SECRETARIAT FOR LEGAL AFFAIRS

The Secretariat for Legal Affairs assists the organs and subsidiary bodies of the Organization by preparing studies, documents, and legal opinions and providing secretariat services. It helps prepare treaties, agreements, and other international instruments, and is in charge of the legal procedures involved in the signature and deposit of instruments of ratification when the General Secretariat serves as depository. It provides technical and secretarial services to the Inter-American Juridical Committee and to the Administrative Tribunal. The Secretariat has two departments: Development and Codification of International Law and General Legal Services.

The Secretariat worked in the area of codification and development of international law; assisted with special projects in connection with the Summit of the Americas; represented and provided legal counsel to the General Secretariat; improved the treaty and publications service; and strengthened its working relationships with other organizations.

A modernization program was carried out. An automated compact filing system was introduced to maximize use of the area in which treaties are kept. A computer control system that makes it possible to locate and produce periodic reports on work in progress was set up. The compilation of United States laws and the legal encyclopedia were replaced with a more efficient CD-ROM reference system. Efforts were made to install an on-line research system through the Internet and to establish facilities for the use of Lexis and other similar computerized reference services.

Legal Advisory Services Regarding the Codification and Development of International Law

• The Secretariat for Legal Affairs provided legal counsel and assistance to the General Assembly and to the Permanent Council and its committees and working groups. To that end, it prepared legal studies in connection with the preliminary project for the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the administration of justice in the Americas, hemispheric integration, the environment, hemispheric security, representative democracy, probity and public ethics, and concerted efforts against terrorism.

• In accordance with a specific mandate from the General Assembly, a proposal on the procedures to be followed in drawing up and adopting inter-American conventions was prepared for consideration by the Inter-American Juridical Committee.

• At the Juridical Committee's request, a number of opinions were issued on matters on the Committee's agenda and legal assistance was provided on a continuing basis during its meetings.

• The Secretariat coordinated and participated in the 22nd Course on International Law sponsored by the International Juridical Committee. It also helped to prepare an agenda for the Sixth Inter-American Specialized Conference on Private International Law (CIDIF).

Special Projects Related to the Summit of the Americas

The Secretariat worked on various issues that had been identified in the Plan of Action adopted at the Summit of the Americas as areas in which the OAS should play an important supporting role.

The Secretariat provided legal counsel to CICAD to help it in promoting the adoption and application of legislation and regulations on money laundering and chemical precursor control. It helped CICAD to prepare a Counter-Narcotics Strategy for the XXI Century and to organize a Ministerial Conference on Money Laundering. The Secretariat also cooperated with CICAD in organizing joint activities with the United Nations and the G-7 Task Force.

The Secretariat for Legal Affairs worked with nongovernmental organizations and different legal firms to establish an institutional framework for cooperation and to set up a data base on existing environmental legislation in OAS member states. The initial preparations began for a seminar on the application of environmental standards, sponsored jointly by the OAS, through the Secretariat, and USAID, to be held in the first half of 1996.

The Secretariat established ties with the Trade Unit in order to share information and coordinate efforts to promote alternative settlement mechanisms for private disputes. Working in conjunction with the Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission, the Secretariat is organizing a network with other institutions interested in promoting alternative settlement mechanisms for private disputes, and is exploring the possibility of participating in joint projects with different bar associations, universities, and NGOs in member states in order to promote arbitration and training programs for arbiters .

The Secretariat is continuing to provide legal counsel to CITEL and helped to prepare and review the Inter-American Convention on an International Amateur Radio Permit.

The Secretariat is administering a project on the rights of refugees in the Americas for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Studies on the juridical situation of refugee and repatriated children in Mexico, Belize, and Central America were concluded in accordance with the objectives and targets established under the project.

Legal Counsel and Services

• The Secretariat for Legal Affairs represented the Secretary General in 17 complaints filed with the Administrative Tribunal (see Chapter VI).

• The attorneys filed suit against the Government of the United States in the courts of the District of Colombia for improper confiscation of funds that the General Secretariat had deposited in the Bank of Commerce and Credit International (BCCI). The Secretariat's position is that such confiscation violated the immunity of the General Secretariat, which protects its property from government confiscation pursuant to the Charter of the OAS, the Headquarters Agreement, and the International Organizations Immunities Act. A decision on this case by the United States Court of Appeals in the District of Colombia is now pending.

• The Department of General Legal Services played a substantial role in the process leading to adoption by the Organization's policy-setting bodies of the new compensation system and in implementing the new system.

