What is ABA/LALIC? What is ABA/LALIC? ABA/LALIC is the American Bar Association's Latin America & Caribbean Law Initiative Council The Council is comprised of ten distinguished practitioners of the legal profession, including Justice Stephen Breyer of the US Supreme Court, and a 14-member advisory Committee Board ABA/LALIC's primary function is to collaborate with legal institutions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in their ongoing efforts to strengthen the rule of law in this region of the world Carrying out LALIC's mission requires in-depth knowledge of the region, a thorough understanding of the US and Latin American legal systems, and cultural sensitivity LALIC's central purpose is to develop and implement legal reform and development projects in South, Central, and portions of North America, as well as the Caribbean The Latin America and Caribbean Law Initiative Council (ABA/LALIC) fits within one of the ABA's primary goals, specifically Goal VIII --to promote the rule of law around the world LALIC's central purpose is to develop and implement legal reform and development projects in South, Central, and portions of North America, as well as the Caribbean LALIC works with public, private, NGOs and other legal institutions to strengthen the rule of law in the hemisphere LALIC Members Armando Lacasa, Chair, Ruden, McClosky, Et Al Barbara Bader Aldave, University of Oregon Mari Carmen Aponte, Consultant to Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Justice Stephen Breyer, United States Supreme Court Wayne Fagan, Glast, Phillips & Murray, PC Allan Van Fleet, Vinson & Elkins, LLP Honorable Jose E Martinez, US District Court, Southern District of Florida Carol Maxine Mates, International Finance Corporation Manuel Sanchez, Sanchez & Daniels Rafael A Santiago, Santiago Law Group LLC The Council conducts its programs in consultation with local partners, noteworthy authorities, and leaders in the region Often, LALIC has served as a catalyst for ongoing efforts and movements already underway LALIC functions under three principles The US model is but one approach and that civil law or other models may also offer important contributions and alternatives Second, all projects and programs are done in consultation with local government and non-government authorities and LALIC's participation should be viewed as a partnership among committed rule of law reformers Third, ABA-LALIC is a public service project The Council adheres to strict conflict of interest guidelines designed to ensure neutral technical advice Over the last five years, LALIC has helped to foster a dialogue in issues of importance to judges, lawyers, and other legal professionals in the region LALIC has produced materials
regarding trafficking, mediation, transparency, anti-corruption practices, legal education and other subjects in Spanish and Portuguese LALIC also maintains a database of experts in a variety of fields with an interest in serving in LALIC-sponsored projects and provides a forum for ABA members to do specialized volunteer and pro bono work in the region What is ABA/LALIC? To accomplish its goal of strengthening the rule of law in Latin America, LALIC has employed a programmatic neutral approach throughout the region and has done it with great success LALIC staff, volunteers, and the consultants LALIC hires emphasize building trust and buy-in in all the programs developed and implemented in the region LALIC remains neutral by developing programs and projects with a practical approach and by being transparent with all local actors Instead, LALIC emphasizes its tremendous capacity as a resource, emphasizes its ability to build consensus, its power to convene and maintains its library of tools and best practices LALIC's approach of providing a neutral space to discuss improvements has had notable successes despite a difficult working environment For example, the first anti-trafficking legislation in Ecuador was passed despite tremendous political turmoil, including the ousting of the president In Mexico, the Instituto Juridico de Investigacion de la UNAM, the country's leading research institution, evaluated LALIC's Mediation project and said the project's non-political emphasis on technical assistance and improvement of delivery of services had led to the growing use of mediation by Mexico's judicial branch
Among other activities and projects, LALIC Association in Oaxaca, Mexico ABA Secretary undertaken by LALIC are: Elect Armando Lasa Ferrer spoke about the In 2003, ABA/LALIC in conjunction with collaboration between the Mexican Bar and the Reforma, the largest newspaper in Mexico, and ABA that had already taken place and the the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico potential for future connection between the (U NA M) sp on so re d a co nf er en ce on associations In addition, the Director of the Transparency in the Administration of Justice ABA's Center for Continuing Legal Education Several ABA members served as panelists as did spear-headed a well-received and attended the Director of the National Center for Courts and conference on Continuing Legal Education, the Media LALIC staff served as facilitators for which the Mexican Bar is developing at this next steps on ways to increase transparency of the time legal system in Mexico In 2004, the International Narcotics and Law In 2004, LALIC worked with Enforcement (INL) office of the US Embassy in ABA President Robert J