The event, titled “Urgent Threats to Judicial Independence in Central America: Protecting Judges at Risk,” focused on the escalating wave of threats and attacks against judges and prosecutors in the region. The event offered an opportunity to discuss and reflect on some of the most urgent challenges for judges in countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, including criminal proceedings and other tactics aimed at intimidating individual judges and ensuring impunity for corrupt actors. Speakers also noted the consequences, for individuals and society alike, when independent judges, prosecutors, and other justice operators are forced to go into exile. The event featured... read more
Post tagged in "judicial independence"
Vance Center Continues Judicial Independence Series with Conversation on the New York and Mexican Judiciary
Posted on May 25, 2024Pictured (from left): Diego Sierra Laris, Jaime Chávez Alor, Justice Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, Justice Belen, and Michael Fernandez. Photo credit: Vance Center On May 15, the Vance Center and the Mexican Bar Association (Barra Mexicana de Abogados) brought together two distinguished judicial actors, Hon. Alfredo Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena, of Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice and Hon. Ariel E Belen, retired Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, for a timely discussion surrounding judicial independence. Over the hourlong conversation, the two judges outlined the parallels and contrasts between the... read more
Vance Center Concludes Workshop Series for 65 Civil Society Organizations in Guatemala
Posted on April 26, 2024Vance Center Associate Executive Director Jaime Chávez Alor presents to participants during one of the workshops in Guatemala. Photo credit: Vance Center The Vance Center this week completed the “Voces Ciudadanas por la Justicia y la Paz” project, a five-month partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Guatemala. This initiative empowered 65 civil society organizations (CSOs) across Guatemala with essential knowledge and tools to advocate for judicial independence and integrity. The project comprised a 10-session workshop series held in multiple locations over the first few months of 2024. Through a mix of virtual sessions and in-person gatherings, participants from... read more
With 3 Events and 2 Reports, Vance Center Continues Supporting Central American Judicial Associations
Posted on March 15, 2024On March 5, Vance Center Associate Executive Director Jaime Chávez Alor met with members of the Guatemalan Association of Judges for Integrity (AGJI) to assess and discuss initiatives for the upcoming process to select Guatemala’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges. Historically, this process has fallen short of international standards for merit-based appointments, often marred by corruption and undue influence. However, the AGJI and other local partner organizations believe that this year presents a crucial opportunity to break that pattern and introduce a transparent and objective selection process. The Vance Center will support AGJI in its efforts to... read more
Vance Center Secures New Funding for Regional and Global Work
Posted on November 15, 2023The National Endowment for Democracy has renewed its support for the Vance Center’s ongoing work on judicial independence in Central America and the Caribbean for two more years. NED’s commitment enables the Vance Center to deepen the impact of its initiatives to address and raise awareness around issues and threats affecting judges, within specific countries and at the regional level. These efforts build on more than a decade of Vance Center work to support judges in combating corruption and protecting themselves and their colleagues from threats to their independence and integrity. This work is possible through collaboration with key... read more
Vance Center, FLAM and CONATRIB Host Inter-American Dialogue on Judicial Independence in Mexico
Posted on October 25, 2023Latin America Policy Director Jaime Chávez Alor and invited speakers at the Inter-American Dialogue on Judicial Independence in Mexico City, October 2023. Photo: Vance Center The inspiration for this regional dialogue emerged from recommendations set out by members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in a thematic hearing on judicial independence during the IACHR’s 186th Period of Sessions, in Los Angeles in March. The Vance Center and co-organizers aimed to foster an honest conversation about the primary obstacles and threats impacting the independence of judicial actors across the region, and to establish a durable collaboration network as well as a... read more