 ...
... reason for the Latin American systems to copy those of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, or any other country. In fact, experience indicates that faithful imitation often does not work because of the many contextual factors ...
... reasons outlined above, it may also be the only practical solution, but it does require far more effort and far more critical examination than does simple imitation. An Excessive Emphasis on the Oral Trial The oral trial lies at the ...
... reason. 60. I would emphasize here that the written case file does not disappear from the accusatory proceedings. It is less likely to be given to the judge; however, written records of investigations are especially important in any ...
... reasons for the persistence of these tendencies are themselves worth exploration. In the last section of this volume, they will also be examined. One evident problem, already suggested here, is a failure to evaluate progress or present ...
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 |