Training

JSCA also has a Training Area. Our programs align with our mission and strategic objectives. The current Training Area Director is Leonel González Postigo.

Over the past eight years, the Training Area’s activities have informed the region’s justice reform processes based on each country’s reality and discussions.

It has also addressed specific problems and needs of justice systems based on empirical information and instruments generated in the context of JSCA’s work cycle through research and projects.

Regular training

Training Program for Argentina’s Criminal Procedure Reform

JSCA, INECIP and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights organized the first edition of the Training Program for Argentina’s Criminal Procedure Reform in 2012.

The purpose of the program was to train and facilitate the participation of all professionals involved in federal reform processes in Argentina. It was divided into two in-person phases and a virtual phase.

The Training Program for Argentina’s Criminal Procedure Reform ran through 2018.

Between 2014 and 2018, 250 members of judiciaries, prosecution services, defense services, ministries of justice and other entities participated in the program.

Latin American Training Program for Judges

In the process of moving towards a system of oral hearings, judges have had to acquire “pedagogical” functions, especially in the management of hearings, which are carefully observed by litigants who expect them to meet a “higher standard” in order to obtain uniform criteria for addressing the situations presented.

In that sense, we have conducted training programs for Latin American judges since 2015 to increase their capacities and develop the skills they need to identify opposing positions during the proceedings. They also are trained to evaluate the information presented as part of their decision-making process.

The program, which lasts for 34 hours (5 days), combines practical mock hearings and theoretical classes that address Latin American procedure law and its reforms from a comparative perspective focused on the experience of experienced international / instructors who have participated in Latin American judicial reform processes over the past 20 years.

This program has been offered five times to date, and the sixth version is scheduled to be held in November of 2021.

A total of 249 judges from 15 Latin American countries were trained between 2015 and 2020.

Central American Certificate Program on Criminal Procedure Reform (DCA)

The DCA was created in 2015 as a result of a cooperation agreement between JSCA, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC), the Institute for Comparative Studies in the Criminal Sciences of Guatemala (ICCPG) and Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), which joined the effort in 2016.

Its main purpose was to present knowledge and skills that would allow participants to solve specific problems in the implementation and operation of criminal justice reforms in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Between 2015 and 2017, 88 judicial professionals from Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic enrolled in the certificate program.

The certificate program ran for 40 weeks and was divided into two in-person phases and an intermediate distance learning phase.

It was designed for attorneys who provided services in criminal justice system institutions in the aforementioned countries and for academics interested in this area.

Inter-American Training Program on Civil Justice
Reform in Latin America (PIC)

Since Uruguay’s General Procedure Code was passed in 1989 and thanks to the influence of the Model Civil Procedure Code for Ibero-America, several countries have joined the discussion and made changes to their civil justice systems.

As a result, several topics came up around how new reformed civil procedures systems should be designed, what their characteristics should be and how to adjust the objectives of judicial institutions to meet citizen demands.

This became a key element of the regional project “Improving Access to Civil Justice in Latin America” financed by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) beginning in 2016.

The general objective of the PIC has been to convey knowledge on the fundamental pillars of civil justice reforms in the countries of the region and to develop the basic skills required to work in this new context.

The first version of the PIC lasted for four months and involved 75 in-person and 36 virtual classroom hours. It was divided into two in-person phases and a virtual phase. The goal of the first phase of this program was to provide theoretical tools that allow participants to understand the need for civil justice reforms and the key role that they can play in their respective countries. Twenty-five judges, officials and law professors participated in the program.

The intermediate phase, which consisted of seven modules, focused on expanding the contents addressed during the first phase. Each of the models has animated contents, discussion and reflection fora and assessments that allow participants to show what they have learned.

The third phase is focused on developing skills and abilities through learning by doing, mainly through mock exercises.

Thanks to the support of the Canadian cooperation project, we have trained over 180 attorneys, judges and academics from the region, most of them (56%) women, through the Inter-American Training Program for Civil Justice Reform.

