Report on Judicial Systems in the Americas

Transcription

1 461 URUGUAY 1 I. General Information The República Oriental del Uruguay has a representative democratic form of government and is divided into 19 territorial departamentos. Uruguay is the fourth smallest country in South America, after the Guyanas and Suriname, with a surface area of 176,220 km 2. In June 2006, its estimated population was 3,314, In 2005, 91.9% of the population lived in urban areas. 3 In regard to age distribution, ECLAC estimates for reported that 30% of the population was between 15 and 34 years old; 24.3% were under 14; 18.5% were years old; 14.2% between 50 and 64; and 13% were over Also according to ECLAC, 6 in the first semester of 2006, 19.05% of the population lived in poverty and 3.94% in extreme poverty. This is an improvement over 2004, when these levels were 22.49% and 5.28%, respectively, but is still higher than in 2001, when 12.16% of the population lived in poverty and 1.85% in extreme poverty. Uruguay ranks 43rd on the Human Development Index, third highest in Latin America after Argentina and Chile. 7 Its Gini Coefficient for the first half of was and has remained stable over the past five years. 9 Estimated unemployment for 2006 was 11.6%, a decrease of approximately 24% over In 2006, 2% of Uruguayans over 15 years of age were illiterate. 11 The country s total GDP for 2005 was US$ billion, more than 16% higher than in 2003, though lower than in GDP per capita for that year was US$ 4, II. Judicial System Highlights In September 2005 the Law for the Humanization of the Prison System was passed, establishing a special regime for probation and early release and programs for sentence reduction in exchange for work or studies. The law also created two commissions: one to lay the foundation for the criminal procedure reform and one to lay the groundwork for the criminal code reform. 14 In 2005 two new offices were created under the Ministry of Education and Culture: 15 the Office of Constitutional, Legal and Registry Affairs, charged with designing and coordinating judicial defense policies to protect the interests of the State and strengthening legal security by effective records management; and the Office of Human Rights, which works with people whose rights and guarantees have been infringed upon or denied. In 2006 the Public Defender s Office was created under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, grouping together the different types of official public defense offices: civil, criminal, sentence enforcement, family, young offenders, and labor. In November 2006, online case status enquiries were made available as part of the Jurisdictional Project, which updated computer equipment and created a National Judicial Network that centralizes information from across the country in servers located in the Data Processing Center. The third and final project of the Program to Strengthen the Uruguayan Judicial System is also currently underway. III. Institutions 1. Overall Structure and Organization of the Judicial System Uruguay s judicial system consists of the Judicial Branch, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Public Defender s Office, the Public Prosecutor s Office (Ministerio Público y Fiscal), the National Police, and other bodies that perform 1 This chapter is based on information provided by the following Uruguayan institutions: the Judicial Branch Budget and Planning Division (División Planeamiento y Presupuesto del Poder Judicial), the Ministry of Educational and Culture s Office of Constitutional, Legal and Registry Affairs (Dirección de Asuntos Constitucionales, Legales y Registrales), the Public Defender s Office (Dirección General de Defensorías Públicas), the National Police, and the Bar Association of Uruguay (Colegio de Abogados del Uruguay). Official websites of public institutions, multilateral bodies, and international organizations were used as secondary sources.

2 462 Uruguay functions related to the work of the courts, such as the Prison Administration (Dirección Nacional de Cárceles) and the Forensic Investigation Office (Instituto Técnico Forense). Uruguay has no Ministry of Justice; the Public Prosecutor s Office comes under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education and Culture and is therefore responsible to the Executive Branch, although it is functionally autonomous. The National Police force is part of the Ministry of the Interior. 2. Judicial Branch 2.1. Institutional Structure The Judicial Branch includes the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and first instance courts (juzgados). It also includes the Public Defender s Office, under the purview of the Supreme Court. The Branch is charged with issuing and enforcing judicial rulings, guaranteeing the exercise and protection of individual rights as set out in the law, and preserving the peace in the framework of the Rule of Law. It carries out its jurisdictional work through the hierarchical structure described below Supreme Court Uruguay s five Supreme Court justices are elected to serve a 10-year term (or until they reach age 70) by a two-thirds majority vote of the General Assembly. Election of justices must be conducted within 90 days of a vacancy, otherwise the senior-most judge of the Court of Appeal is automatically appointed to the vacant office. The Supreme Court has a wide range of responsibilities that include selecting the judges who shall serve on the courts of appeal. These appointments must have the prior approval of the Chamber of Senators or, during its recess, the consent of the parliamentary Standing Committee. Appellate court candidates must come from either the judiciary or the Public Prosecutor s Office, and their appointment requires the vote of three sitting justices. According to the Uruguayan Constitution, the Supreme Court shall: 16 Hear all matters involving violations of the Constitution; crimes against individual rights; admiralty cases; matters concerning treaties, agreements and conventions with other States; and cases involving accredited foreign diplomats in the Republic, as stipulated by international law. Rule on the constitutionality of any law and legal provisions. 17 Elect first instance judges (jueces letrados) of all types and specializations, by an absolute majority of justices. Appoint public defenders and peace court judges (jueces de paz) by absolute majority of the bench. Appoint, promote, and remove Judicial Branch employees by a vote of four justices. The Supreme Court is also responsible for maintaining direct communication with the other branches of government. In this regard, the Chief Justice is allowed to attend parliamentary commissions without the right to vote, and to participate in deliberations when the topics under discussion are of interest to justice administration. He or she may also propose the introduction of legislative bills for judicial and procedural reform Courts of Appeal The Courts of Appeal hear appeals of rulings handed down by the first instance courts in the respective subject matters. 19 They are based in Montevideo but have national jurisdiction. There are special courts for civil, criminal, family, and labor matters. Each Court of Appeal has three sitting judges First Instance Courts The country s capital has first instance courts in the following subject matters: criminal, civil, labor, customs, young offenders, family, special family (for domestic violence and guardianship matters for children and adolescents), contentious-administrative, and bankruptcy matters. Depending on the legislation, some cities outside Montevideo have specialized first instance courts. These courts also hear second and final appeals of rulings under their territorial jurisdiction Peace Courts Uruguay s Constitution mandates that there should be as many peace courts as there are judicial districts in each departamento. There are currently peace courts in Montevideo, departmental peace courts in other locations, rural peace courts, and misdemeanor courts. Peace court judges are appointed for a four-year

3 463 term and may be removed if it is deemed to be in the public interest Conciliation Courts The country s four conciliation courts (first through fourth rotation) were created in 2001 with exclusive jurisdiction over conciliation matters in Montevideo department. They are housed in a single building and entered into operation on February 1, Government and Management Judicial Branch administration is carried out by the Office of Administrative Services, although the Supreme Court continues to be the Branch s highest administrative authority. The Supreme Court supervises and handles the finances of all courts and other Judicial Branch entities. It also drafts the budget and submits it to the Executive Branch as required Office of Administrative Services The Dirección General de los Servicios Administrativos is charged with planning, organizing, and supervising all Judicial Branch administrative services, as well as related assistance and support services, and performs all other tasks assigned to it by the Supreme Court. It has administrative authority over all judicial branch departments, notwithstanding the Supreme Court s own areas of authority and those it assigns to other entities. 21 The Judicial Studies Center of Uruguay and the Division of Inspection Services also come under the purview of the Supreme Court Judicial Studies Center of Uruguay The main duties of this body are to: 22 Plan, organize, and implement graduate courses for aspiring judges as well as professional training and updating for sitting judges. Work with instructors to design courses and programs and evaluation their content. Fulfill the terms and conditions of agreements that the Supreme Court has signed with local and international entities for judicial training Division of Inspection Services 23 This division is responsible for: Inspecting and assessing the operation of judicial and administrative offices, providing assistance and answering queries on matters for which it is responsible Providing information, preparing reports, and giving advice at the request of the Supreme Court and the Office of Administrative Services when required or as part of its regular inspection processes. Conduct administrative investigations and disciplinary proceedings when instructed to do so Transparency, Accountability, and Access to Information In the area of access to information, in November 2006 online case processing status was made available as part of the Jurisdictional Project. Enquiries about the status of most cases can now be made freely through the Internet. Though not all courts were using this system when this Report went to press, all will eventually be incorporated. The Judicial Branch Website 24 contains statistical reports from the country s courts and support offices, as well as information on professionals (attorneys and notaries), publications, procurements, suggestions from users, and other material. There is also a database of Supreme Court case law (Jaime Zudañez Database) that includes all rulings handed down by the country s highest court. On JSCA s 2006 Index of Online Access to Judicial Information, 25 Uruguay ranked 15 th among the 34 OAS countries in regard to information provided by the courts. It also ranked 15 th in 2004, though the country s individual accessibility index dropped by 1.5%. 26 All public officials and employees are required to sign a sworn statement of income and assets, which is reviewed by an advisory board for financial and economic matters. 27 Standards for administrative probity established in the Constitution 28 provide that any judge or employee of the courts and related offices are prohibited, under pain of immediate removal from office, of handling, directing or defending any judicial case Legal Aid In Uruguay, the State provides free legal counsel to individuals who lack the resources to pay for it themselves. This is also protected under a constitutional provision, which states that