Grey Costa Rica contracted LALIC to undertake a Jr on several articles including targeted assessment of components of the Costa one on Access to the Courts: Rican Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the Equal Justice for All, that Treasury Ministry (Ministerio de Hacienda) to appeared in the US Department determine the institutional capacity to establish of State's Bureau of and implement programs designed to confront International Information Program's Issues of i n t e r n a l i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o r r u p t i o n Democracy series Recommendations were outlined for technical assistance to targeted institutions of the In 2004, LALIC sent a consultant to Brazil to Government of Costa Rica (GOCR) to meet the assess USAID's POMMAR (translation of overall objective of strengthening its capacity to Portuguese acronym for Prevention Oriented address corruption within vulnerable towards At-Risk Boys and Girls) program The governmental institutions initiative, which came to a close in September 2004, included care for children with AIDS; In December 2004 the Latin American Judges' eradicating child labor; returning children to the Seminar on the 1980 Hague Convention on the formal education system; technical training and Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction job placement; AIDS prevention; assistance to took place in Monterrey, Mexico Ninety Judges, vi ct im s o f p hy si ca l a bu se an d s ex ua l Central Authority officials and other experts exploitation; support for street children; and a from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, host of other initiatives designed to address the Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, root causes of poverty and social exclusion The Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, consultant documented the highlights of this Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, project to provide a record of lessons learned United Sates of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela and the following Organizations: In 2004, LALIC was invited to attend the Organization of American States - Inter- Biannual Meeting of the Mexican Bar American Children's Institute, International ABA/LALIC in action
took place in Monterrey, Mexico Ninety Judges, Central Authority officials and other experts from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, United Sates of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela and the following Organizations: Organization of American States - Inter- American Children's Institute, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, American Bar Association - Latin American Law Initiative Council, Texas-Mexico Bar Association and the Law School of Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey met in Monterrey, Mexico, to discuss how to improve, among the countries represented, the operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction participation of other countries in the region and provided comparative perspectives on the trafficking issue The co-sponsorship was funded by generous contribution of the Department of State's Office to Combat Trafficking ABA/LALIC in action Then ABA President-Elect Michael Greco delivered the keynote address Wayne Fagan and other members were also involved in the planning and served as speakers at the conference In 2005, LALIC co-sponsored with the Organization of American States a conference on trafficking in Ecuador While focused primarily on Ecuador, the conference included the
Legal Education and Strengthening the Because of the Project's discussion of law school Profession in Mexico accreditation, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), one of the ABA/LALIC is conducting a legal education leading universities in Mexico, has taken an project in Mexico, funded by USAID The interest in reforming Mexico's system of project's goals fall into two broad categories: accreditation and has begun to hold separate accreditation of law schools and licensing of initiatives on the subject In addition, lawyers Accreditation includes curriculum Tecnologico de Monterrey, another of Mexico's development, teaching of ethical standards and most prestigious universities, which has several professionalism, standardization of qualifications branch campuses including five law schools, has for faculty and students, and institutionalization of approached the project's consultants about having clinical programs Licensing of lawyers relates to its law schools begin a law school inspection to controls placed on the profession and includes ascertain its strengths and areas needing reform standards for ethical conduct, minimal While the ABA cannot conduct official competence, continuing legal education, and inspections of a foreign institution, the idea of professionalism doing an example or mock inspection has been discussed Mediation Project in Mexico For the past four years, ABA-LALIC has been operating a Mediation project in Mexico with funding from USAID The Project has promoted court-annexed mediation in twenty-two states by providing technical legal assistance on the drafting of mediation laws and the design and operation of mediation centers, as well as training over 500 mediators The project also counts with As part of its mission, the project conducted an the support and expertise of the ABA's Dispute assessment of the current situation of the legal education system in Mexico It also implemented various regional conferences to develop a regional plan on how to implement an accreditation system in Mexico and the benefits it would bring to students and faculty The project has been mindful about including bar association representatives, academics, government officials, practicing lawyers, and law school deans, and judges The project also worked closely with the ABA's Section on Legal Education Our current work
Resolution Section The USAID mission in Mexico has noted the Mediation Project as a model project The objective of the project is to advance the use of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method in Mexico In-country partners and participants include the Mexican Bar Association, the National Association of Notary Publics, the importantly, the Project has trained hundreds of Mexicans to be mediators and then trained several of these mediators to be mediation trainers themselves It has developed a website - wwwmediacionenmexicoorg - and a newsletter along with training manuals Finally the project encourages the collaboration and exchange of information among these states and organizations to create an effective network of experts and to promote consensus among the groups Trafficking in Persons in Ecuador Federal Judiciary, the Supreme Court of the Nation, the National Institute of Mediation, and the following states: Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tabasco, and Tamaulipas In order to address the regional needs of each state or entity, the project is designed to assist in the development and implementation of tailor-made strategic plans and models in each state and entity The project is guided by a Committee of Assessors made up of governmental leaders from each of the participating states, academics, and members of the organizations mentioned above The project provides technical assistance through workshops, study tours, and publications Most In 2004, the American Bar Association's Latin America and Caribbean Law Initiative Council (ABA/LALIC) began a Project to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Ecuador (the Project) The Project is funded by the Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons of the US Department of State In addition to ABA/LALIC, the American Bar Foundation also collaborates on this project Overall, the Project seeks to act as a catalyst by fostering partnerships between key government and non-government organizations that come together to solidify a strong and focused national movement for combating the trafficking in persons The Project has a stakeholder group in the form of an Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from private and government institutions, as well as academics, members of media outlets and citizens-at-large All of them share a common interest in the trafficking issue in Ecuador Their diverse academic and geographic backgrounds help the Project better reflect the needs and realities of Ecuador Our current work
The Project's efforts build upon current efforts and experiences and provide information and technical assistance to enhance existing programs and advance new programs, focusing on the following areas: Awareness/Prevention Protection of Victims Training Legislation Prosecution Overall Strategies Justice system to a more adversarial one As this transition continues to take form, there have been areas where Ecuadorians have been interested in understanding how other more mature adversarial systems work To provide information and guidance on these issues, ABA-LALIC is working with the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and the Office of the Attorney General in Puerto Rico to provide expertise in this area Among the activities planned is a mock trial with teams of Ecuadorians, Puerto Ricans and other ABA experts To this end, the project has developed a Tool-kit to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Ecuador, downloadable through LALIC s website at no cost at wwwabanetorg/lalic Criminal Justice Reform in Ecuador For the past year, LALIC has been working with Ecuadorian prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys on a mock mock trial highlighting the important aspects of the Ecuadorian criminal justice reform process Like many other nations in Latin America, Ecuador changed its criminal code from a traditionally inquisitorial criminal Areas of interest include: 1) confidential investigations 2) the use of expert witnesses 3) pretrial stipulations 4) the role of the prosecutor, judge and defense lawyer The seminar envisioned will be structured as a very practical and interactive experience to optimize communication and trust between participants The participants from both teams will receive a set of materials prior to the conference to help them follow the development of the case that will serve as the foundation for the discussions and events unfolding throughout the conference After an initial discussion of theoretical issues, a trial demonstration will be held as a sort of show and tell of the discussions held earlier Finally, the conference will end with an examination of the various legal issues that the demonstration revealed LALIC received funding from the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Office at the US Embassy in Quito for this program and expects to turn this into a long-term project following the conference Our current work