This program also has led to activities designed to replicate the knowledge that the participants acquired in their local contexts. Over the life of this project, we have held over 150 replicas which were attended by over 70,000 people from every country in the region. This has allowed the information covered in the Inter-American Training Program to be presented to and discussed by an exponentially larger number of people.

Furthermore, we have developed 30 specialized training activities that were attended by over 800 people from every country in the region.

All participants provided positive feedback on this activity, its methodology, the instructors and the content.

JSCA has held the PIC five times. The most recent version was held virtually due to the pandemic.

105 people were trained between 2017 and 2019, the great majority of them women.

25 people participated in the fifth edition of the program, 36% of whom were women.

96% of participants are from the project’s priority countries.

Certificate Program on Oral Criminal Litigation (DLOP)

Over the past 25 years, the region’s criminal justice systems have experienced various changes, particularly due to the implementation of adversarial procedure systems. These include creating a system for hearings as a space of work for producing information among the parties in the presence of a judge. Replacing written and secret case files with oral, public hearings.

The need to develop and learn skills linked to the oral model, such as litigation techniques, led JSCA, Universidad Alberto Hurtado (UAH) and the Washington College of Law at American University to create the Certificate Program on Oral Criminal Litigation (DLOP) in 2016.

Its main objective is to create an academic and training space for sharing and fostering the exchange of experiences around the hearings involved in an oral and public adversarial system and to develop and learn skills that allow them to work in an oral model.

206 people were trained through this program between 2016 and 2020

Support for Argentina’s Criminal Justice Reform and
Strengthening of the Transition to the Adversarial System

This initiative was launched on April 20, 2018. Its original goal was to support Argentina’s transition to an adversarial federal criminal justice system in the Salta and Jujuy Provinces. The initiative was later expanded to include Santa Fe, Mendoza, Chaco, La Rioja, Córdoba and Buenos Aires.

JSCA developed the project with funding from the INL, the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

The first phase of the project ended in April 2021 and included technical tools and the development of skills oriented towards strengthening justice operators’ abilities in the areas of strategic litigation and the investigation of complex federal crimes under Argentina’s new Federal Criminal Procedure Code (CPPF).

As of the writing of this report, the second phase of the project is ongoing.

The main achievements of the first
phase of the project include:

604 federal and provincial justice operators attended the training to strengthen their capacity to investigate, litigate and try federal cases.

Criminal justice professionals received tools and skills that they can use to build and successfully manage criminal cases and oral trials.

Prosecutors, public defenders, judges and security forces were taught about basic and more advanced aspects of the investigation and litigation of complex crimes in Argentina’s new adversarial justice system.

Prosecutors and police officers received special training on the importance to collaborate on the investigation of complex crimes in the context of Argentina’s new justice system.

Judges were taught about the importance of their role in the various types of hearings, listening skills for presentations and assessing the facts, the ability to analyze evidence, and to apply the relevant laws.

Virtual Courses

The main objective of JSCA virtual courses is to offer innovative, groundbreaking content in the area of justice based on participants’ availability and schedules.

Virtual courses have allowed interested parties to submit assessments and extra activities through the platform www.cejacampus.org

The courses address topics such as judicial case management, gender, collective processes, pretrial detention, and trial by jury.

Our virtual courses have been designed for individuals interested in justice topics, particularly attorneys, judges, prosecutors and public defenders. They last for 6 weeks and are usually offered twice a year.

Six virtual courses were held in 2014, two on civil law and four on criminal law. They are: “Civil Justice Reform in Latin America,” “Introduction to Issues of Gender in Criminal Justice in Latin America,” “Challenges to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Latin America, “Pretrial Detention in Latin America”, “Drug Treatment Courts” and “Pretrial Services.”

99 professionals from the region participated in our virtual courses in 2014.

We trained another 263 people between 2015 and 2019.

In 2019, we added a virtual course on “Gender and Justice in Latin America” to our offerings (previously titled “Introduction to Issues of Gender in Criminal Justice in Latin America”).

