Brazil
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 Inaugural IBAHRI Innovare Prize |
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The IBAHRI has teamed up with Instituto Innovare to launch a special prize for improving access to justice in pre-trial detention.
Read more about the inaugural IBAHRI Innovare Access to Justice Prize.
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2010 Report on Brazilian prisons and criminal justice system
In 2009, the IBAHRI conducted a scoping mission to Brazil, focussing on the Brazilian criminal justice sector, and in particular on access to justice in pre-trial detention.
A report subsequent to the mission was released in February 2010. The report, funded by the Open Society Institute, is entitled One in Five: the crisis in Brazil's prisons and criminal justice system, and states that human rights violations of pre-trial detainees in Brazil must be urgently addressed. The report exposes the failures of the country’s criminal justice system to provide fair and timely trials, access to lawyers, and protection from prison gangs. The Brazilian National Justice Council, a supervisory body of the judiciary, has found that of the 84,000 cases it has reviewed so far, one in five pre-trial prisoners are currently being wrongfully detained.
The rapid rise in the prison population, close to 3,000 new prisoners per month, is overwhelming an already exhausted court system, leading to a large and growing back-log of cases and increasing delays in the conduct of trials. 80% of prisoners cannot afford a lawyer and the low number of public defenders in the country is grossly inadequate to deal with all those who require legal assistance, leading to concern about the fairness of many of the trials being conducted.
The report calls for essential reforms, including alternatives to pre-trial detention, increased access to free legal representation, and adequate judicial oversight. Civil society organizations and justice institutions must hold the government accountable for these necessary changes.
Rule of Law and Criminal Justice seminar, São Paulo, 26th February 2010
The IBAHRI Report was launched at the IBA/Sao Paulo Bar Association (Associação dos Advogados de São Paulo ‘AASP’) seminar ‘Rule of Law and Criminal Justice in Brazil’ on 26th February at AASP. The seminar was attended by approximately 150 participants who included a range of government officials, senior members of the Brazilian legal profession including the President of OAB Sao Paulo, criminal defence NGOs, Brazilian and international lawyers and members of civil society.
The seminar was chaired by IBA Rule of Law Action Group Co-Chair Anne Ramberg, IBAHRI Co-Chair Martin Solc and Arystóbulo de Oliveira Freitas, Vice-President of AASP.
Opening remarks were provided by Márcio Thomaz Bastos, former Minister of Justice, President of Innovare and Instituto de Defesa do Direito de Defesa, who outlined some of the main issues facing criminal justice in Brazil.
Juan E. Mendéz then presented the key findings and recommendations of the Report, considering in particular the transitional justice issues and the reform agenda. Pedro Freitas, Executive Director of the Innovare Instituto, then responded, focusing on one of its key recommendations of the Report – the need to encourage incremental, home-grown reform – and the work of the Innovare Insitituto.
The second session was focussed more broadly on the rule of law in Brazil and Latin America. Juan E. Mendéz gave the keynote speech which looked at threats to the rule of law in the region, challenges facing the Brazilian judiciary and the need for reform. Erivaldo Ribeiro dos Santos, member of the Conselho Nacional de Justiça, coordinator of the Departamento de Monitoramento e Fiscalizacão do Sistema Carcerário (Department of monitoring and supervision of prisons) and organizer of the mutirões scheme then spoke on criminal justice in Brazil and the work of the mutirões.
Following the sessions there was a lively discussion with questions directed to both Juan E. Mendéz and Erivaldo Ribeiro dos Santos regarding the Report and the problem of access to justice in pre-trial detention, and to Juan E. Mendéz on issues relating to the rule of law in the region.
- View the conference programme.