Annual Report 2008 | |
The Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) is the only private non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes the reform and modernization of Latin America’s national justice systems to ensure that the rule of law and respect for human rights are the hallmarks of justice systems throughout the Americas. This work is carried out through academic research, training, and the technical assistance on strategic litigation.
DPLF was founded in 1996 by Prof. Thomas Buergenthal, now a judge at the International Court of Justice, and his former colleagues on the United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador. Members of DPLF’s board of directors have been key in efforts to construct democratic institutions and respect for the rule of law in the Americas. DPLF’s work is carried out through three program areas:
Judicial accountability and transparency: Efforts in this area deal with issues such as transparency in the judicial sector, access to judicial information, mechanisms for appointing, evaluating, and removing judges, oversight mechanisms, and monitoring by civil society. Through this work, our organization seeks to strengthen independence of the judiciary.
Equal access to justice: This area’s fundamental goal is to promote access to justice for vulnerable and marginalized groups and individuals in Latin America. The program has implemented a number of initiatives with indigenous peoples, prisoners and other detainees, women who have been victims of violence, displaced persons, and migrants, as well as with the civil society organizations that represent them.
International justice: Through training and research, this area focuses on topics such as national-level compliance with international treaties and recommendations, implementation of the Rome Statute (that established the International Criminal Court), any internal reforms that are needed to allow for investigations into human rights violation, and international mechanisms for the protection of human rights.
Recent publications
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| Reforms in the administration of justice in Honduras and Bolivia: The obstacles in successful reforms and how to confront them, in Spanish. Executive Summary in English. | Between alarm and expectations: the challenge to strengthen judicial independence in Panama. Executive summary in English
| La Crisis de derechos humanos en la frontera sur de México (The Human Rights Crises on the Mexican Southern Border): |