During the first half of 2020, we offered three versions of our virtual courses.

Paid Courses (May 4-July 24): “Gender and Justice in Latin America and Collective Processes” (completed by 31 people from Argentina, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Uruguay, Chile and Panama).

We trained a total of 248 people from various parts of the region through this initiative.

We implemented a special initiative called #StayAtHome between April 6 and June 30 in order to support the region’s public health measures in the context of the pandemic. We offered six courses.

We made four of our virtual courses available for free (“Drug Treatment Courts,” “Pretrial Services,” “Challenges Faced by the Public Prosecutor’s Office”, and “Pretrial Detention in Latin America”).

Meanwhile, in the second half of 2020,
we carry out the following courses:

1. Expert Evidence in Oral Civil Proceedings

2. Judicial Management and Case Management in Civil Justice

3. Trial by Jury

4. Civil Justice Reform

5. Collective Processes

6. Gender and Justice in Latin America

We offered the following courses during the first half of 2021: “Civil Justice Reform,” “Collective Processes” and “Gender and Justice in Latin America.”

We offered the following courses during the second half of 2021: “Expert Evidence in Oral Civil Proceedings,” “Judicial Management and Case Management in Civil Justice” and “Trial by Jury.

Special Training Activities

2014

Presentation of the results of JSCA research on pretrial detention and the right to a defense and a lecture on reviewing laws for compliance and the application of this approach by judges in Latin American countries

Date and location of the training activity: August 20 and 21 at the Supreme Court of El Salvador.
Funding source(s): US-DOS
Impact: 100 individuals participated in the activity.

2015

Mexican Network for Updating Criminal Procedure Reform

Date and location of the training activity:November 16, 2015 through May 2, 2016. This activity was executed using e-learning.
Funding source(s): JSCA
Impact: 79 people participated in the activity.

2016

Training Program on Hearing Management and Judicial Resolution for Judges organized by JSCA in collaboration with the Criminal Procedure Justice Institute (AC-IJPP)

Date and location of the training activity:September 19-23, Mexico City.
Funding source(s): IJPP through a MacArthur Foundation cooperation project.
Impact: 13 students.

2017

Training Workshop for the Chilean Prosecution Service

Date and location of the training activity:December 11 and 12, Santiago, Chile.
Funding source(s): Chilean Prosecution Service.
Impact: 30 professionals from the prosecution service training unit participated in the workshop.

2018

International Seminar: “Overview of Judicial Reform in Latin America”

Date and location of the training activity:November 14-16, Panama.
Funding source(s): Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
Impact: The Center organized a competition and over 40 people from 13 countries in the region submitted papers on evidence in oral systems. Eight papers were presented for presentation at the seminar.

2019

Technical Assistance for Criminal Procedure Reform in Brazil

Date and location of the training activity: Brazil.
Impact: Brazil became one of JSCA’s priority countries in 2014. The Center developed a strategy that was divided into three areas of action. Over 300 professionals participated in the training activities.

2020

Oral Civil Hearing Management Course

Date and location of the training activity: October 26-30, Puebla, Mexico.
Impact: Judges were trained on oral civil hearing management.

2021

Program on Administrative Requirements for the Use of Oral Procedures in the Northern Triangle

Date and location of the training activity: February 22-26, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
Funding source(s): INL.
Impact: This training activity was offered to judicial branch clerks from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

cejamericas.org

Información Institucional

Informe de Gestión
Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Américas
2014-2021

Director responsable:
Jaime Arellano Quintana

Redacción y edición:
Leandra Medina
Claudio Soto
Aira Maya
Erika Rojas

Diseño y diagramación:
Marco González
Juan Núñez
Sandra Araneda

Imágenes:
Banco fotográfico institucional

Fotografías:
Esteban Rosales

Registro de propiedad intelectual:
2021-A-9892
ISBN:
 978-956-8491-87-1

Esta Memoria de Gestión se encuentra disponible en: www.cejamericas.org y todas sus redes sociales.

Management
Report

2014-2021

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