4 464 Uruguay justice be free for those who legally declare themselves to be poor. 29 Public Defense comes under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Branch and is funded through its budget. In Uruguay s capital there are public defenders for civil, criminal, sentence enforcement, family, young offenders, and labor matters. Elsewhere, public defenders often take on cases in different subject matters. 30 In addition to the public defenders, Uruguay s law schools offer free legal counsel to low income individuals through their Legal Clinics, 31 and the beneficiaries are therefore similar to those who seek the services of public defenders. Most cases are related to family and housing matters, specifically landlord-tenant disputes and evictions. These clinics are staffed by final year law students under the direct supervision of a law professor in charge of the team. Internships in legal clinics are mandatory for law students and provide them with experience in professional legal practice. Uruguay s Universidad de la República has a Legal Clinic on its central campus, as well as 10 neighborhood clinics in different areas of the capital. Neither the Universidad de la República s Legal Clinic nor the Law Students Center provides legal assistance for criminal cases Reform Projects Underway One of the most important changes that Uruguay s Judicial Branch is currently undergoing is the Program to Strengthen the Uruguayan Judicial System Budget The Judicial Branch budget includes all of the courts and administrative and support services, including the Public Defense Service. Notably, Uruguay has no Ministry of Justice and the Public Prosecutor s Office forms part of the Executive Branch. The Branch s budget for 2005 was almost 60% higher than in 2000; however, due to the 2002 devaluation, the budget (expressed in US dollars) actually dropped by 18%. Average growth over the 2000 to 2005 period was close to 15%. Judicial taxes and filing fees are applied mainly to civil and commercial suits. In executive procedures the fee, a percentage of the value of the suit, is imposed when the suit is presented and when the respondent files his or her first official document (escrito). 33 The judicial tax is applied to a series of procedures that must be undertaken during proceedings, such as hearings, presentation of evidence and filing of appeals and annulment motions. 34 The party undertaking the applicable procedure pays the corresponding fee. Until 2006 a Palace of Justice stamp was paid by all parties upon their first appearance before the courts. 35 This stamp tax was abolished effective January 1, Human and Material Resources Human Resources In 2006, Uruguay had approximately 14 judges per 100,000 inhabitants. Table 1 Judicial Branch Budget Year In current Uruguayan pesos Budget In current dollars Exchange rate Variation in pesos Variation in dollars ,359,164,842 56,210, % 82% ,202,620,041 45,502, % 67% ,029,883,108 35,245, % 52% ,751,559 34,303, % 50% ,449,418 67,267, % 98% ,909,788 68,320, % 100% Source: Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning.

5 465 Table 2 Total Posts (Occupied and Vacant) Item Total number of judges Total number of male judges Number of employees working directly in the courts 2,796 2,844 2,626 Number of employees working in support areas (not in the courts) 1,392 1,309 1,416 Total 4,661 4,623 4,516 Source: Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning. 37 Graph 1 Evolution of the Number of Judicial Branch Employees Source: Judicial Branch Human Resources Division. As of March 2006 there were a total of 4,386 employees working in the Judicial Branch (excluding judges), a 7% increase over Material Resources The number of computers in the Branch increased by more than 6% in the period, while the percentage of computers connected to the Internet rose from 10% in 2005 to almost 30% in Table 3 Material Resources Item Number of computers in the Judicial Branch, including court and non-court uses Number of Judicial Branch computers with Internet connectivity N/D Source: Judicial Branch Division of Informatics and Technology Case Movement Generating Statistics Law of October 1994 established the National Statistics System, which is managed by the National Statistics Institute. The Judicial Branch s Budget and Planning Division receives data via forms filled out by the courts. This information is gathered and studied to analyze trends in certain areas related to the demand for and provision of justice services and case duration in the first and second instances. The forms build a picture of each court s management of aspects such as number of cases filed, cases archived, petitions received, summonses served, and bailiff s work. This procedure is regulated by internal Judicial Branch rules formulated by the Supreme Court. The forms have been adjusted occasionally to meet specific informational needs. Two different types of forms are used:

