Administration of justice

Midterm evaluation covers the period 9/87-12/90. Progress has been slow, due in part to inadequate definition of the roles of USAID/H and the contractor (Georgetown University). Nonetheless, outputs can be achieved by the end of the project if the Supreme Court and the government have the political will to implement the Judicial Career law, if high priority is given to planned activities, and if USAID/H allows more direct interaction between the Court and GU, and does not allow needs in other components to slow down activities in this one. The experimental program to assign new law graduates as Justices of the Peace has been at least partially successful. Three groups of 27 law school graduates have been assigned as Justices of the Peace and most have been retained as such or promoted, with their salaries assumed by the Judiciary. Some questions have been raised about the selection process, however, and the Court has not yet decided whether to extend the program. The legal portion of the in-service training program for Justices of the Peace has been provided by the Latin American Institute of the United Nations for Crime Prevention and Treatment of Criminals (ILANUD) and has been well-received. ILANUD has also prepared a manual for use by Justices of the Peace and recently prepared a training needs assessment. Administrative training carried out by a GU subcontractor has not been as well received. Also, since re-organization has been lagging, it has not been possible to establish administrative training needs. However, a promising 9/90 report on the organizational structure of the Judiciary is under review. One of the project's most significant achievements has been the establishment of a Public Defenders program in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, with plans to extend the program to the interior of the country. The proposed Public Defender System study has not been done, however, and no legislation has been passed authorizing the program. Two of eight planned observation visits to the United States were carried, and one of two planned graduate level fellowships is underway. However, no technical training for permanent staff of the support offices has taken place. Support to training programs should increase substantially. Plans to carry out two mass media campaigns on the law and the functioning of the court system and to hire a permanent public information officer have remained dormant. Most significantly of all, after this evaluation was conducted, the Supreme Court accepted the organizational development plan for implementation of the Judicial Career Law and the President of the Court declared the law in effect March 1, 1991. The Court has since worked diligently to develop the personnel regulations and procedures need to fully implement the law. The attempt to shift activities originally funded under the regional Administration of Justice Project to this bilateral project led to some turf battles and some financial and management problems.