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E-035/00
February 24, 2000

 

JUSTICE STUDIES CENTER BOARD HOLDS FIRST MEETING

 

Jurists from seven countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) today inaugurated the first meeting of the board of directors of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas, created at the Special Session of the OAS General Assembly last November.

The board members, elected at the Permanent Council meeting last January 19, are: Mónica Nagel Berger of Costa Rica, María Soledad Alvear of Chile, Douglas Cassel of the United States, Raphael Carl Rattray of Jamaica, José Ovalle Favela of Mexico, Karl Hudson-Phillips of Trinidad and Tobago, and Federico Callizo Nicora of Paraguay.

The board members chose Costa Rican Justice Minister Mónica Nagel Berger to chair their two-day first meeting, and decided the main focus would be to develop recommendations about where the Center should be headquartered. The recommendations will be presented to the Third Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General of the Americas, scheduled to be held in San José, Costa Rica March 1 to 3.

The Justice Studies Center of the Americas is an inter-governmental agency with technical and operational autonomy. It is the first hemispheric agency to operate along guidelines set by the Ministers of Justice and based on mandates from the Summits of the Americas and the OAS General Assembly.

Peru's Ambassador Beatriz Ramacciotti, Chile's Ambassador Carlos Portales, and members of the Argentine delegation as well as Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Enrique Lagos addressed the opening session which also brought together OAS member state representatives.

 

 

 

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