Participation in Annual Conference on Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas sponsored by the University of Florida Beginning in 2005, LALIC began to be a regular participant in this conference LALIC Council member Wayne Fagan introduced LALIC's work to other conference attendees LALIC will again participate in this conference in Lima, Peru in 2006 Breyer, Anthony Kennedy, and Sandra Day O'Connor Participants from Latin America included Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Ellen Gracie Northfleet, Mexican Supreme Court Justice Olga Sanchez Cordero, as well as academics, government ministers, and NGO leaders from Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador Rule of Law Symposium Along with the other three international councils of the ABA, LALIC sponsored the Rule of Law Symposium in November, 2005 The goal of the Symposium was to broaden the existing movement to promote a culture for the rule of law globally Building on the Association's ongoing efforts for over a decade, it seeks to devise new and coordinated strategies for its advancement Expanding the movement began by presenting a compelling case to a diverse group of stakeholders on the urgency of building a movement that supports a strong and devoted culture for the rule of law around the world The speakers and panelists at the Symposium actively worked at: (1) persuading stakeholders of their common interest in promoting the rule of law, and (2) showing the close linkages between the rule of law on the one hand and poverty, corruption, human rights abuses, terrorism, environmental degradation and health pandemics on the other Our current work The Symposium featured speakers and panelists at the highest levels from the US and abroad Among the participants were US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton, and Supreme Court Justices Stephen
LALIC is currently developing proposals for three programs: environment compatible with many of their home countries The Center for Understanding and Application Working with Council members and Puerto Rican of the Law in the Americas (CUALA) judicial and government officials, LALIC is confident it will secure funding to do a feasibility study for the ABA LALIC members voted unanimously to develop Center in the coming months a long-term initiative that focuses on the commercial aspects of important legal areas such as trade and Restorative Justice Project in Bolivia investment in the Americas The project seeks to develop a regional center that works with some of the LALIC has submitted a proposal for a program that brightest minds and implementers in the region on provides reconciliation programs to address how to build a roadmap for trade in the Americas political, ethnic, and other divides LALIC has After careful study of existing programs, centers, and focused on Bolivia because of the many needs for the technical legal assistance needs of the region, a reconciliation in that country The research concept paper has been developed and approved by conducted indicates that the areas with the greatest the Council CUALA's focus should be limited to five need are in the province of Yungas The program or six major areas that involve trade issues These are will focus on victim offender mediation Yungas is intellectual property, government procurement, an area of coca production While LALIC will not commercial litigation, environmental law, labor law, focus on that problem, the intense focus on the coca and dispute resolution CUALA's major objective issue and the split between indigenous populations will be to facilitate a real understanding of the laws of and the government over the issue has brought each participating nation, their practical applications violence to the province by way of assault, and their legal ramifications in local settings and at a vandalism, and other petty and more serious forms regional level That understanding in turn will of crimes that receive less attention because of the provide the basis for the drafting and execution of focus on the coca production LALIC seeks to bring action plans for policy advocacy that contribute to a victim offender mediation and other restorative more stable and consistent legal framework in the area justice ideas that have proven successful in the US of trade and other nations to contribute to the healing in this violence-prone region The operational headquarters for CUALA can be located in what today is the Inter American Center for Criminal Justice Reform in Colombia the Administration of Justice located within the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico Colombia has been the focus of large contracts for Puerto Rico has actively combined the civil and criminal justice reform in the past ten years as the common law traditions for over a century As a result, US government has made it a major place of reform it has become a laboratory for the blending of both in the region This autumn a large contract (over systems Puerto Rico's experience has much to offer $20 million) will be offered for a multi-year project other countries in the Americas, especially as to promote reforms in Colombia's criminal justice inquisitorial legal systems and systems based on system The Council is researching the possibility common law trade and do business The island also of entering into the group of service providers that offers Latin American legal professionals an will undertake this important task Developing Initiatives