First part: Municipality, justices of the peace and horizontal property rules in Venezuela
Obviously, since it was prior to the Organic Law of the Special Jurisdiction of Communal Peace Justice (LOJPC, 2012) to that of Horizontal Property (LPH, 1983), the intervention of the justice of the peace in life under the regime of horizontal property.
One of the frequent scenarios originating in the condominiums where the justices of the peace are called refers to matters related to gender violence, since the LOJPC assigns them powers in this regard. Couples can enter into conflict, due to various factors: economic, cultural, among others. However, it does not justify abuse.
The justices of the peace use as tools those of alternative justice, so their role is to provide a solution to conflicts derived from neighborhood coexistence, as long as they are not matters attributed to another authority; For example, when dealing with events that degenerate into conduct classified as a crime by the Venezuelan Penal Code (2005), such is the case of personal injury, homicide, theft or robbery, the justice of the peace is prohibited from acting since corresponds to the Public Ministry, Criminal Courts and the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC), and may be supported by state or municipal police forces.
In the same situation when it occurs with the Organic Law on the Right of Women to a Life Free of Violence (LODMLV, 2007), although it can act as a recipient of complaints and refer to specialized services by this law so that the evidence does not disappear or indications which could lead to impunity. They can receive complaints and instruct primarily with the duty to refer the proceedings to other authorities for their specialized attention.
To this must be added a variable such as the Organic Code of Criminal Procedure (COPP, 2012) whose modification has led to the creation of special units to attack crime such as municipal prosecutors, which are part of the Public Ministry organization, which they know criminal acts, among which are matters where neighborhood coexistence has been the epicenter.
The work of justices of the peace, as well as those deployed by the municipalities in this matter, is very important because it has to do with prevention, since it can help to avoid the commission of criminal situations through dialogue. For this reason, it is important that a justice of the peace be chosen, not only trained in mediation or conciliation techniques, but also someone who is representative of his community whom everyone respects and considers a good example to follow.
It is appropriate to remember that the justices of the peace can be assisted in the execution of their decisions (materialization of the resolution) by the police forces, in accordance with the provisions of the LOJPC, so it must be followed by the intervening parties.
Now, in practice, it may be complex for justices of the peace to delineate between what is within the sphere of law and, therefore, attributed to other organs and entities, with which it may be the subject of the proper techniques of justice of peace. It is there where some municipalities have in their structure with agencies that assist them, as happens with the so-called Municipal Justice Directorates or other similar ones, as well as the Municipal Unions, (which is not the same as a union: organization for the defense of rights of workers in an employment relationship), since they are the legal representation bodies of the municipalities, as well as advising local bodies and entities.
This leads to the conclusion that the preparation of the justice of the peace should be greater than that of only the management of alternative justice tools, to avoid conflicts of competence between authorities, being the citizen who is in the middle and does not obtain the solution of the problem that leads him to go to it.
In short, that depends on the factual situation in each case, as it requires the analysis of legal norms before making decisions.
Condominiums, as a form of organization and self-government of the property in horizontal property, can be a great ally for the prevention of neighborhood conflicts, as long as it is not like those described above for justices of the peace, since public powers are reflected of norms that prevent them from withdrawing from the knowledge to which they are bound.
For this reason, municipalities and justices of the peace have been implementing programs with condominiums to serve as an early warning voice in neighborhood conflicts; Now, it is important to remember that the condominium boards only have to do with matters where common goods are involved, so they cannot be exceeded, only that they could contribute by collaborating to maintain a healthy coexistence in the property.
