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Impact Story Monday, September 10 2018 00:00 GMT

The Right To a Fair Trial in Latin America

MH
by Maeve Halpin
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Around the world, 3,000,000 people are currently being detained and are awaiting trial. Globally, the right to a fair trial is recognised as a fundamental human right. However, international charity Fair Trials International, which focuses on improving respect for ‘fair trial’ rights, estimates that unfair trials make up over 40% of rights violations found around the world.

According to Fair Trials International‘s website: “Fair trials are the only way to prevent miscarriages of justice and are an essential part of a just society. Every person accused of a crime should have their guilt or innocence determined by a fair and effective legal process. But it’s not just about protecting suspects and defendants. It also makes societies safer and stronger. Without fair trials, victims can have no confidence that justice will be done. Without fair trials, trust in government and the rule of law collapses.”

Information on criminal justice systems is available, but often buried in academic and legislative texts, presented in language that is difficult to understand. To combat this, Fair Trials International creates country specific “Notes of Advice”,  which are accessible and realistic summaries of rights regarding trials, written by practicing lawyers.

Wanting to expand their collection of “Notes of Advice”, Fair Trials International reached out to TrustLaw for pro bono legal support to produce notes for 10 countries in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, and Uruguay.  TrustLaw connected Fair Trials to seven law firms across the region coordinated by International law firm Hogan  Lovells: Fontan Balestra Asociados , Mattos Filho, Central Law,  White & Case, Rodrigo, Elias & Medrano and Guyer & Regules.

Jason A. Georges, Hogan & Lovells  said “ We chose to work on this pro-bono project because we are convinced it will have a direct and real impact on real people. It was a fruitful and enlightening experience.  The fact that several law firms joined forces to create one work product made it an even more exciting project.  Additionally, the fact that so many stakeholders were involved assured the success of this ambitious collaborative project that intended to cover so many jurisdictions in such a short period”.  

The firms involved in the project worked together for almost a year to produce useful notes to protect fair trials in Latin America. Lawyers around the region gathered legal research on a range of issues including rights upon arrest, how to find a lawyer, staying in prison until trial, pleading guilty, what happens at trial, appealing, rights as a prisoner, and serving time. They also translated the final report to Spanish and Portuguese for their local partners.

In October 2017, many of the firms participated in a launch event where firms from Brazil and Uruguay presented the report together with TrustLaw and Fair Trials International.

 Fair Trials International and Hogan Lovells, Fontan Balestra Asociados, Mattos Filho, Central Law,  White & Case, Rodrigo, Elias & Medrano and Guyer & Regules have been nominated for the “Collaboration Award” at the 2018 TrustLaw Awards.

El derecho a un juicio justo en América Latina

En el mundo, 3.000.000 personas están actualmente detenidas y en espera de un juicio. A nivel mundial, el derecho a un juicio justo está reconocido como un derecho humano fundamental. Sin embargo, la organización internacional Fair Trials International, que se dedica a mejorar el respeto por el derecho a un “juicio justo”, estima que los juicios injustos representan más del 40% de las violaciones a derechos humanos en todo el mundo.

 Según el sitio web de Fair Trials International: “Los juicios justos son la única forma de prevenir errores judiciales y son una parte esencial de una sociedad justa. La culpabilidad o inocencia de toda persona acusada de un delito debe estar determinada por un proceso legal justo y efectivo. Pero no se trata sólo de proteger a los sospechosos y a los acusados. También implica construir sociedades más seguras y más fuertes. Sin juicios justos, las víctimas no pueden confiar en que se hará justicia. Sin juicios justos, la confianza en el gobierno y el estado de derecho colapsa”.

 La información sobre los sistemas de justicia penal está disponible, pero a menudo está oculta en textos académicos y legislativos, presentados en un lenguaje que es difícil de entender. Para combatir esto, Fair Trials International creó “Notas de Asesoramiento” específicas para cada país, que son resúmenes accesibles y realistas de los derechos relacionados con los juicios, escritos por abogados en ejercicio.

Buscando ampliar su colección de “Notas de Asesoramiento”, Fair Trials International se acercó a TrustLaw para obtener apoyo legal pro bono para producir notas para 10 países de América Latina: Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, México, Perú, Venezuela y Uruguay. TrustLaw conectó a Fair Trials con siete estudios de abogados de la región coordinados por la firma internacional Hogan Lovells: Fontan Balestra Asociados, Mattos Filho, Central Law, White & Case, Rodrigo, Elias & Medrano y Guyer & Regules.

 Jason A. Georges de Hogan Lovells dijo: “Elegimos trabajar en este proyecto pro bono porque estamos convencidos de que tendrá un impacto directo y real en personas reales. Fue una experiencia fructífera y enriquecedora. El hecho de que varias firmas de abogados unieran fuerzas para crear un producto de trabajo lo convirtió en un proyecto aún más emocionante. Además, el hecho de que tantas partes interesadas estuvieran involucradas aseguró el éxito de este ambicioso proyecto de colaboración que pretendía abarcar varias jurisdicciones en un período tan corto”.

 Las firmas involucradas en el proyecto trabajaron juntas durante casi un año para producir notas útiles para garantizar juicios justos en América Latina. Los abogados de la región reunieron investigaciones legales sobre una variedad de temas, incluidos los derechos al momento del arresto, cómo encontrar un abogado, permanecer en prisión hasta el juicio, declararse culpables, lo que sucede en el juicio, apelar, los derechos de los presos y cumpliendo la condena. También tradujeron el informe final al español y al portugués para sus socios locales.

En octubre de 2017, muchas de las firmas participaron en un evento de lanzamiento en el que firmas de Brasil y Uruguay present

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