Civil Society Follow Up of the Implementation
of the Quebec Plan of Action.

 

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METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE:

INDICATORS AND QUESTIONNAIRE

 

 

Prepared by PARTICIPA Corporation

 

 

by Vicente Espinoza, Usach

with Oscar Mac-Clure and Sergio Marras

 

With the cooperation of:

The Regional Coordination for Economic and Social Research [Coordinadora Regional de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales, CRIES]

The Department of Political Science of the Universidad de Los Andes (UNIANDES), Colombia

FLACSO-Chile

FOCAL of Canada

PARTICIPA Corporation of Chile

 

July 2003

 

JUSTICE

 

I. COMMITMENTS UNDER THE QUEBEC PLAN OF ACTION[1]

 

In the Quebec Plan of Action, the governments declared that “equal access to an independent, impartial and expeditious justice system is a fundamental pillar of democracy and social and economic development.” In recognition of this, they pledged to promote initiatives in two areas:  

 

a) Access to justice. “Supporting public and private initiatives and programs to educate people about their right of access to justice, and promoting measures to ensure expeditious, equitable and universal access to justice.”

 

A commitment was also made to exchange experiences regarding alternative mechanisms for administering justice, such as those applied to indigenous peoples.

 

b) Independence of the judicial branch. The countries pledged to “promote measures to strengthen the independence of the judicial branch, for example through initiatives related to transparency in the selection of judicial officials, judges’ job security, appropriate codes of conduct and accountability mechanisms.”

 

 

II. CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION OF THE ISSUE

 

The societies of the Americas face numerous problems related to injustice, which include insufficient reparations for human rights violations, excessive judicial bureaucracy, ineffectiveness in fighting ordinary and organized crime, legal discrimination against disadvantaged groups, judicial actions which systematically favor the interests of a privileged minority, judicial corruption, and the disregard of constitutional and legal rights supposedly guaranteed by the State. Confronting these problems as a whole and ensuring justice for the region’s inhabitants will require judicial reforms, modifications to the legal framework on which the justice system is sustained, and the correction of inequities in political, economic and social institutions.

 

Due to our societies’ profound aspiration to ensure justice for their populations, access to justice and the independence of the judicial branch were recognized as important topics by the governments in the Quebec Plan of Action. 

 

Access to justice is the ability of individuals and groups to make use of the judicial system to effectively resolve their conflicts.

 

To ensure this access, and to achieve equality of opportunity in access to justice, far-reaching reforms will be required in our societies. According to voices arising from civil society, these reforms must dismantle many barriers which prevent the region’s justice systems from being accessible, affordable, impartial, effective and sensitive to citizens’ needs, especially the needs of the indigent, the disadvantaged and those suffering from discrimination. Equity in access to justice requires preferential action aimed at indigenous peoples, women, children, the handicapped, immigrants and other groups.

 

An independent judiciary pronounces impartial decisions regarding the application of the law to citizens and the State, in the cases presented to it.

 

This is a prerequisite -- although in our judgment not the only one -- for a judicial reform process that will establish an impartial, efficient and reliable justice system. An emerging issue put forth by civil society is the failure of judicial institutions, as currently constituted, to facilitate the inclusion of the indigent, the disadvantaged and those subject to discrimination; thus, they do not provide impartial justice with respect to all of the groups. 

 

 

III. DIMENSIONS AND SUBDIMENSIONS

 

1. Access to justice.

 

1.1 Education of individuals about their right of access to justice.

1.2 Expeditious, equitable and universal access to justice.

1.3 “Fair treatment” for the poor, the disadvantaged and those subject to     

                         discrimination.

 

2. Independence of the judicial branch.

 

2.1 Transparency in the selection of judicial authorities.

2.2 Job security for judicial authorities.

2.3 Appropriate codes of conduct.

2.4 Accountability to society.

2.5 Institutional structures which facilitate the inclusion of the poor, the disadvantaged and those subject to discrimination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V. QUESTIONNAIRE[2]

 

Access to justice.

 

Education of individuals about their right of access to justice.

 

1.  Are educational efforts on justice-related topics by the judicial branch and other government bodies:

 

Scattered or occasional, and restricted in coverage

Scattered or occasional, but reaching a wide audience

Ongoing, but restricted in coverage

Ongoing, and reaching a wide audience

 

Explain:

 

 

2.  In your opinion is the level of citizens’ knowledge or education regarding their right of access to justice is:

 

High

Moderate

Low

Nonexistent

 

Explain:...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

 

 

Expeditious, equitable and universal access to justice.

