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Report of an Electoral Assessment and Planning Mission to Liberia: April 4-25, 2004
With the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Accra in August 2003, Liberians committed themselves to political, versus military, competition for the control of Liberia’s reconstruction. This commitment places added importance on the electoral process as the means through which the political competition will be carried out. The signatories to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement agreed to reform Liberia’s electoral system prior to the conduct of the 2005 elections. A major challenge, however, is how this electoral system can serve as a framework for political competition beyond 2005. In April 2004, IFES fielded a technical planning mission to examine the electoral environment and suggest a strategy for international support for the electoral process. Among the key findings were: 1. Liberians must be involved in all aspects of the process for the CPA-mandated October 2005 elections to leverage the maximum opportunity to bring the nation to a state of peaceful transition; 2. The electoral framework – detailing the legal provisions, the type of electoral system, the nature of the elections to be held, and other aspects of the electoral process – must be agreed upon no later than October 2004 to allow sufficient time for election preparations. Such a framework should be endorsed by Liberia’s stakeholders; 3. Timely, coordinated and robust international assistance at all stages and levels of the electoral process is necessary to create an environment for a successful outcome and to ensure that the best practices of transitional political processes are put into place; and 4. The international community will have to cover the majority of the cost of the elections, as well as provide considerable assistance to the resulting elected and appointed institutions responsible for Liberia’s reconstruction. This report contains recommendations for both the National Elections Commission (NEC) and its partners in the international community. Some of the key recommendations include: • To ensure that Liberian stakeholders are supportive of the electoral framework, that it meets Liberia’s needs and that it conforms to international standards, the process that leads to the establishment of the electoral framework must be perceived as inclusive and legitimate, while drawing on international best practices and principles. As such, it is recommended that fora be provided for NEC and Liberian political and civic actors to consider the various major issues. The international community should support the electoral reform process and provide technical assistance to facilitate the drafting of the resultant electoral framework. • International assistance will need to be provided to build the capacity of the National Elections Commission to organize and conduct the elections and to ensure the credibility of the electoral process. • The international community and the National Transitional Government of Liberia will need to provide timely and complete support to the elections budget. Any delays in the provision of financing and material will negatively impact the elections timeline. Once the electoral framework is finalized, the full costs for the elections will be known. However, priority at this point should be given to financing the NEC’s current personnel and operational costs, including the re-establishment of its presence in the counties, and voter education. • International assistance should support: o The administration of the elections: To support the conduct of a credible and efficient process through the provision of: i. A Chief Electoral Advisor and/or international members on the National Elections Commission to support the development of policy and procedures and the overall management of the electoral process; ii. Technical advisors to assist NEC headquarters and county offices in implementing the electoral framework; iii. Financial, material and logistical support. o The resolution of electoral disputes during all phases of the electoral process: To enable the timely arbitration and resolution of electoral disputes through the establishment of an Election Dispute Tribunal; and o Electoral participation: To promote a level political playing field and informed participation in the electoral process by Liberia’s citizens. International assistance should be well-timed and initiatives effectively coordinated to avoid duplication of effort and to maximize impact.
April 03, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
Rapport sur l état du pouvoir judiciaire: Haïti, 2002-2003
Ce Rapport unique, réalise fin 2003, dépeint de manière claire et méthodique la situation de faiblesse et de pauvreté d'un pouvoir judiciaire lui n'est ni indépendant ni responsable vis-à-vis du peuple haïtien.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
Committing to Change: Declarations from the IFES Judicial Independence Conferences - Peru, Honduras, Malawi, Egypt and Benin (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic)
Since 1987, IFES has provided technical assistance in the promotion of democracy in over 100 countries worldwide. IFES seeks to bolster democracy by providing expert technical assistance to support the four pillars of democracy: elections, the Rule of Law, good governance and civil society. An international non-profit NGO with central offices in Washington, DC and London, IFES is dedicated to the success of democracy worldwide and citizen participation in democratic processes. In these pages, we feature one element of one division of IFES: a series of conferences on judicial independence and the Rule of Law organized or co-organized by the Global IFES Rule of Law (ROL) Judicial Independence Project. We present an overview of each conference, and more importantly, priority-setting, action-oriented declarations developed by the participants at each event. The declarations vary depending on the region, but all were drafted to present to the world the participants’ visions for the consolidation of judicial independence and the Rule of Law. Each conference was also a venue for presenting a key IFES/USAID publication, Guidance for Promoting Judicial Independence and Impartiality (the Guide). The Guide is the result of a first-(the Guide). The Guide is the result of a first-of-its-kind, multi-year global research project focused on judicial independence and accountability issues. These events and the discussions they facilitated between reform-minded officials, IFES experts, and international and local specialists have already yielded the foundation for concrete steps towards reform in many countries.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
State of the Judiciary: Egypt 2003
The author of this State of the Judiciary Report for Egypt chose to remain anonymous. This State of the Judiciary report was commissioned by the Arab Center for the Rule of Law and Integrity (ACRLI), a Lebanese non-governmental organization founded to strengthen the Rule of Law, fight societal and governmental corruption and build the foundations of fair, efficient and independent justice systems within the Arab world. This State of the Judiciary Report for Egypt was edited by Professor Keith Henderson, IFES Senior Rule of Law Advisor, and Violaine Autheman, IFES Rule of Law Advisor, who are also the sole authors of the Executive Summary and of Chapter 1 of this Report. They are also entirely responsible for the analytical conclusions in the Judicial Integrity Principles Index (JIP), which attempts to evaluate the level of compliance with the Judicial Integrity Principles, included in the Executive Summary and in Annex 2. It should be noted they are also solely responsible for edits made to the English version and thus accept full responsibility for any inadvertent errors or misinterpretations of the Report from Arabic to English.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
State of the Judiciary: Haiti 2002-2003
This State of the Judiciary Report for Haiti was written by Léon Saint-Louis, J.D., a Haitian human rights lawyer and professor of public and contract law. Léon Saint-Louis has participated as a panelist in numerous seminars and debates on human rights and public law issues in the Haitian context. He has worked as a Legal Advisor for a number of Haitian State agencies and has been a legal consultant for the international community, including the MICIVIH and UNDP. This State of the Judiciary Report for Haiti was edited by Keith Henderson, IFES Senior Rule of Law Advisor, and Violaine Autheman, IFES Rule of Law Advisor, who are the authors of the Executive Summary and of Chapter 1 of this Report. They are also responsible for the analytical conclusions in the tables which attempt to evaluate the level of compliance with the Judicial Integrity Principles, included in the Executive Summary and in Annex 3.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
State of the Judiciary: Honduras 2003
This State of the Judiciary Report for Honduras was written by Edmundo Orellana, J.D., an eminent Honduran lawyer specializing in judicial reform and author of numerous articles and books on this topic in his country and abroad. Dr. Orellana has drafted a number of documents that have now become laws on themes ranging from the “Status of the Career of Public Prosecutors” to the “Judicial Code of Ethics” and the “Public Prosecution Code of Ethics”. He has served in numerous public offices, including General Director for Administrative Reform of the Ministry of Planning, Coordination and Budget, Judge of the Administrative Chamber of the Court of Appeals, Attorney General, and Ambassador to the United Nations. This State of the Judiciary Report for Honduras was supervised and edited by FOPRIDEH, a Honduran nongovernmental organization dedicated to sustainable development, the formulation of sound public policies and the strengthening of democratic processes and institutions in Honduras. FOPRIDEH is a federation of non-governmental organizations that brings together over 70 affiliated organizations and various commissions and alliances with State institutions. We are especially thankful for the collaboration of coordinators Wilfredo Méndez and Ana Pineda in this project. This State of the Judiciary Report for Honduras was edited by Keith Henderson, IFES Senior Rule of Law Advisor, and Violaine Autheman and Sandra Elena, IFES Rule of Law Advisors, who are the authors of the Executive Summary and Chapter 1 of this Report. They are also responsible for the analytical conclusions in the tables that evaluate the level of compliance with the Judicial Integrity Principles which are included in the Executive Summary and in Annex 4.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
State of the Judiciary: Malawi 2003
