Caracas, March 24 to 26, 1999
On the threshold of the third millenium, the Judiciary in each Member State of our organization should promote the strengthening of its independence from other branches, insist on the continuing need to be more efficient as well as to reaffirm the fundamental principles that govern jurisdictional activities as indispensable instruments for achieving the decorum and the discipline that should set us apart.
As a key instrument for fulfilling our assigned mission and in view of the growing globalization and integration of the nations and individuals, new technologies constitute avant-garde tools for optimization in the formation of members committed to jurisdictional and administrative activities that the Judicial branch is developing in our countries. The financial support of the government and of national and international organizations committed to the development of an efficient administration of justice that is accessible to all citizens, is essential.
I must publicly acknowledge the input of the World Bank which has economically and technically supported the Venezuelan judicial reform process and these Summits. But my appreciation is twofold because we have worked with an international organization committed to change and renewal which, nonetheless, did not arrive with preconceived diagnoses and formulas. This is the first time, in my opinion, that an international organization has no intention of imposing its ideas, but rather of contributing what it has: technical professionals, experiences and economic aid.
At the opening session of last year’s summit I said that traditionally the Presidents of Supreme Courts and Tribunals gather to discuss and exchange ideas and experiences regarding abstract legal topics and their application to specific cases; in other words, we meet to examine the evolution of doctrine and case law and its application to specific juridical institutions. But, it is noteworthy that, for the first time, we are here to discuss and analyze juridical topics that were determined to be important by the Heads of State of our countries.
Therefore, at our first Summit in March 1998, we reached a consensus about the Judiciary’s perception of the definition of policies that will affect the administration of justice, and we also outlined and agreed on how these should be treated during implementation, from the strictly juridical point of view.
We can summarize that commitment in the following principles to be implemented:
1. The Supreme Courts and Tribunals must and have to find mechanisms to ensure their independence and protection from outside meddling in the Judiciary exogenous to the Judiciary.
2. The Supreme Courts and Tribunals of Justice will promote the preparation and training mechanisms for judges, as well as cooperating among ourselves, in order to share our own experiences with the other countries.
3. The Supreme Courts and Tribunals of Justice will find the way to fight against corruption, as well as the means for the efficient application of the rules, which will allow for their effective control and sanction, as well as proposing to the Executive and to Congress, legal amendments or promulgation of laws, allowing for fair jurisdictional exercise upon those responsible for such serious crime. Sharing experiences and knowledge in this matter is fundamental.
4. If necessary, the Supreme Courts and Tribunals of Justice, will request from other branches of public power, the promulgation of laws and Treaties, which will clearly define narcotic and psychotropic substance use, as a crime against mankind.
In that opportunity we concluded with the Caracas Declaration, which we all promised to comply with.
Today, a year later, after studying the four topics chosen for this meeting, we come here to give an account of our achievements, as well as also giving each other solidarity and strength, to continue performing our commitment to change and modernize the Judiciary, since its strengthening, in the framework of a democratic society, requires an extremely clean and ethic administration of justice, in order to assure the citizen, that the principles of any judicial procedure, are simple, available, fast and efficient, as well as being fair in its decisions.
The chosen agenda shows our willingness to make effective the relationship between concerns and needs, by stressing judgment capability and sentence enforcement, so that the Government, in full exercise of its powers, assures and guarantees all citizens the total effectiveness of the Rule of Law, through the protection and development of these values ,considered as fundamental for our democracies, at the Summits of Heads of State.
This second Summit, with plenary sessions with Trial Court Judges from the participant countries as observers, whom we welcome, will cover the following topics:
Judicial Organization: There will be a review of aspects related to the efficiency of use and expenditure of the judicial budget, in order to promote before the other branches of Public Power, common standards which will guarantee the autonomy of the Judiciary in the participating countries. There will also be an analysis of judge-selection and judicial stability mechanisms, stressing strengths and weaknesses of human resource education and training. These actions will define the standards of the Ibero-American Judicial Public Employee Education and Training School.
