After three years of collaboration between the Institute for the Protection of National Heritage (ISPAN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the restoration of the Court of First Instance of Jacmel is finally over.

"The first time I saw the damage, I thought it would raze the building," explains Jean-Marie Dutreuil, the engineer who oversaw the work for three years for UNDP, whick has in particular nsured the restoration funding to the tune of 350,000 U.S. dollars "Thanks to the expertise of the Institute for the Protection of National Heritage, we were able to fill in the gaps and restore the former glory to this building, listed as Historical Heritage of Haiti."

Today, three years after the start of work, court staff have recovered decent working conditions. "It took time, but we have reintegrated the premises gradually in 2011 and the courtroom was rehabilitated during the judicial year of October. Between now and three years ago, there's no picture !" rejoiced Kelly Hilaire Bellevue, the Secretary of the Dean, who has worked for 12 years for the justice of Jacmel.

"Restoring over 100 years of history has not been an easy task and it explains a lot the accumulated delay. The first step involved the masonry and roofing. We then reinforced the building according to the seismic standards and finally, we have recovered the bricks to restore the building with its former glory," explained the architect Johel Alexandre, who directed the work for the Haitian firm ENAMEX, itself contracted by UNDP.

Photo © PNUD Haïti

"In terms of justice, the rehabilitation of the court helped to relieve the Jacmel prison where too many inmates are awaiting trial. We now have an operational archive. We also just received office equipment and benches for the new courtroom by UNDP. This support is greatly appreciated. As for the building, let me say that this is now the most beautiful court throughout the Republic !" exclaimed the Dean of the Court Robert Cadet.

HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre