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AG/RES. 1844 (XXXII-O/02)

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INTER-AMERICAN JURIDICAL COMMITTEE 

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session held on June 4, 2002) 

            THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 

            HAVING SEEN the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the Annual Report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee (CP/doc.3545/02) and the presentation of the report by the Chair of the Juridical Committee, Dr. João Grandino Rodas; and 

CONSIDERING: 

            That Article 54.f of the Charter of the Organization of American States establishes that one of the powers of the General Assembly is to consider the observations and recommendations presented by the Permanent Council, in accordance with Article 91.f of the Charter, on the reports of the organs and entities of the Organization; 

            That Article 53 of the OAS Charter establishes the Inter-American Juridical Committee as one of the organs of the Organization; and 

            That the Inter-American Juridical Committee presented its annual report to the Permanent Council, which has submitted its observations and recommendations thereon to the General Assembly, 

RESOLVES: 

            1.         To welcome the report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee and to forward to the Committee the observations and recommendations made by the Permanent Council of the Organization on its annual report. 

            2.         To express its satisfaction with the work of the Inter-American Juridical Committee in dealing with the priority concerns of the Organization in the area of law and, especially, to recognize the support the Committee provides to the General Assembly and the Permanent Council in preparing the studies requested of it. 

            3.         To thank the Inter-American Juridical Committee for presenting document CJI/RES. 32 (LIX-O/01), “Observations and Comments of the Inter-American Juridical Committee on the Draft Inter-American Democratic Charter,” and for its support and participation in the process that concluded with the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter by the OAS General Assembly at its twenty-eighth special session, held in Lima, Peru, on September 10 and 11, 2001. 

            4.         To thank the Inter-American Juridical Committee for the report it submitted to the Sixth Inter-American Specialized Conference on Private International Law, held at the headquarters of the Organization of American States from February 4 to 8, 2002, document CJI/doc.78/01 rev. 1, “CIDIP-VII and Beyond,” and to request it to continue to assist with preparations for the next CIDIP. 

            5.         To thank the Inter-American Juridical Committee for drawing up document CJI/doc.80/02 rev. 2, “Elaboration of a Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance:  Report of the Inter-American Juridical Committee,” which represents a valuable contribution toward furthering the Organization’s work on this topic. 

            6.         To thank the Inter-American Juridical Committee for its contribution to the preparatory work for drawing up a draft inter-American convention against terrorism. 

            7.         To repeat its request to the Inter-American Juridical Committee to pursue its studies on the subject of competition law and the different forms of protectionism in the Americas in such a way as to include the results of those studies in its next annual report, bearing in mind the efforts already under way in the Organization and in other international institutions. 

            8.         To take note of the work carried out to date by the Inter-American Juridical Committee on the enhancement of the administration of justice in the Americas and to request it to continue cooperating with the work requested of it in the future. 

            9.         To encourage the Inter-American Juridical Committee to continue to promote regularly the holding of joint meetings with the legal advisors at the ministries of foreign affairs of OAS member states and to note with satisfaction the inclusion of the item “The International Criminal Court” on the agenda for its Fifth Meeting, in compliance with resolution AG/RES. 1770 (XXXI-O/01). 

            10.        To underscore once again the importance of holding the Course on International Law, organized each year by the Inter-American Juridical Committee and the OAS General Secretariat as a contribution to better understanding and dissemination of legal topics in the inter-American system, and to support every effort to enable a larger number of professors and students from all subregions to attend the course.  In this connection, priority attention should be given to installing a simultaneous interpretation system for the course and to increasing the amount that the OAS awards to fellowships, urging the member states to consider the possibility of paying directly for the participation of students and professors from their own countries. 

            11.        To congratulate the Inter-American Juridical Committee and the General Secretariat for publications of the lectures delivered at the Course on International Law, held each year in Rio de Janeiro, and for the publication of the thematic series grouping them together, and to recommend that the possibility of issuing those publications in the Organization’s official languages be examined. 

            12.        To note with satisfaction the new agenda adopted by the Inter-American Juridical Committee for its 61st regular meeting and to recommend, once again, that it concentrate its efforts on the issues indicated to it as being of priority interest to the Organization, bearing in mind the observations made by the member states upon presentation of its report and incorporating therein the agreements and decisions adopted by the General Assembly that are within its sphere of competence. 

            13.        To reiterate that it is necessary to bring the Inter-American Juridical Committee into closer contact with the political bodies of the Organization, especially with the Permanent Council and, in this regard, to call upon the Chair of the Inter-American Juridical Committee and the rapporteurs for the various topics included on its agenda to meet with that Organism whenever it so requests.

            14.        To note with satisfaction the program drawn up by the Inter-American Juridical Committee in commemoration of its centennial, to be held in 2006, and to encourage the Committee to continue putting forth its best efforts to carry it out. 

            15.        To underscore the need to provide the Inter-American Juridical Committee with the administrative and budgetary support required to address adequately the current inter-American legal agenda and to make the appropriate recommendations.

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