Undp Justice Program Newsletter September 2009

NEWS

LETTER

September 2009

JUSTICE SYSTEM PROGRAMME Editorial In this month's edition, advisors from Cape Verde and Portugal arrived in Dili to support the national judicial institutions over the next year; the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, Mr. Finn Reske-Nielsen meets with the head of the Spanish Agency of International Development Cooperation to International Judges from Portugal sworn into office to work in the District Courts for the next year............................................................Page 2

honor the Spanish Government's contributions to the UNDP Justice System Programme and other UN agencies; exams for the first class of the training course for private lawyers are held at the Legal Training Center in Dili and the JSP holds an annual

Spanish Agency of International Development Cooperation contributes є 1 million to the Justice System Programme.........Page 3

retreat to ensure that the 2010 Annual Work Plan addresses recommendations of the ICNA report and the MoJ Justice Sector Strategic Plan.

The UNDP Justice System Programme continued its agreement with the Council of Coordination, comprised of the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Appeal and the Office of the Prosecutor-General, in December 2008 with the signing of a 5year project document. We continue to work towards a strong justice sector and are committed to providing information on our activities. Your comments or suggestions are always welcome and can be sent to [email protected].

Draft Law on Customary Law and local justice is elaborated by the working group of the MoJ, UNDP and UNMIT........................Page 4

The Justice System Programme is supported by Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, OHCHR (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), and UNDP BCPR (Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery)

Also in this month's edition: - Exams held at the Legal Training Centre for candidates to enter Private Lawyers' Training course.............................................................................. 3 - Justice System Programme holds two-day retreat to formulate annual work plan for 2010.......................................................................................4 - Photos of the month..........................................................................................................................................................................................................5

September 2009

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International Judges, Prosecutors and Court Clerks Begin One Year Assignment

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he UNDP Justice System Programme (JSP) supported the arrival of four Judges, four Prosecutors and four clerks from Portugal and Cape Verde to assist the national judicial institutions over the next one year period. The advisors are provided under agreements of cooperation that UNDP has promoted and supported both logistically and financially. An induction course was held on the 21st of September for the advisors to familiarize them on the Timorese judicial system. Moreover, they were provided with advising guidelines that have been developed to maximize their capacity building efforts. The Senior Justice Advisor for the JSP, Maria del Mar Bermudez, commented that “the UNDP Justice System Programme is pleased to facilitate and support the national authorities in increasing the capacities of the Timorese judiciary. We expect these advisors to support the national actors to be part of the decentralizing of justice services and bringing justice to the citizens of Timor’’. Several of the advisors will be assigned

to the districts outside of Dili, on a permanent basis, including international judges to each of the district courts. Dr. Fernando Ferreira, Dr. Diogo Ravara, Dr. Maria Leonor Botelho and Dr. Joao Paulo Raposo from Portugal were sworn into office at two ceremonies, held at the Court of Appeal, under the direction of Dr. Claudio Ximenes, President of the

Court of Appeal. Dr. João Raposo, who will be based in Suai commented to say that he feels “pleased and challenged both personally and professionally with this task. The main goal is to be able to help the Timorese judicial system to develop, and I also hope to be able to learn and grow with this experience .''

Above: Dr. Maria Leonor Botelho with Dr. Cláudio Ximenes at the Court of Appeal in Dili, 2nd October, 2009 Far Left: National Judges, Dr. Ana Paula Fonseca and Dr. Maria Natércia Gusmão with Minister of Justice, Dr. Lúcia Lobato, at the swearing in ceremony at the Court of Appeal on 25th September. Left: Dr. João Raposo, judge from Portugal

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Spanish Agency of International Development Cooperation contributes є 1 million to the Justice System Programme

he Spanish Government, through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), provided an additional one million Euros to the Justice System Programme (JSP). “The Spanish Agency of International Development Cooperation is committed to its longstanding support for UN projects in Timor-Leste such as the UNDP- Justice System Programme. AECID plans to continue its support to the achievement of effective rule of law, peace and stability in Timor-Leste, through the strengthening of key institutions such as the Courts, Prosecution and the Ministry of Justice,” stated Mr. Francisco Asís López, Head of AECID in TimorLeste. These funds bring the total contribution of the AECID over the past two years to three million Euros for the JSP.

From Left: Francisco Asís López, Head of AECID, Lydia Vicente, Justice Advisor for AECID, Luca Bruccheri, Programme Officer UNDP, Maria Bermudez, Senior Justice Advisor, UNDP-JSP and Mr. Finn Reske-Nielsen, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General and UNDP Resident Representative

‘’UNDP is grateful to the Government of Spain, which has been instrumental in providing that we build capacities of the justice institutions. Spain has been a long trusted partner in ensuring technical

and financial support necessary to promote human rights, peace and development,’’ stated Mr. Finn Reske- Nielsen, Deputy SRSG and UNDP Resident Representative.

