AG/RES. 1407 (XXVI-O/96)

SUPPORT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN THE AMERICAS

(Resolution adopted at the eighth plenary session, held on June 7, 1996)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

HAVING SEEN the Report of the Permanent Council on Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas (AG/doc.3341/96 rev. 1 corr. 1), presented pursuant to resolution AG/RES. 1326 (XXV-O/95); and

CONSIDERING:

That said resolution instructed the Working Group on Enhancement of the Administration of Justice in the Americas, in collaboration with the General Secretariat and the Inter-American Juridical Committee and in coordination with national and international institutions involved in this area, to organize regional seminars and workshops, in which judges, examining magistrates, other officials involved in national judicial systems, lawyers, and scholars would participate, the purpose being to facilitate a better mutual understanding of the administration of justice in the various countries so as to achieve heightened legal cooperation;

That the heads of state and government meeting at the Summit of the Americas deemed it essential that all sectors of the population should have expeditious and effective access to justice and urged the Organization to help the member states meet the commitments undertaken at that meeting;

That the supreme courts of the region have taken the initiative to set up a pan American organization to promote and strengthen judicial independence and the rule of law in the Hemisphere as well as appropriate constitutional treatment befitting the judiciary in its capacity as a fundamental state organ;

That, as a result of that initiative, the Organization of Supreme Courts of the Americas was founded, by means of its Charter, on October 26, 1995;

That, since the meeting of presidents of the supreme courts, held in Washington, D.C., from October 23 to 27, 1995, the permanent seat of the General Secretariat of the Organization has been in Panama, where the Government and the Supreme Court of Panama have provided it with facilities of its own for launching the new Organization's activities;

That to date the supreme courts of the following countries have joined the Organization: Argentina, Canada, Chile, El Salvador, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, the United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela; and

That the fundamental objectives of that body will be accomplished through specific activities, including: serving as a permanent link between the judicial systems of the Americas and promoting international judicial cooperation in the Hemisphere, supporting judicial education programs, sharing information, and promoting regional technical assistance to the administration of justice,

RESOLVES:

1. To call on the member states of the Organization of American States that have not yet joined the Organization of Supreme Courts of the Americas to urge their respective supreme courts, with due respect for their independence, to explore the possibility of joining the Organization, the main objective of which will be to promote and strengthen judicial independence and the rule of law in the Hemisphere, increase communication between judicial bodies, and expand regional judicial cooperation.

2. To express appreciation to the Government and the Supreme Court of Justice of Panama for their generosity in providing permanent facilities for the General Secretariat of the Organization of Supreme Courts of the Americas and for all their efforts to launch the new Organization's activities.

3. To express the readiness of the Organization of American States to cooperate with the Organization of Supreme Courts of the Americas in strengthening the judicial independence of the Hemisphere by supporting judicial education programs and promoting judicial cooperation and regional technical assistance for the administration of justice.