6 466 Uruguay A form submitted once a year at the fiscal year end (December 31), which contains information for building two key variables or indicators of demand and provision of justice service in each court for that year. Two forms sent monthly requesting information on the performance of each judge; the Sentencing Report focuses on sentences handed down, while the Hearings Report includes the number and kind of hearings held, the number of hearings suspended, and the cause of such suspensions. The monthly Sentencing Report provides detailed information on the case filing date, names of the parties, a brief description of the case, and the dates of hearings held for each case that terminated with a sentence in the reporting month. This information provides input for case duration studies. Sampling is also undertaken to measure case duration and inter-stage duration and to obtain other important case processing information. Data from the Public Defense Service is also processed, including cases represented, writs presented, hearings attended, and prisoners visited (in the case of criminal cases). The Judicial Branch Website contains statistical reports on case duration, annual reports on justice service demand and provision, and reports on the Public Defense Service. In Uruguay, two judicial support offices also produce judicial statistics: The Instituto Técnico Forense or Forensic Investigation Office, which sends and receives information from judges across the country using the National Register of Judicial Information (Registro Nacional de Antecedentes Judiciales) The Case Reception and Distribution Office, which receives and distributes all cases filed Table 4 Cases Filed Jurisdiction National Supreme Court Courts of Appeals Family (national jurisdiction) Civil 2,810 2,655 2,331 Labor 1,770 1,837 1,976 Criminal 1,453 1,708 1,563 Montevideo Family First Instance Civil First Instance Labor First Instance Contentious-Administrative F.I Criminal First Instance Young Offenders F.I Customs First Instance Bankruptcy First Instance Special Family First Instance Capital Department Peace Court 27,965 27,769 34,848 Capital Misdemeanor Interior First Instance 83,398 87,379 73,214 Interior Department Peace Courts 15,653 21,549 18,194 Other Peace Courts ,237 National Total 198, , ,548 Source: Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning, Statistics Department.

7 467 before the courts in Montevideo for civil, labor, family and contentious-administrative matters through a computer system that randomly assigns cases to different court sessions. Statistical data is obtained from this system on matters filed under the General Procedure Code and also individually by subject matter. Lastly, it should be noted that the Program to Strengthen the Uruguayan Judicial System the central component of which is to develop a computerized management system for all courts across the country will also include the design of a judicial statistics module that will automatically generate data to evaluate case duration and the efficiency of justice services Case Movement The number of cases filed before Uruguay s Judicial Branch in 2005 was 6% lower than those filed in The jurisdictions that have experienced the greatest variation in case movement between 2003 and 2005 are the peace courts outside of Montevideo and the first instance bankruptcy courts located in the country s capital, in which case movement has dropped by 45%. In addition, since 2004 two new courts have begun operating: the special family courts for domestic violence 39 and the children and youth courts. 40 Final rulings for customs matters dropped by 54% in 2005 compared to 2003, while young offender cases increased by 40%. For statistical purposes, the Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning only considers matters resolved if they have had a final ruling. In 2005, the average case clearance rate for the courts of appeal 43 was 8.73% lower than in Labor matters registered the highest disposal rate, while family matters showed the lowest, 35% lower than for labor. Table 6 Case Disposal Rate (%) for the Courts of Appeal (By Subject Matter) Subject Matter Civil Labor Criminal Family Average Source: JSCA, based on information from the Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning. The clearance rate for criminal justice in the capital department (first instance) in 2005 was Table 5 Final Ruling by Court (Montevideo only) Court First Instance Family Courts 42 4,868 5,214 4,856 First Instance Criminal Courts 3,518 3,305 3,172 Departmental Peace Courts 2,117 2,666 2,923 First Instance Civil Court 2,169 2,188 1,943 First Instance Labor Courts 1,569 2,011 2,117 First Instance Youth Courts First Instance Contentious-Administrative Courts First Instance Bankruptcy Courts First instance Customs Courts Misdemeanor Courts Total 15,217 16,408 15,896 Source: JSCA, based on information from the Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning.

8 468 Uruguay 40%. Over half of cases pending are still in the preliminary investigation stage. Table 9 Duration of Criminal Cases Ending in a Final Ruling (Months) Table 7 First Instance Criminal Courts of the Capital Montevideo Cases filed 7,099 8,536 8,784 Final Rulings 44 3,172 3,305 3, Montevideo Interior National Average Source: JSCA, based on information from the Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning. Preliminary investigations in progress 45 3,861 4,631 4,819 Investigations and Trials in progress 46 5,810 4,962 4,620 Source: JSCA, based on information from the Division of Budget and Planning. The average duration of criminal preliminary investigations is seven months. 47 The preliminary investigation begins when the criminal case is opened and lasts until there is a judicial decision to archive the case for lack of evidence or indict the defendant. 48 It is worth noting that most preliminary investigations end with the case being archived due to lack of merit. The preliminary investigation stage starts the day the case is opened through a police report, a complaint filed before the courts or a file remitted by another court, and continues until the date of the indictment or the archive ruling. Table 8 Preliminary investigations Concluded by Type of Finalization (For preliminary investigations initiated in 2003) Finalization Relative Frequency Indictment 5% Archived 93.90% Other 1.10% Total 100% Source: Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning Case Duration Criminal cases ending in a final ruling were more than 20% shorter in 2004 than in In contrast, the duration of labor processes in the capital rose by 16% over the same period. For cases concluded by a final ruling, labor cases were the shortest in 2005, while civil cases had the longest average, almost 47% longer. See graphics Public Prosecutor s Office 3.1. Institutional Structure The Ministerio Público y Fiscal is a technicaladministrative body linked to the Executive Branch through the Ministry of Education and Culture. It is led by the National Public Prosecutor, who is appointed by the President of the Republic with the prior approval of threefifths of all members of the Chamber of Senators. The Statutes of the Public Prosecutor s Office 49 allow this entity to independently exercise its duties. Its main task is to protect and defend the general interest of society, appearing before the courts in civil or criminal suits to uphold the public interest. In general, public prosecutors are responsible for ensuring the timely and appropriate administration of justice. 50 Prosecutors are technically independent and defend the interests with which they are entrusted according to their personal convictions. 51 The Office is also charged with overseeing and defending the State s capital interests, appearing before the courts to represent and defend the State s interest as provided by law. The Public Prosecutor s Office has the following hierarchical structure: National Prosecutor General s Office National Prosecutor s Offices for civil, criminal and taxation matters Adjunct Court Prosecutor s Office Alternate Prosecutor s Office District Prosecutor s Offices Adjunct Prosecutor s Offices

