Haiti - Justice : Acceleration of the processing of files to the PAP prosecution

iciHaiti - Montreal, Cinema Festival : The Haitian documentary «1964 : Simityè kamoken» in the spotlight

iciHaiti - NOTICE Diaspora : Delay in the delivery of Haitian passports in Spain

iciHaiti - European Union : New humanitarian airlift with Haiti

iciHaiti - Weather : An American helicopter bound for Haiti makes an emergency landing in Monte Cristi

iciHaiti - Special D1 Championship : Complete results of the first 8th days

more news

Haiti - News : Zapping...

Haiti - FLASH : Dangerous coexistence of detainees at CERMICOL

Haiti - Agriculture : 3,000 hectares of rice cultivation abandoned due to insecurity

Haiti - Canada : Training of the multinational force in Haiti continues in Jamaica

Haiti - FLASH : USA repatriates 52 Haitians to Haiti...

more news

Haiti - Justice : Acceleration of the processing of files to the PAP prosecution
29/04/2019 10:00:16

On Friday, the Caribe Convention Center hosted the 2019 Forum of the Court of First Instance (TPI) of Port-au-Prince. This Forum brought together more than 100 participants, most of the judicial actors of the jurisdictions of Port-au-Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets: seating judges, magistrates of the public prosecutor's office, justices of the peace, clerks, clerks prosecutors, lawyers, officials of the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration (DAP) and investigation officers of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) as well as members of human rights organizations.

This forum, designed under the leadership of the national authorities, which received technical and financial support from Minujusth, focused on the state of prolonged pre-trial detention in the jurisdiction, the immediate appearance, the management of evidence and the mechanisms put in place to increase audiences. The discussions focused in particular on the good practices identified, the difficulties encountered and the solutions to be applied, with a view to intensifying ongoing efforts and improving the efficiency of the jurisdiction.

Since January 2019, there has been a revitalization of judicial activities at the TPI in Port-au-Prince, characterized in particular by the intensification of real-time processing of cases at the public prosecutor's office, the setting of quotas of cases to be dealt with by the magistrates, the organization continuous criminal hearings without jury assistance and habeas corpus appeals (Note).

Thus, the monthly average of court files processed the day of their receipt by the Procuratorate of Port-au-Prince has increased by 150% in the last 18 months. A total of 910 of the 1,701 cases received by the public prosecutor since December 2017 have been processed in real time.

A particularly notable development during the first three months of the year, during which 315 files were managed. In addition, 2,764 cases of prisoners in pre-trial detention were taken care of by the Legal Assistance Offices (BAL) between May 2018 and April 2019.

With regard to detention centers, between October 2017 and April 2019, the number of prisoners in pre-trial detention increased by 8% at the Port-au-Prince Civil Prison (from 3,818 in November 2017 to 3,520 in April 2019 ) and 43% at the Rehabilitation Center for Minors in Conflict with the Law (Cermicol, from 96 to 67).

In addition, the number of women prisoners in pre-trial detention extended to Cabaret Women Prison dropped by 10% between December 2018 and April 2019, from 216 to 193.

NOTE :Habeas corpus, more precisely "Habeas corpus ad subjiciendum et recipiendum", is a legal concept that sets out a fundamental freedom, that of not being imprisoned without trial, the opposite of arbitrariness that allows anyone to stop without valid reason.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre