In recent years, the Indo-American countries have seen the need to adapt to the modernity process under a rule of law system of international standards in matters of criminal policy. The Administration of Justice of these times seeks not only speed but also respect for Individual Guarantees, Human Rights and a contradictory judgment, on equal terms, oral and public.
The Criminal Procedure Reform as a Public Policy of the Latin American Governments has become an issue that commits the 3 Powers of the State (Executive, Legislative and Judicial) in search of a Criminal Procedure System that manages to solve the great social problems that are similar in all Latin American countries, trying to achieve it through a reform that consecrates guiding principles such as immediacy, impartiality, orality, publicity and efficiency.
The New Criminal Procedure Model guarantees citizens: speed in the process, greater transparency, strengthening of public security, rationality in custodial measures, guarantees the right of defense, ensures dignified treatment with the presumption of innocence, efficiency, agility in the control of the investigation.
This Accusatory, Guarantee and Adversarial system is already present in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, among others, but this time we will discuss the experience of 3 of these countries.
This adversarial and accusatory system recognizes stages conducted by clearly defined judges: Investigation stage: Judge of Preparatory Investigation (Peru), Judge of Control of Guarantees (Colombia), Judge of Guarantees (Chile). Trial Stage: One-person or Collegiate Criminal Judge (Peru), Knowledge Judge (Colombia), Oral Trial Court (Chile).
I.- Chile
The Chilean Criminal Procedure Reform initiated by President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, sought to change the old Inquisitive system regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedures of 1906 for a new Accusatory, Adversarial and more efficient System, thus creating the Criminal Procedure Code through Law No. 19,696 of October 12, 2000, which had among its main characteristics the Alternative Exits and the Opportunity Criteria.
The implementation process of the Chilean Penal System has been classified as one of the most important and successful in Latin America, which is mainly due to 4 characteristics of the implementation process, such as Graduality in its progress, zero initial charge, secured financing (both human resources and infrastructure), and the formation of the National Commission for Inter-institutional Coordination.
1.- The National Commission for the Coordination of Criminal Procedure Reform
It was created by the National Congress of and is made up of the Minister of Justice of Chile who presides over it, the President of the Supreme Court (Judicial Power), the National Prosecutor of the Public Ministry, the National Defender of the Public Criminal Ombudsman, a Minister of the Supreme Court elected by the plenary session, the President of the Bar Associations, the Deputy Secretary of Justice and an Executive Secretary chosen by the Working Group.
2.- Graduality of its implementation
Chile is divided into 13 regions and considering its population and territorial quantity, it was agreed to carry out the implementation gradually in 5 stages:
1st in Regions IV Coquimbo and IX Araucanía
2nd in Regions II Antofagasta, III Atacama and VII Maule
3rd in Regions I Tarapacá, XI Aysén and XII Magallanes
4th in Regions V Valparaíso, VI O'Higgins, VIII Biobío and X Los Lagos
5th in the Santiago Metropolitan Region
3.- Budget for its implementation
The Reform of Criminal Procedure as a Public Policy by the Government of President Ricardo Lagos meant a great effort, reflected in an investment for its implementation of approximately 550 million dollars distributed in the three pillars of the Chilean system:
300 Million Dollars for the Judiciary
218 Million Dollars for the Public Ministry
50 million Dollars for the Public Criminal Defense
The investment of the Chilean State in the Justice Administration system before the implementation of the Criminal Procedure Reform was only 0.9% of the National Budget, but after implementation it is made up of more than 2% of the Total Chilean Budget.
"The purpose of the New Criminal Procedure System is to specify the ideals of a justice that is fast, efficient, transparent, impartial, accessible and with respect for the Fundamental Rights of the Person." DR. RICARDO LAGOS ESCOBAR - Constitutional President of the Republic (Chile)
II.- Colombia
The Colombian Reform according to important Jurists is nothing more than the Materialization of the Constitutionalized Criminal Law, an Adversarial process regulated by the Colombian Magna Carta that through Legislative Act No. 03 of 2002 modifies Arts. 250 and 251 of the Political Constitution granting the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation the function of Exercising Criminal Action and Investigating facts that have the characteristics of a possible Crime (Faculties of Investigating and Accusing), and it is thanks to this amendment that The Stages of the Criminal Process in Colombia have been established.
It is then at this juncture that on August 31, 2004 the Congress of the Republic grants LAW 906 OF 2004 creating the Colombian CPP.
1.- The Inter-institutional Commission for the Implementation of the Accusatory System
Composed of the President of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the President of the Administrative Chamber of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the President of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Attorney General of the Nation, the Attorney General of the Nation and the Ombudsman.
2.- Implementation Periods
First Stage: January 1, 2005 in the judicial districts of Armenia, Bogotá, Manizales and Pereira
Second Stage: January 1, 2006 in Bucaramanga, Buga, Cali, Medellín, San Gil, Santa Rosa de Viterbo and Tunja.
Third Stage: January 1, 2007 in Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Florencia, Ibagué, Neiva, Pasto, Popayán and Villavicencio.
Fourth Stage. January 1, 2008 in Barranquilla, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Montería, Quibdó, Pamplona, Riohacha, Santa Marta, Sincelejo and Valledupar.
3.- Investment in its implementation
The Government of Colombia under the direction of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez has carried out its gradual implementation plan, budgeting an investment of $ 145.150 million pesos to meet the needs of Training, Infrastructure, Technological Equipment, among others; which were carried out in stages in each of its implementation stages.
"Democracy is only enduring, to the extent that there is an Effective, Impartial and Transparent Justice." DR. ÁLVARO URIBE VÉLEZ - Constitutional President of the Republic (Colombia)
III.- Peru
The country, adapting to modern Latin American reforms, also sought to consolidate an Accusatory, Adversarial and Guarantee system, which is in accordance with the new guidelines in criminal policy and it is in these circumstances that on March 13, 2003 with Supreme Decree No. 005-2003 -JUS was formed the High Level Commission in charge of creating the NCPP since Peru needed a new system that develops in the constitutional values, for the democratic causes of respect for Fundamental Rights, a legislation that is reflected by its own social, economic and political reality.
Thus, on July 29, 2004, a new Criminal Procedure Code was published through Legislative Decree 957, which would gradually come into force at the national level through an Implementation Plan.
1.- The Special Commission for the implementation of the Code of Criminal Procedure
This commission is the Highest Authority in the matter of the implementation process of the NCPP which is conformed according to Legislative Decree 957, Legislative Decree N ° 958 and Supreme Decree N ° 007-2007-JUS: by a representative of the Ministry of Justice (who presides), a representative of the Ministry of Justice, a representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, a representative of the Judiciary, a representative of the Public Ministry, a representative of the Ministry of the Interior and a Technical Secretary appointed by the Minister of Justice.
There are also Institutional Technical Teams in the bodies that are actors in this implementation process (Judicial Branch, Public Ministry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior, Academy of the Magistracy) and in each Judicial District the District Implementation Commissions.
2.- Stages of implementation
The progressive implementation is directed by the Special Commission for Implementation at the request and proposal of the Judicial Districts, taking into consideration criteria such as strategic location, human resources, geographical aspects, crime rate, etc.
The implementation stages have been established and modified on several occasions through Supreme Decrees No. 013-2005-JUS, 007-2006-JUS, 005-2007-JUS, 016-2009-JUS and 016-2010- JUS.
2006 Judicial District of Huaura
2007 Judicial District of La Libertad
2008 Judicial Districts of Tacna - Moquegua - Arequipa
2009 Judicial Districts of Tumbes - Piura - Lambayeque - Puno - Cusco –Madre de Dios - Ica - Cañete.
2010 Cajamarca - Amazonas - San Martin
Judicial Districts 2011 Santa - Pasco - Huancavelica
Judicial Districts 2012 Ancash - Huánuco - Apurímac - Loreto - Ucayali
Judicial Districts 2013 Lima - Lima North - Callao Judicial Districts.
The implementation has been necessary for its speed and for this reason the Congress of the Republic created Law No. 29574, which provides for the immediate application for crimes committed by Public Officials and its amendment to Law No. 29648, which states the following dates for its validity:
• Judicial District of Lima - January 15, 2011
• Judicial Districts of North Lima, South Lima and Callao - April 1, 2011
• In the other Judicial Districts in which the NCPP has not yet entered into force - June 1, 2011.
3.- Financing of implementation
The Pilot Plan for this new Model carried out in the Judicial District of Huaura began in 2006 with 3,120,000 soles for the Judicial Power and the Public Ministry with 9 million soles, until 2010, 505 million new soles had been invested in the different judicial districts of the country and for 2011 the investment increased by 154 million more.
For the implementation process in the Judicial District of Lima, which comes into effect the NCPP in cases of crimes committed by Public Officials, a total of 41 million 132 thousand 48 soles has been allocated.
"Our Judicial Power has to exalt itself in its image, it has to be strengthened in the respect that the people have for their judges, because that gives credibility to the rational and peace system that is democracy" DR. ALAN GARCÍA PÉREZ - Constitutional President of La Republica (Peru).
IV.- Conclusions
Today the Latin American Governments are committed to a Criminal Procedure Reform in accordance with international guidelines such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsand it is in this sense that a system was sought that can give greater dynamism and speed in the care of cases, greater accessibility, that allows the reduction of the procedural burden, that provides alternative solutions for non-complex cases, with greater transparency and independence., a system that tries to end the useless and slow bureaucracy that only causes congestion, promoting orality instead of writing, a system that clearly defines the separation of Roles and Functions between judges (judging) and prosecutors (investigating and to accuse).
Latin America has the political backing to implement this Reform and also has the great expectations of its citizens, to achieve change in the administration of justice and thus provide a rapid response to crime resulting from major social problems which are similar in all the countries of the Continent (combat Organized Crime, Money Laundering, Illicit Drug Trafficking, Corruption), for this reason we intend to be an integrated Criminal Procedure System, which above all things, has the SOCIETY TRUST…
Bibliography
• Gerardo Barbosa Castillo: Main Transformations of Criminal Procedural Law: A Structure Analysis, Judicial Branch, First Edition, March 2006 –Colombia
• Adriana Villegas Arango, The Oral Trial in the Accusatory Criminal Process, First Edition, December 2008- Colombia
• Alberto Prieta Vera: Outline of the accusatory criminal process, August 2, 2004 - Colombia
• Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation: Manual of Procedures for the Office of the Prosecutor in the Colombian system, 2004 - Colombia
• Pedro Oriol Avella Franco: Structure of the Accusatory Criminal Process, 2007 - Colombia
• Fundación Paz Ciudadana: Inter-institutional Statistical Yearbook on Criminal Procedure Reform, July 2004 - Chile.
• Antonio Bascuñan Rodríguez: Journal of Justice Studies N ° 4, 2004 -Chile.
• Ministry of Justice: Report of the 100 days of the validity of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the Judicial District of Huaura, Peru
• Special Commission for Implementation: Work Plan of the Special Commission for the implementation of the ncpp, June 2007 - Peru.