9 469 Graph 2 Duration of Cases Concluded with a Final Ruling in the First Instance Labor Courts - Montevideo (Months) Source: JSCA, based on information from the Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning. Graph 3 Average Case Duration in 2005 by Subject Matter and Outcome (in months) Civil Family Labor Criminal Definitive Interlocutory Source: Judicial Branch Division of Budget and Planning.

10 470 Uruguay In all, there are 85 public prosecutor s offices in Uruguay, distributed as follows: Office Table 10 Prosecutor s Offices Number of Units National Prosecutor General s Office 1 National Public Prosecutor s Office for Civil Matters 14 National Public Prosecutor s Office for Criminal Matters 14 National Public Prosecutor s Office for Minors 3 National Public Prosecutor s Office for Customs and Taxation matters 2 District Public Prosecutor s Offices 51 Total 85 Source: Public Prosecutor s Office. Both the National Public Prosecutor s Office and the 33 prosecutor s offices with national jurisdiction are based in Montevideo, while district offices are headquartered in the country s interior. The Office s General Directorate of Administrative Services is also headquartered in the capital, and includes a statistics department Government and Management The National Prosecutor General is directly in charge of the Public Prosecutor s Office. This individual has the following official functional and administrative duties, as set out in the Law of the Public Prosecutor s Office: Be directly and fully responsible for the agency, exercising directive, corrective, consultative, and instructive oversight and supervision of its members. Resolve disputes among prosecutors Propose to the Executive Branch when required the appointment of prosecutors at the national and district levels when the court is in recess, and their respective alternates. Propose to the Executive Branch the appointment, transfer and promotion of senior members (magistrados) of the Public Prosecutor s Office. Determine replacements for senior prosecutors of the Office in accordance with the law and all applicable rules and regulations. Propose the transfer of employees from one public prosecutor s office to another within the capital, and propose their redistribution from district prosecutor s offices to those in the capital and vice versa, when convenient for the effective operation of the service. Inform the Ministry of Justice of any circumstances that in his opinion call for the modification of the provisions governing the service and suggest measures or actions that should be taken in this regard. Present to the Ministry of Justice, within six months of the close of each fiscal year, the annual report of the Public Prosecutor s Office Eligibility Requirements All National Public Prosecutors, Adjunct Court Prosecutors and Alternate Public Prosecutors must have five years experience working in the Public Prosecutor s Office and have been Uruguayan citizens from birth or naturalized at least five years before. In order to be appointed a District Prosecutor or Adjunct Prosecutor, applicants must have a law degree, be citizens from birth or naturalized at least three years before, and be psychologically, physically, and morally capable of performing the duties of office Transparency, Accountability, and Access to Information The National Prosecutor General (Fiscal de Corte y Procurador General de la Nación), all National Public Prosecutors, district prosecutors and adjunct prosecutors must make a sworn statement of income every two years. 52 The content of this statement is established in the law The Improper Use of Public Power. 53 In JSCA s 2006 Index of Online Access to Judicial Information, 54 Uruguay ranked 15th among the 34 OAS countries in regard to online access to data published by the Public Prosecutor s Office. Though this score is the same as in 2004, in ranking Uruguay dropped two places from its relative position in that year Budget The Public Prosecutor s Office is allocated a proportion of the budget of the Ministry of Education and Culture. The budget allocated to the Office in 2006 (expressed in US dollars) was 15.5% higher than in 2004.

11 471 Table 11 Budget Allocated to the Public Prosecutor s Office Year Budget 2006 US$ 207, US$ 192, US$ 179,268 Source: JSCA, based on information from the Office of Constitutional, Legal and Registry Affairs, Ministry of Education and Culture Human and Material Resources Human Resources The number of employees in the Public Prosecutor s Office was 2.72% lower in 2006 than in 2002, 56 presenting a rate of approximately 2.7 prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants. Table 12 Human Resources Item Number of prosecutors Number of male prosecutors Number of non-prosecutorial staff members Number of male non-prosecutorial staff Total Source: Office of Constitutional, Legal and registry Affairs, Ministry of Education and Culture Material Resources In regard to technical resources, the Office had 60% more PCs in 2006 than in 2004, which reflects a significant increase in the use of information technologies, especially considering that all computers in the Public Prosecutor s Office are connected to the Internet. Table 13 Technical Resources Item Number of computers Number of computers with Internet connectivity Source: Office of Constitutional, Legal and Registry Affairs, Ministry of Education and Culture Case Movement According to the Office of Constitutional, Legal and Registry Affairs of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Public Prosecutor s Office has no record of statistical data on cases filed and persons charged. 4. Public Defender s Office 4.1. Institutional structure The Defensoría de Oficio is the mechanism by which the State (through the Judicial Branch) provides free legal counsel to poor individuals involved in a judicial process. Except in the case of criminal matters, those who are entitled to this service are therefore individuals whose personal or family income is under a specific limit established by the Supreme Court. 57 This institution is grounded in the need to guarantee equality before the law throughout the legal process by means of professional representation and all of the benefits it implies. All defendants must be provided with defense service, and public defenders may be assigned to cases against a defendant s will. Public defense services are organized by subject matter and geographic location, though public defenders working in the interior often cover more than one subject matter. The new Office of the Public Defender includes the following specialized defender units: Public Defender s Office in Civil Matters Public Defender s Office for Criminal Matters Public Defender s Office for Family Matters Public Defender s Office for Young Offenders Public Defender s Office for Labor Matters Public Defender s Office for Criminal Enforcement (Montevideo). The enactment of the Code of Childhood and Adolescence, which entered into force on September 25, 2004, modified the specific jurisdiction of defense services for family and young offender cases. The new law lists the processes and hearings covered by the new code for family cases, while for youth it removes guardianship matters in Montevideo; in the rest of the country public defenders deal with both subject matters at the same time. 58

12 472 Uruguay 4.2. Government and Management Under the auspices of the Supreme Court, the Public Defender s Office is subject to its directive, corrective, consultative, and economic oversight Reform Projects Underway The Public Defender s Office was created in 2006 under the Supreme Court to group together all public defender services in civil, criminal, sentence enforcement, family, youth offender and labor matters Budget This agency is assigned a budget as part of the Judicial Branch s fiscal allocation Case Movement Almost half of all cases for which public defender s provide legal representation are family matters, followed by criminal matters. In 2005 juvenile matters had increased about 30% over 2003, while civil suits dropped by more than 20%. Table 15 Evolution of Public Defense Cases by Subject Matter Subject Matter Family 13,889 15,221 13,857 Criminal 11,201 11,345 10,767 Juvenile 3,462 2,963 2,674 Civil Labor Total 29,828 30,914 28,781 Source: JSCA, based on Actividad de las Defensorías de Oficio en todo el país. Judicial Branch, Table 16 Evolution of Public Defense Cases by Subject Matter (%) Subject Matter Family Criminal Juvenile Civil Labor Total Source: JSCA, based on Actividad de las Defensorías de Oficio en todo el país. Judicial Branch, Table 14 Case Movement in the Public Defender s Office - National Totals and Percentages (for 2005) Subject Matter Cases Taken Writs presented Hearings Visits Total Relative Total Relative Total Relative Total Relative Value Value Value Value Civil 626 2% 3,878 6% 2,599 4% n/a 59 n/a Family 13,889 47% 33,416 54% 40,687 56% n/a n/a Labor 650 2% % % n/c n/c Young Offenders 3,462 12% 2,180 4% 5,809 8% 768 5% Criminal 11,201 37% 20,444 33% 16,267 22% 13,954 95% Total 29, % 61, % 72, % 14, % Source: Report Actividad de las Defensorías de Oficio en todo el país. Judicial Branch, 2005, Division of Budget and Planning.