This State of the Judiciary Report for Malawi was written by Edge Kanyongolo, J.D., L.L.M., Ph.D., a Malawian law professor with broad expertise in constitutional law, media law and human rights. Edge Kanyongolo has served as facilitator and presenter in many symposia, workshops and conferences on constitutional issues, human rights and civil liberties in Malawi and other African countries. He has worked as a consultant for UN agencies, bilateral donors, non-governmental organizations and others and has participated in the development and implementation of various development and Rule of Law programs in Malawi. This State of the Judiciary Report for Malawi was edited by Keith Henderson, IFES Senior Rule of Law Advisor, and Violaine Autheman, IFES Rule of Law Advisor, who are the authors of the Executive Summary and of Chapter 1 of this Report. They are also responsible for the analytical conclusions in the tables which attempt to evaluate the level of compliance with the Judicial Integrity Principles, included in the Executive Summary and in Annex 2.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Survey
Attitudes Toward Democracy and Markets in Nigeria: Report of a National Opinion Survey, January - February 2000
A national sample survey on “Attitudes toward Democracy and Markets” was conducted in Nigeria in January-February 2000 by the International Foundation for Election Systems, in collaboration with Management Systems International. Research and Marketing Services, based in Lagos, conducted the fieldwork, assisted with the sampling methods and processed questionnaire data. Drs. Peter Lewis (American University) and Michael Bratton (Michigan State University) directed survey design, oversaw implementation and analyzed survey results. Funding for the survey was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The purpose of the present study is to find out what ordinary Nigerians think about recent political and economic developments. As a guiding theme, we asked: “Do Nigerians support democracy and markets?” The study was designed as a national sample survey, meaning that we posed the same set of questions to a small sample of the population who were selected to represent the adult population of Nigeria as a whole. The target population for the survey was citizens of Nigeria, namely persons at least 18 years old and eligible to vote. To draw a representative cross-section of the voting age population, a random sample was designed. The survey covered all six informal geopolitical regions of the country, including 22 of the 36 states, with the number of interviews in each region being proportional to the region's population size. To adapt the questionnaire to local conditions, we translated the English version into six local languages: Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Kanuri, Tiv, and Ijaw. All interviews were administered in the language of the respondent's choice. The survey questionnaire reproduced several items that had been asked in previous surveys in Nigeria and in other countries, so as to provide a basis for comparing Nigeria with other African nations as well as other regions of the world.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
Global Best Practices: Judicial Councils: Lessons Learned from Europe and Latin America
The Judicial Council, like the judiciary itself, is an important institution that should be structured and operate in a transparent, accountable manner. This is one of the key findings of this research paper and an important lesson learned from past reform efforts around the world. While Judicial Councils are often heralded by reformers and donors as institutions likely to contribute to the strengthening of judicial independence, another key finding of our research is that they may serve more as a barrier than as an avenue to judicial independence and accountability, particularly in countries where corruption is systemic or the judiciary is controlled by the executive. This paper studies the existence and functioning of Judicial Councils in light of the international, regional and national principles on judicial independence and integrity and of the overarching goal of promoting a Rule of Law culture around the world. In order to present a comprehensive picture of Judicial Councils, the paper addresses a variety of themes, including (i) the rationale for their creation; (ii) the different models and how they respond to country-specific needs; (iii) membership variations from country to country; and (iv) the most relevant attributions and responsibilities. The paper also raises some questions about the legitimacy and role of Judicial Councils within the broader structure of powers in a democratic State governed by the Rule of Law. Finally, some reflections on judicial education, policy functions and the relationship between the Judicial Council and the courts are included.
March 31, 2004
Publication
Report/Paper
Global Best Practices: Judicial Integrity Standards and Consensus Principles
International and regional human rights treaties recognize the right to a fair trial by an independent tribunal in the determination of rights and obligations in civil, commercial and administrative matters and in the determination of criminal charges. The right to a fair trial and its core components, including the “reasonable time” requirement and the principle of judicial independence, is now universally accepted. Building upon the declarations of principle of legally binding conventions, international and regional expert guidelines and principles have aimed at fleshing out the specific elements of judicial independence. In addition, international and regional human rights courts and commissions have interpreted the provisions of human rights treaties and shed some light on the minimum standards and components of the right to a fair trial and judicial independence. IFES has synthesized these various efforts into set of core, consensus principles and best practices that can be used to assess systematically the degree of independence of judiciaries worldwide: the Judicial Integrity Principles [JIP]. In designing the JIP, IFES has chosen a broad definition of the notion of “judicial integrity”. This term covers a wide range of issues related to the independence and accountability of the judiciary, both the institution and the judges as individual decision-makers. IFES has chosen this broad definition of the notion of “judicial integrity” to emphasize the importance of balance the independence and accountability issues and to identify in a systematic way related reforms that need to be undertaken.
March 31, 2004