Judicial reform II

The project will have two main activities: developing public support for judicial reform, and strengthening institutional capacity to implement reform. A semi-autonomous Justice Sector Planning and Coordination Secretariat will be established within the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to direct project activities, including the work of two key public/private sector working groups. A Public Education and Legal Reform Working Group, composed of 5-6 leaders from government, academe, and the private sector, will design a national public education/outreach campaign and develop an expanded legal reform agenda. The public education campaign will be nonpartisan and have the "Rule of Law" as its theme; its aim will be to educate citizens concerning their legal rights and responsibilities, the functioning of the justice system, and the reform process, and to develop public confidence in the system, raise awareness among public servants in the justice sector, and enlist public participation in the reforms. The campaign will make use of print, radio, and TV, and will include publication of laws and support for NGO information dissemination. To define a legal reform agenda, the project will provide TA to help the MOJ, NGOs, and universities conduct action-oriented research and organize seminars and conferences. Targeted areas for reform include civil and criminal codes and procedure codes, case management, justice sector salaries and compensation, ethics, and changes in organizational roles and responsibilities. The project will support, inter alia, an annual Ibero-American conference on Justice Sector Reform, international travel for justice sector leaders, support for the law journal and seminar program begun under 5190296, and grants to six universities or NGOs for research/discussion activities. A second working group will strengthen the capacity of the justice sector -- the MOJ, Attorney General"s office, Public Defender"s Office, National Civilian Police, the Judicial Branch, and National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ) -- to implement reforms, including: a transparent, merit-based process for judicial appointments; a modern judicial information system; a modern court management system. Pilot activities will be introduced in a limited number of courts. This component will include two types of training: supplementary legal training for practicing judges, public defenders, and prosecutors: and in- service training relating to the institutional reforms. For the former, the project will help the NCJ develop a curriculum, with special attention to justices of the peace, whose responsibilities will be expanded as a result of legal reform. Finally, the project will include a small component to support other U.S. justice sector activities in El Salvador, including the U.S. Justice Department"s International Criminal Investigation Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and U.S. Information Agency-sponsored educational and professional exchange programs.