AID cooperative agreement no. 518-0115-A-00-2110-00 with the Instituto Latinoamericano de Naciones Unidas para la Prevencion del Delito y Tratamiento de Delinquente (ILANUD) to revise selected Ecuadorian laws and legal codes and to conduct a study of the informal judicial system

The revision process will consist of a review and analysis of worldwide legal trends with special attention to the Latin American experience, and a series of opinions and comments to be used in finetuning the codes and laws and to stimulate interest in reform. ILANUD will work with the Supreme Court and representative groups from the Ecuadorian legal community to revise (1) penal and sentencing codes, in order to strengthen the state of law and respect for human rights; and (2) the civil procedure code. In coordination with the Public Ministry and the Subsecretariat of Justice of the Ministry of Government, ILANUD will formulate reform proposals to the organic Law and the judicial police, to consolidate the democratic state of law. Additional activities will include: a study of informal mechanisms for conflict resolution; a regional conference to promote awareness and acceptance of the legal revisions; and further studies and follow-on project design activities to be programmed by USAID/E.