13 The Police 5.1. Institutional Structure Uruguay s National Police is part of the country s Ministry of the Interior. Law 13,963 establishes the police as a functional entity of the Ministry that ensures public safety; 60 it is a professional civilian force whose main duty is to guarantee safety and protect citizens Hierarchical Structure The police form a hierarchical body led by the Chief of Police, the Director of Intelligence and the Director of the Drug Unit under the command of the Undersecretary of the Interior. At the national level, the Ministry includes the National Police Academy, the National Prison and Penitentiary Directorate, the National Crime Prevention Directorate, the National Information and Intelligence Directorate, the Technical Police, the Highway Police and the National Office for Illegal Drug Traffic. 61 As these bodies have jurisdiction over a given territorial departamento, there are 19 police chiefs in the country. The Departmental Executive Office (Jefatura de Policía Departamental) is the central body responsible for fulfilling the institutional aims and duties of the National Police in a particular territorial department, as set out in the Constitution and the laws. This agency must plan, direct, and implement regular and special operations to safeguard citizen security and provide logistical and technical support to individual units within its territory. Local police chiefs must be selected from the pool of National Police career officers in active service whose rank is not lower than Comisario Principal Functions The National Police has two main areas of action: Administrative policing: including the prevention of violent or criminal actions through surveillance and patrolling in public places and during events and the collection and analysis of information for planning operations and preventing or stopping any act or situation that threatens public safety. Judicial policing: investigating actions that may constitute a crime under the Criminal Code and special laws, and appear in court at the request of judges Training Police training in Uruguay is provided by the Office of the Inspector of Police Academy s and Courses, the Superior Academy of Police Studies, the National Police Academy and the Class and Departmental Academies. The Inspector of Academies and Courses is appointed by the Executive Branch and reports directly to the Minister of the Interior Gender Equity Policies 65 With the abolishment of the Paréntesis PF, a formality that discriminated against female police officers, a project was launched with the Ministry of Social Development s Women s Institute to incorporate gender considerations and issues into the police force. The project s main aims are to define lines of action to incorporate a gender perspective in the institution s policies and develop a pilot training program for male and female officers in police units working with family and women s matters. Steps are also being taken to use the project as a springboard to a Gender Equity Protocol. With the abolishment of the Paréntesis PF for senior officers in 2001, both male and female officers were allowed to hold senior positions on the force. Nevertheless, the tendency for women to occupy mainly administrative positions has not changed. Still, some emblematic female appointments have been made, including three Chiefs of Police in the departments of Florida, San José and Maldonado, and women now head three of the 14 national police offices. At present there is no quota system for females entering the national or departmental police academies. In 1974, there was one woman among the 98 candidates, while more recent figures reported 33 women among 173 cadets Government and Management Institutionally, the police are part of the Ministry of the Interior Strategic Planning Strategic planning of public security policy is undertaken jointly with the Chiefs of Staff, the

14 474 Uruguay General Administrative Directorate, the national directorates of Police, Security, Information and Intelligence and the Police Services Advisory Board, all under the coordination of the Undersecretary of the Interior Internal Oversight The police has no internal affairs department or entity charged with enforcing policies or following up on internal irregularities. Current legislation attributes this function to the Director of the National Police, who also holds the office of Inspector General of the Police and must act together with the Police Prosecutor in internal investigations Reform Projects Underway 67 An institutional strengthening project is currently underway in the Ministry of the Interior as a result of a cooperation agreement signed in November 2005 between the Uruguayan and Spanish governments. Also, in September 2005 Law , the Law for the Humanization of the Prison System was passed Arrests The number of arrests in 2004 was almost 50% higher than it was in Crimes reported in 2006 were 60% higher than in More than 70% of all crime reports involve theft. Table 17 Arrests and Remands Arrests 121,361 95,678 63,940 63,940 81,833 Remands 9,612 9,848 8,600 8,600 7,272 Source: Department of Information, Statistics and Analysis, Ministry of the Interior. In 2006 Uruguay had a murder rate of 4.34 per 100,000 inhabitants. The highest rate over the past five years was 5.25 in Department of Information, Statistics and Analysis, Ministry of the Interior. 6. Notary and Registry System 6.1. Notary System In Uruguay, notaries are professionals who have graduated from a special program and are certified by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The program lasts as long as a law degree and includes some of the same courses. At the Universidad de la República, which produces most of Uruguay s public notaries, law and notary students take the same courses for the first four years, but in the final two years each program has its own specialized courses. In this period notary students must study Notary and Table 18 Number of Crimes Reported (January - September) Type of Crime Homicide Assault 6,897 6,967 8,240 7,077 6,384 7,092 6,432 5,168 5,537 Sex Crimes , Aggravated Robbery 68 6,764 6,359 5,190 5,206 6,601 4,779 5,025 3,355 1,884 Theft 77,170 79,921 74,660 65,408 55,427 52,058 44,912 40,623 40,175 Damage to Property 8,753 10,018 8,755 6,751 6,733 5,154 5,160 3,885 4,268 Total 100, ,292 98,037 85,314 76,050 69,941 62,398 53,743 52,612 Source: National Observatory on Violence and Criminality. Department of Information, Statistics and Analysis, Ministry of the Interior.