Private Lawyers' Training exams held at the LTC The first private lawyers' training will begin this year in November at the Legal Training Centre, following the law that was passed in late 2008 for the state to work towards regulating the legal profession. The course will run for 15 months to provide training to lawyers in all areas of the new penal and civil codes of Timor-

Leste and to provide the formation required for accreditation as a lawyer in Timor-Leste. The exams were held on the 24th and 25th of September at the Legal Training Center and a total of 47 candidates took the exam, including 11 women. There are 40 vacancies for this first round of the course. Currently there

Candidates take the exam for the Private Lawyers Training course, in Dili, 24th and 25th of September

September 2009

are less than 100 private lawyers in Timor-Leste. By 2012, all private lawyers will need to complete this training to receive the required accreditation and be able to continue to practice law. Sr. Jose Pedro Camoes, head of the Association of Timor-Leste Lawyers (AATL), asserts that this training is important to build capacities of lawyers in Timor-Leste, in order to to strengthen and sustain the judicial system. Until a national Bar Association is created in Timor-Leste, the process of accreditation will be the responsibility of the Legal Training Center. Parliament has given all lawyers a 4-year grace period to enter the training course at the LTC in order to be accredited Page

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Consultation on customary law and local justice completes eight workshops throughout Timor-Leste, including district workshops in Baucau, Los Palos, Oécusse and Suai and also sector consultations the formal justice sector and with human rights, civil society and women's organizations. The process of consultation allowed for local authorities, justice Raquel Yrigoyen Fajardo (standing left) at the actors and civil society to workshop/consultation in Los Palos, March 10-12, 2009 After nine months of service to the discuss customary law and local justice UNDP Justice System Programme, as it is in their respective sucos. The Raquel Yrigoyen Fajardo left the participants were invited to give their project after completing a process of proposals and inputs into the draft public consultation to draft the legislation. legislation on customary law and local Key recommendations made by the participants included the creation of justice. The consultation included

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community tribunals with jurisdictional powers at the local level, the recognition and establishment of limits to customary law and the establishment of a commission at the local level to support gender-based victims. The draft legislation on customary law and local justice was elaborated by the working group of the Ministry of Justice with the technical support of UNDP and UNMIT. The next step will be to present the final report with the draft legislation to the MoJ. It is envisaged that UNDP will support the MoJ in a national workshop where all stakeholders will be invited to review the draft legislation and give final inputs into its elaboration.

JSP hold two-day retreat to develop Annual Work Plan for 2010

ity views of Dili from the mountain town of Dare was the setting for the annual retreat for the Justice System Programme held this year on the 1st and 2nd of October. The two days included a formulation of the 2010 annual work plan addressing the recommendations stemming from the Justice Sector Strategic Plan and the draft Independent Comprehensive Needs Assessment (ICNA) report. The JSP, which was initially started in 2003, underwent a revision in 2008 and was developed for a further five year period. The revised document included new components to the project such as Access to Justice.

The JSP currently has over 40 staff working in the various Management Unit, Prison Services, the Legal Training Centre, IT Unit, Access to Justice and the Field Teams. The JSP also supports international

judicial advisors in the Ministry of Justice, Courts, Prosecution and Public Defenders' office.

Intern joins JSP for 3 months Claire Tarbes, a Master's student from the Université Paul Cézanne AixMarseille III, joined the Justice System Programme for a three month internship. Claire is from Reunion Island, a French island near Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. She studied Law in Paris for four years and is now completing a Masters in International Legal Field Officer Programme. “I am particularly interested in working on access to justice, as for me it’s the most essential activity for a strong and sustainable social reconstruction in Timor-Leste,” commented Claire. September 2009

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NEWS

LETTER

September 2009

Photo: Carlos Dinis

JUSTICE SYSTEM PROGRAMME Photos of the month Below: Six national judges, all graduates of the Legal Training Center, departed for Portugal for 6 months training supported by a joint venture between the MoJ and Portugal. Pictured below, with Dr. Cláudio Ximenes, President of the Court of Appeal: Left to Right: Dr. Edite Palmira Dos Reis, Dr. Jose Maria de Araujo, Dr. Cláudio Ximenes, Dr. Natércia Gusmão(front), Dr. Ana Paula Fonseca and Dr. Joao Rodrigues Ribeiro. Dr. Duarte Tilman, not pictured belowed, was part of the group of six.

Above: National Judges with International Judge from Portugal at the swearing in ceremony at the Court of Appeal in Dili. Four international judges will support the Courts while the national judges are in Portugal: Dr. Edite Palmira Dos Reis, Dr. Diogo Ravara from Portugal, Dr. Ana Paula Fonseca and Dr. Jose Maria de Araujo.

Photo: Renato Dacosta, UNDP

Right: Staff of the UNDP Justice System Programme at the annual two-day retreat Left to Right: Bernado Fernandes and Erika Macedo from the Legal Training Center, Ester Barros, Adviser to the Ministry of JusticeDirectorate of Notary, Abdul Ghafur, Finance Officer and Annie Serrano, Gender Advisor for UNDP.

Produced by Public Information Officer, Justice System Programme For further information or suggestions please contact Shaila Noronha, 7304445, 3313583, [email protected] September 2009

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