A delegation of five Haitian lawyers, members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ) is in Chile since Monday to learn about the functioning of the Chilean justice and identify reproducible and transposable elements in the process of reforms to the Criminal Code and the Haitian Code of Criminal Procedure.

Monday at the Justice Studies Center of the Americas Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Américas" (CEJA) the Haitian delegation started with workshops and exhibitions on the Chilean model and in particular on the reform of the criminal procedure.

"We help them to understand that a justice reform means a change of integral public policy" said Jaime Arellano the Director of CEJA. For his part, Manuel Valderrama, the Minister of the Supreme Court met with the Haitian delegation "They have investigating judges, we do not have that, think about a different procedural system is a paradigm shift, they will see what can and can not be useful, depending on their organizational structure," said the magistrate.

The delegation was also received by Haroldo Brito, the President of the Supreme Court, who expressed his willingness to share the experiences of the Chilean judiciary.

"We do not need glasses to see that things are going well here in the judicial field," said Haitian lawyer Max Eliber, adding "At this point, they are exemplary and deserve to be imitated at this level" believing that the independence of the judiciary in front of the political power will be the most urgent thing to address in Haiti stressing "At this moment, the administrative and executive part has a somewhat unpleasant influence on the judicial system, but we are progressing..."

Over the next few days, the Haitian delegation will visit the Administrative Corporation of the Judiciary, will meet the investigative police and will observe hearings of the Justice Center.

SL/ HaitiLibre