Corruption: In this section we will review different criteria under discussion, to adopt the Code of Ethics of the Ibero-American Judicial Public Employee, as well as how to "form" an ad-hoc Court, in order to teach, through a mock trial, with a hypothetical case which will illustrate, criteria, arguments and laws applied by Judges of different nationalities, and thus obtain ideas, which will allow local judges the management and application of international tools in this matter, such as the Anti-Corruption Treaty, in its relationships with internal judicial regulations.
Human Rights. The effectiveness and of jurisprudence exchange among different countries as well as with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will be evaluated to determine how instruments and jurisprudence are being applied by judges of the region in their sentences.
Illegal Drug Trade. The identity of common norms will be evaluated as well as those which can be adapted in a unified way to achieve international standardization of judicial processes and compatibility in the types and penal sanctions by the different judicial systems.
The tasks faced by the Supreme Courts of Justice and Supreme Tribunals in Ibero-America at this second summit are not simple and they are outside the ordinary work of a judge. It means assuming an active role in the solution of the big problems harassing our societies. Power cooperation goes beyond the formal framework of competence assignments contemplated in constitutions. In fact, with difficulty we are informing our countries that we the Courts are fully aware of the great problems affecting the administration of justice throughout the continent; that we are moved by democratic ethic principles which make it impossible for us to agree with the present situation; that we have been trying for some time to join efforts and push in-depth reforms in the administration of justice in order to make it reliable, efficient, and transparent; that we are not idly waiting for an external reforming power because we are driving from within reforms to match those values and norms of a democratic and participating society fully aware of the rights which assist it. Equality in democracy translates into the right to the correct process.
Our region does not escape the world globalization and market integration processes. The benefits both offer must also be used advantageously in the institutional space of our respective democratic societies, always taking care of our identities and avoiding the temptation to believe in uniform solutions.
This Judicial Branch scenario of multinational communication certainly constitutes the creation of an information network and an exchange of experiences structurally common in our countries in the judicial area. It feeds the drug traffic issue with all the information received at the Follow-up Technical Unit which we agreed to create last year. Our thanks to the delegates of the countries which integrate it. This material served to develop the papers for this Second Summit.
During the event we will offer a demonstration of our future judicial information network, which we have called IUDICIS. This system will allow a permanent exchange between Supreme Courts and Tribunals, promote the education and training of our judges and legal assistants and make transcending our borders into a reality.
Obviously, our initiatives cannot be the object of mechanical transfers from one society to another, but our knowledge is undoubtedly a valuable stimulus on the creative road toward the achievement of an absolutely common goal: the construction and reconstruction of a respected and respectable Judicial System. A system that is fully legitimate and worthy of confidence, and independent and strong in its devotion to preserving and deepening the basic value of our democratic societies: freedom.
Our Supreme Courts and Tribunals are under an obligation to inform our Heads of State of the results of this second Summit with respect to each subject discussed; particularly, the legislative and political measures necessary for the execution of what we agree on here.
I cannot let this opportunity pass without mentioning and expressing my concern about the constant outbreaks and internal problems that many of our countries are suffering, of such importance that some delegations had to cancel their participation in this event yesterday. My hope is that the countries of the region, which are experiencing severe political, social and economic problems, will come out strengthened from these difficult times.
Today while I was going over these remarks, I heard the news that NATO fighters had left their bases to start the bombing of Kosovo. Yet another tragedy, which shows us that the lack of political will to solve a conflict, can bring us to this new example of world anguish.
The problems affecting our continent are all solvable by the rule of law and the application of the laws, if the political is there. We have an obligation to interpret the law so that its application results in justice, but we also have an obligation to show the political sectors the changes that have to be made. Likewise, our Executive and Congress are duty bound to reach agreements that clear the way for a true participative democracy, which ensures social peace and the sustained growth of our economies to provide the quality of life we all equally need.
We must call for a rejection of the use of force as a mechanism for the solution of international disputes, but fundamentally at national level.
I wish to express my thanks again for the presence of the presidents and representatives of the Supreme Courts and Tribunals of Ibero-America, the observers, and the authorities and persons who are accompanying us in this opening ceremony for the second Summit, of which all of us -- participants and users of the system of administration of justice -- have such high hopes.
Fellow Justices, ladies and gentlemen, once more many thanks for accepting this call to work for a solution to the problems of the administration of justice in Ibero-America.