Strategic assessment of legal systems development in Uruguay and Argentina

This document evaluates USAID"s Rule of Law (ROL) program in Argentina and Uruguay. In Uruguay, interest in addressing perceived structural issues and a consensus for change among the elite have created a unique opportunity to improve the judicial system. Here, legal system strengthening focused on assisting the judicial sector to implement oral procedural reform, aiding in the training of judges and attorneys, improving the administrative and managerial capacity of the judiciary, and introducing new techniques such as alternative dispute resolution to the courts. As a result, formal complaints against judges have dropped dramatically, the administrative burden on judges has been reduced, data gathering has been streamlined, and performance indicators have been established. In Argentina, by contrast, a deeply divided Federal Supreme Court and the extreme politicization of the Federal Court system by the executive branch have effectively blocked the implementation of judicial reform measures. Provincial level courts were much more responsive, however, and the ROL project has set up a judicial school, offered short courses on special topics such as mediation, set up a computerized system for expert witnesses, and begun an administrative decentralization process. Perhaps more significantly, efforts towards constituency- and coalition-building seem to have paid off through the use of NGOs, public polls, and the commercial sector. Argentina"s relatively active and professional civil society, free media, high rates of literacy, and diverse commercial sector have allowed USAID to work extensively in mobilizing popular demand for reform and state accountability. The ROL project in both countries has been characterized by modest funding, allowing USAID to act as a trailblazer, laying the groundwork for other donors in the area of legal system strengthening.