 

3. Does the country (or province or territory) have a public defender’s office, free legal aid (distinct from the public defender’s office), an ombudsman (citizens’ defender), and oral trial proceedings?[3]

 

If yes, indicate the number of cases served by each office/service during the previous years if known.

 

 

Explain, especially if recent changes have taken place:

 

4.  In recent years, average time delays for the pronouncement of judicial sentences have been:

 

Excessive

Reasonable

 

If estimates exist of the actual time periods (in months), indicate:

 

 

If estimates of the actual time periods do not exist, explain the response:

 

 

 

 

5.  Has the number and percentage of persons detained or brought to trial but still awaiting a judicial sentence changed in recent years, and how?

 

 

Explain:

 

“Fair treatment” of the poor, the disadvantaged and those subject to discrimination.

 

6. What level of recognition/legitimacy does the State grant to justice administration mechanisms (community justice/sentencing programs etc.), applied by indigenous peoples/communities?

 

None

Some

High

 

If recognition is given, indicate the types of mechanisms used:

 

7.  Are the actions of the police compatible with the requirements of a democratic state in the following ways?

 

 

Explain/Comment:

8.  Among lower-income social groups, the proportion of problems which are reported to and brought before the formal judicial system is:

 

High

Moderate

Reasonable

Low

Nonexistent

 

Explain:

 

9.  In your country do cases exist where the population (or communities) has resorted to “taking justice into their own hands” (beatings, extra-judicial killings, lynchings etc)

 

 

Explain:

 

 

10.  The quality of free or low-cost legal aid services for the poor, disadvantaged or those subject to discrimination is:

 

 

Explain:

 

 

11.  a) In the last 3 years have reforms been made to the criminal trial laws?

Yes

No

 

If yes, indicate what kind and when (dates)

b) If yes, is there evidence that the reforms favor low-income plaintiffs?

Yes

No

 

Explain:

 

c) If yes, is there evidence that the reforms favor those affected by domestic violence (spousal violence, child abuse)?

 

Yes

No

 

Explain:

 

 

12. Have there been initiatives to provide special support for victims of domestic violence (spousal violence, child abuse) since 2000?

 

Yes

No

 

If yes, what kind?

 

 

13.  Have there been initiatives to ensure more humane and dignified treatment of prisoners since 2000?

 

 

If yes, what kind?

 

 

Independence of the judicial branch.

 

Transparency in the selection of judicial authorities.

 

14. Have advances been observed since 2000 in relation to transparency and independence in the selection of Supreme Court justices, in the following areas?

 

 

If yes, specify the advances:

 

If no, explain:

 

Job security for judicial authorities.

 

15.  Is there evidence from the previous year of cases in which judges have been removed or suspended from their jobs due to political pressure or other arbitrary influences, in reaction to their previous judicial decisions? (in Supreme Court or Superior Provincial Court)

 

Yes

No 

 

If yes, explain:

 

 

Appropriate codes of conduct.

 

16.  Have codes of ethics, if existing, been applied in specific cases to the judicial branch since 2000?

 

Yes

No 

There are no explicit codes of ethics for the judicial branch

 

If yes, explain whether these codes are effective in ensuring transparency in the judicial branch:

 

 

17.  If cases of judicial corruption have occurred since 2000, have they been adequately addressed?

 

Yes

No

No cases have occurred

 

Explain:

 

 

Accountability to society.

 

18.  What is the availability of information for each of the following items?

 

 

Other judicial statistics (specify):

 

19.  What is the quality level of information about the judicial system available on the Internet?

 

Excellent

Good

Mediocre

Unsatisfactory

 

Explain:

 

 

20.  Are there effective response mechanisms for complaints and demands for investigation lodged against the judicial system or individual judicial officials?

 

Yes

No

 

 

 

Institutional structures facilitating the inclusion of the poor, the disadvantaged and those subject to discrimination.

 

21.  What is the composition of the Supreme Court, by gender and ethnic origin? Indicate the number of:

 

 

 

22.  Have there been changes to the composition of the judiciary, allowing it to better reflect  gender, ethnic and other kinds of social diversity, since 2000?

 

Yes

No

Explain:

---

[1]

You can obtain a copy of the Québec City Plan of Action document at www.oas.org

[2]

  When answering the questions regarding judicial power consider only the level of the Supreme Court, in other cases please specify if answers refer to federal and/or provincial/territorial jurisdictions.

[3]

Note that the oral trial proceeding portion of this question does not apply to countries using the Common law system.

Please provide input to: DAWN