Honduras : strengthened rule of law

The project will be implemented by the Public Ministry and NGOs with assistance from an institutional contractor. Efforts will be in five areas. (1) The project will provide technical, training, and administrative assistance to the main actors in the criminal process (the court system, the Public Ministry, and the private bar) in implementing the new Criminal Procedures Code and its transition to oral adversarial trials. The expected result is a significant increase in the number of oral trials held annually, the percentage of criminal cases disposed of by plea bargaining or dismissal, and the percentage of criminal cases resolved within established standards for their timely disposition. (2) The project will provide support for the Public Ministry, which has been a key change agent for judicial reform in Honduras, with a focus on the professional development of prosecutors and the organizational and administrative development of the institution. The expected result is an increase in the number of cases prosecuted by the ministry and the number of prosecutions which go against the interests of influential groups or individuals. (3) The project will support the emergence of an independent, apolitical, and effective judiciary by: improvements in court administration (including a case tracking system, a reorganization of the lower courts, improved budgetary practices, and support to the Judicial School); implementation of a merit-based career system for judges; support to the Court Inspector General of Tribunals Office; policy dialogue aimed at orienting the new Supreme Court to the rule of law; and establishment of a management information system. The project will also help draft a constitutional amendment to change the system for naming the Supreme Court, extend the justices" tenure, and separate their appointments from the Presidential election cycle. The expected result is a significant increase in the number of criminal cases disposed of per judge per year, the total number of cases adjudicated annually, and the number of adjudications which go against the interests of influential groups or individuals. (4) The project will broaden civil society participation in justice sector reforms, especially by increasing significantly the number of NGOs engaged in programs to promote legal reform and the number of such organizations engaged in programs to inform people of rights under the new Criminal Procedures Code. (5) The project will promote, primarily through observation travel to the United States, the creation of a group of young lawyers who will spearhead the development of a rule of law mindset in the country.