CARICOM Justice Reform Report
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Justice Reform in CARICOM: Analysis and Programming Options Prepared for the Canadian International Development Agency by J. Mark Stiles and Dennis Darby January 2012 NOTE: The opinions expressed and options presented in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Canadian International Development Agency or the Government of Canada. i Acknowledgements We wish to thank members of CIDA’s Caribbean Justice Sector Team – Anne Gaudet, Flora Liebich, Michele Gibson, Vivian Gray and Raymond Drouin – for their guidance and support throughout this assignment. We thank Tania Chambers for her desk review of literature on gender and child justice in the Caribbean. Special thanks go to Alana Joseph at the Canadian High Commission in Port of Spain and to June Emmanuel at the Canadian High Commission in Bridgetown for their diligence in arranging our travel and interview schedules. We would not have been able to carry out this assignment without their tireless efforts. We also wish to acknowledge the more than 150 individuals in 11 Caribbean countries and in Canada who took time from their busy schedules to speak to us. We commend them for their commitment to justice reform for the betterment of all Caribbean citizens. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIDA or the Government of Canada. As the authors of this report, we are responsible for errors or omissions. J. Mark Stiles Dennis Darby January 2012 ii Contents page 1. Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 1 2. Background and Context .............................................................................................. 6 2.1 The Caribbean Community................................................................................... 6 2.2 CIDA’s Justice Reform Experience in the Commonwealth Caribbean ................. 8 2.3 CIDA’s Caribbean Program ................................................................................... 9 3. The Consultants’ Assignment .................................................................................... 11 3.1 Rationale ............................................................................................................ 11 3.2 Terms of Reference ............................................................................................ 11 3.3 Approach and Methodology .............................................................................. 11 4. General Findings ......................................................................................................... 12 4.1 Justice Reform and Economic Growth ............................................................... 12 4.2 External Support for Justice Reform in CARICOM .............................................. 13 4.3 Strengths and Opportunities .............................................................................. 14 4.3.1 The justice sector ......................................................................................... 14 4.3.2 Caribbean institutions and organizations .................................................... 15 4.3.3 Canadian institutions and organizations ..................................................... 20 4.3.4 Model reforms and effective practices ........................................................ 23 4.4 Challenges .......................................................................................................... 24 4.4.1 Regional programming................................................................................. 24 4.4.2 Rising violent crime ...................................................................................... 25 4.4.3 Complex gender, child and juvenile justice issues....................................... 25 4.4.4 Public disillusionment with the justice system ............................................ 28 4.4.5 Economic vulnerabilities .............................................................................. 29 4.4.6 Dearth of strong, regional organizations capable of managing large regional justice reform programs .............................................................................. 29 4.4.7 Resistance to reform .................................................................................... 30 5. Common Needs and Priorities ................................................................................... 30 5.1 Case Backlogs ..................................................................................................... 31 5.2 Policy and Political Will ...................................................................................... 32 5.3 Infrastructure ..................................................................................................... 32 5.4 Integration .......................................................................................................... 33 5.5 Law Reform and Legislative Drafting ................................................................. 34 5.6 Regional Information Sharing and Knowledge Management ............................ 35 5.7 Access to Case Law and Treaty Materials .......................................................... 36 5.8 Performance Standards, Performance Measurement and Evaluation .............. 37 iii 5.9 Access to Justice ................................................................................................. 38 5.10 Professional Development ................................................................................. 39 6. Lessons ........................................................................................................................ 40 7. Conclusions and Programming Options .................................................................... 43 7.1 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 43 7.2 Programming Options ........................................................................................... 44 8. References .................................................................................................................. 57 9. Appendix A: List of Documents Reviewed ................................................................. 60 10. Appendix B: List of People Contacted ....................................................................... 65 11. Appendix C: Development Assistance to Justice Reform in CARICOM ...................... 77 12. Appendix D: CARICOM Justice Sector Reform Matrix ............................................... 84 13. Appendix E: Carribean Court of Justice Comments on the Evaluation and CIDA’s Response .................................................................................................................... 86 iv List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ACCBP Anti-crime Capacity Building Program ACCP Assembly of Commonwealth Caribbean Parliamentarians ADR Alternative dispute resolution CAJO Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers CARICOM Caribbean Community CBA Canadian Bar Association CBSI Caribbean Basin Security Initiative CCJ Caribbean Court of Justice CDB Caribbean Development Bank CEA Canadian executing agency CECI Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CJEI Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute CKLN Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network CLIC Caribbean Law Institute Centre CPP Community Policing Program CSME CARICOM Single Market and Economy CSO Civil society organization CTCBP Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program DFAIT Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada) DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom) DPP Director of Public Prosecutions DRF Dispute Resolution Foundation EA Executing agency ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ECSC Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court EU European Union FJA Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs GNI Gross national income GDP Gross domestic product ICCLR International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy ICT information and communication technology IDB Inter-American Development Bank IGDS Institute for Gender and Development Studies ILO International Labour Organization ILPS International Legal Programs Section IMF International Monetary Fund IT information technology JEI Judicial Education Institute JEMS Judicial Enforcement Management System JLR Judicial and Legal Reform Project JUST Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (Project) v MDG Millennium Development Goal NGO Non-governmental organization NJI National Judicial Institute OCCBA Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations OECS Organization of Eastern Caribbean States RBM Results-based management RDPF Regional Development Programming Framework SCLRP Social Conflict and Legal Reform Project UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Program UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime US$ United States Dollar* USAID United States Agency for International Development UWI University of the West Indies * Note: Throughout this report all financial data are expressed in Canadian dollars, except where otherwise indicated. Analysis of CARICOM Justice Sector Reform & Programming Options 1. Executive Summary Background In 2007 Prime Minister Harper confirmed Canada’s longstanding, special relationship with the Caribbean when