15 475 Table 19 Variations in Crimes Reported (%) Type of Crime Variation Variation Variation Variation Variation Homicide Assault Sex Crimes Aggravated Robbery Theft Damage to Property Source: National Observatory on Violence and Criminality. Registry Law and undertake an internship with a notary public, among other requirements. As established in the Notary Rules and Regulations, 69 to be a notary public and practice this profession the candidate must: Have the technical knowledge: hold a notary degree issued or validated by the Universidad de la República or other authorized university Be at least 23 years of age By honorable and upright: produce a certificate of good conduct issued by the Ministry of the Interior and a criminal background sheet from the Forensic Institute Not be ineligible or incompatible, as defined in articles 17, 18 and 24 of the rules and regulations, and any that may be established in future Where the applicant is not an Uruguayan citizen, he or she must have been a legal resident of the country for at least three years (if married) or four years (if unmarried). As with attorneys, in order to practice their profession notaries public must make a sworn statement before the Supreme Court, which exercises supervisory control over them. There is no official exam or quotas that limit the practice of the notary profession Functions of the Notary Public The function of notaries public is to control legality in several areas: contracts and registries, family law (marriage records, inheritance, civil status), commercial law, property and automobile transactions, international trade, mediation, and other matters Notary Fees Notary fees in Uruguay are established in an Official Fee Schedule. 71 Fees for some services are given below. For notarizing or drafting documents, certification of signatures or notarizing private documents, the fee is 2 to 3% above the basic fee, depending on the document in question (in the case of pledges to authorize legal actions and waiving of rights, 50% of the established fee is charged) For official documents and drafting or certification of signatures, or the notarizing of private documents, 12 indexed currency units are charged. 72 For official documents or notarial formalities for wills, a minimum fee of 12 and a maximum fee of 80 indexed currency units is charged, at the discretion of the notary (not including estate partition). For all official documents and registrations with a value of 5 indexed currency units or more, the notary must make a contribution to the Notary Association Fund that is based on the gross amount of fees charged by the notary Registry System Organization According to the Registry Law, 74 this is a technical-administrative service provided by the Ministry of Education and Culture through the General Directorate of Registries. The Public Registries Service of Uruguay

16 476 Uruguay includes the Property Registry, the National Registry of Personal Acts and the Registry of Legal Entities, the last of which includes the national commercial registry and the registry of civil associations and foundations Functions The function of these Registers is to make acts and legal transactions public as provided for by law. This process has two basic aspects: registering these acts and making the information available to those who request it. The purpose of the public nature of the registry is to record as legally required, acts, legal transactions and official decisions, thereby allowing third parties to contest them. An exception to this is a conditional registration, wherein an act is only considered completed and final once the waiting period has ended and there has been no other record of said act filed. Computerized information was first made available in 1994 through remote terminals in public and private institutions that had signed agreements with the General Directorate of Registries. In early 2002 some services were made available on the service s webpage, allowing users to make online requests for information and ask technical questions via Registry Fees In September 2006, certificates from Uruguay s public registries cost between US$ 17 and US$ 60. Documents cost approximately US$ 35. Revenue from registry fees is distributed in the following way: 57% to the General Treasury, 13% to the Ministry of Education and Culture s Equalization Offices, 12% to operating expenses, 12% for salaries and employee expenses and the remaining 6% to the MEC administration. IV. Criminal Procedure 1. Description The criminal process is governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure and is predominantly written, though it also includes one oral hearing, which in practice is little used. This hearing is used when the following conditions apply: The defendant has been apprehended in flagrante delicto The defendant has confessed to committing the crime in question The nature of the evidence or less serious nature of the crime allows for a short investigation and immediate ruling Hearings are also provided for in cases of misdemeanors. Criminal procedure in Uruguay is based on the principles of due process, double jeopardy, territoriality, and official procedure, among others. The actors involved include the judge, the prosecution, the defense, any civil parties claiming damages and any civil third-party respondent. The first three of these are the main subjects; the other two are not always present. As a mixed system, there is an inquisitorial stage (preliminary and investigative stages) and an accusatory stage (the trial) in which the Public Prosecutor s Office carries the charges forward or requests a stay. As in all mixed systems, the inquisitorial principle prevails during the preliminary and investigation stages and the judge may present charges, though the prosecutor also has the right of to do so. It is worth noting that the individuals mentioned above follow the case from the investigation stage to the sentencing. 75 For crimes with a sentence of more than three years, appeals are automatic (ex officio). There are some special courts in the capital and in some cities of the interior. There are special appeals courts for criminal matters, which have national jurisdiction. 2. Prison Population The National Directorate of Prisons, under the purview of the Ministry of the Interior, is the charged with ensuring the proper care and assistance of defendants and convicted and released criminals, rehabilitating those in custody for their reintegration into society. In 2006, there were 52% more persons in custody in Uruguay than in Average annual growth of the prison population from 2000 to 2006 was 8%. Since the mid-1990s the prison population has doubled, effectively collapsing the system. 76 In regard to women in custody, in November 2004 the Cabildo Correctional and Detention Facility for Women reported a prison population of 212, more than twice its holding capacity. In