• The Department provided legal counsel to the Office of the Secretary General and to the CEPCIES/CEPCIECC Joint Committee on the transition to the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI). Legal counsel was also provided to CITEL and IICA in carrying out decisions concerning their programs and institutional structure.

Treaty Services and Publications

• The Secretariat for Legal Affairs, through the Treaty Office, handled the legal procedures involved in the deposit of instruments of ratification of the 48 inter-American conventions. It also prepared the necessary documentation for signature of a similar number of inter-American conventions and 19 technical cooperation agreements. It carried out the procedures for deposit of the instruments of ratification required for entry into force of the Protocol of Managua.

• Through its concerted efforts with the Department of Management Systems, the Treaty Office began updating the most recent publications on the status of signatures and ratification of inter-American treaties on the Internet. This information is also available to users on diskette. The diskette and Internet services replace Publication No. 9, which in the past was updated every two or three years by the Secretariat for use by the missions and the general public.

• The Secretariat for Legal Affairs prepared and edited the following publications: Protocol of Amendment to the Charter of the OAS, "Protocol of Washington"; Protocol of Amendment to the Charter of the OAS, "Protocol of Managua"; Inter-American Convention on Serving Criminal Sentences Abroad; Optional Protocol related to the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters; Inter-American Convention on Law Applicable to International Contracts; Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors; Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons; and the Treaty on Compulsory Arbitration. In addition, the Secretariat republished the following documents, which were out of print: Protocol to the Convention on Duties and Rights of States in the Event of Civil Strife; Declaration on the Juridical Personality of Foreign Companies; Protocol of Uniformity of Powers of Attorney Which Are to Be Utilized Abroad; Treaty on the Protection of Movable Property of Historic Value; Convention to Prevent and Punish Acts of Terrorism Taking the Form of Crimes against Persons and Related Extorsion that are of International Significance.

Cooperation and Liaison

The Secretariat organized a half-day seminar for lawyers from the principal international organizations with headquarters in the United States to discuss the most recent developments in matters of administrative law, labor law, and privileges and immunities of international organizations. As in previous years, lawyers from the Secretariat for Legal Affairs participated as speakers and advisers in the model assemblies and lectured on the legal activities of the Organization and related topics at seminars sponsored by bar associations, professional associations, and law schools.

SECRETARIAT FOR MANAGEMENT

The Secretariat for Management is in charge of activities related to personnel management; preparation and execution of the financial matters; management, procurement, and contracting of goods and services; data processing; information systems; communications; and security. The Secretariat supports the Organization's activities through the Departments of Program-Budget, Human Resources, Financial Services, Material Resources, and Management Systems and Information.

The following is a brief description of some important support activities carried out by the Secretariat for Management

Program-budget

Measures have been implemented to improve program-budget control and to establish standards for its execution. To this end, short-term budget programs were prepared for each area of the General Secretariat.

In July 1995, the practice of requiring work plans and fund allocation requests as a basis for authorizing expenses was instituted. A uniform system for expenditures authorization was thus implemented.

The first inventory of OAS technical cooperation projects and activities setting out criteria for evaluating cooperation programs and planning future outlays was carried out.

The Secretariat for Management helped to prepare the General Secretariat's recommendations on the formulation, approval, execution, and control of the Organization's program-budget.

Human Resources

The Department provided assistance during the transition to the new staff compensation system approved by the General Assembly, and helped to implement it. The Secretariat also assisted with the processing and review of the general audit of posts ordered by the Assembly.

Material Resources

• The Organization was able to economize through the renegotiation of various contracts. The new contracts resulted in savings of 33% in telephone service, 60% for parking, and US$18,000 per year for security.

• Certain areas of the General Secretariat Building are being renovated to provide office space for staff working in priority areas. Renovation plans for the Main Building have been approved. A proposal for restoration of the Inter-American Children's Institute headquarters in Montevideo, which includes the possibility of housing the General Secretariat's office in the same building, was submitted to the Permanent Council.

Management Systems

The use of modern information systems has been expanded. Electronic mail has been installed, and the Secretariat provided assistance in linking the OAS to the Internet. The suggestions and recommendations made by American Management Systems, a company conducting a study on the information system, will make it possible to further upgrade the information systems.

Financial Services

The OAS was entrusted with new responsibilities but was expected to manage them with no increase in funding, not even an adjustment for inflation in the 1995-97 period. It is essential, therefore, that the member states make every effort to pay their quotas in a timely manner.

Table of Content