AG/RES. 1562 (XXVIII-O/98)

SECOND MEETING OF MINISTERS OF JUSTICE OR OF MINISTERS OR ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF THE AMERICAS

(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on June 2, 1998)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the report of the Permanent Council on the Meeting of Ministers of Justice (AG/doc.3718/98) and the final report of the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA/doc.33/97);

BEARING IN MIND that the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December 1997, as decided by the General Assembly in resolution AG/RES. 1482 (XXVII-O/97); and

CONSIDERING:

That the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas recommended the continued strengthening of justice systems in the Hemisphere, a multidisciplinary approach to modernizing those systems, continued improvement of inter-American legal instruments for cooperation on legal matters, and intensified efforts to fight corruption, organized crime, and transnational crime;

That the meeting also recommended that the General Secretariat of the Organization be requested to promote a study on obstacles to the effective application of judicial cooperation treaties, drawing upon information provided by the states on such obstacles;

That, in addition, the meeting recommended fostering within the Organization the sharing of experience at the national level, as well as technical cooperation, both in matters of prison and penitentiary policy and in matters of criminal prosecution systems, access to justice, and judicial administration;

That the meeting further recommended support for periodic Meetings of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas, held within the OAS framework, with technical assistance from the General Secretariat; and that, to that end, it decided "to thank the Republic of Peru for its offer to host the Second Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Americas, to be held during the second half of 1998, and to accept that offer"; and

That during the Second Summit of the Americas, held in Santiago, Chile, the Heads of State and Government decided to support those recommendations in their Plan of Action,

RESOLVES:

1. To thank the Government of Argentina for hosting the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas, and for its efficient organization of that meeting, which was a contributing factor in the success achieved.

2. To request the General Secretariat to conduct a study on obstacles to the effective application of treaties on legal and judicial cooperation.

3. To urge states to assist the General Secretariat in conducting the study entrusted to it by providing observations or reports on such obstacles.

4. To convene the Second Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas, and to instruct the Permanent Council to prepare the preliminary documents, set the date, and draw up the agenda for that meeting, so that it may be held before the next regular session of the General Assembly, within resources allocated in the program-budget, that will be adopted by the General Assembly at the special session it will hold after this regular session, and other resources.

5. To thank the Government of Peru for its offer to host that meeting.

6. To request the Permanent Council to present a report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at its twenty-ninth regular session.