September 2015
A four-member ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) delegation visited Peru in July to observe ongoing ABA ROLI programming in the country. Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), ABA ROLI’s work supports Peru’s criminal law reforms.
During a visit to the Peruvian Supreme Court, the delegation discussed outstanding issues in the implementation of the criminal procedure code.
Led by the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and chair of ABA ROLI’s Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Council, the delegation included two LAC Council members—Raquel Aldana, law professor at the University of the Pacific, and Patrick Del Duca, partner with the law firm Zuber Lawler & Del Duca—and the LAC Division director, Michael McCullough.
ABA ROLI’s program in Peru, which was launched in 2012, supports the country’s transition to an adversarial criminal justice system, including through trainings for justice sector operators, strategic planning assistance for case-processing and public service announcements that educate citizens about the criminal procedure code (CPC).
During a meeting at ABA ROLI’s office in Lima, Raúl Callirgos, ABA ROLI country director in Peru, gave the delegation an overview of the program over the past three years of implementation and the needs of the Peruvian justice sector. He said that during this period, the program trained 2,981 justice sector operators, including judges, prosecutors, police officers and public defenders, from all regions of Peru. Callirgos said that he expects the phased implementation of the CPC, which is scheduled to begin in Lima in 2016, to be a significant challenge because of the capital’s large population of almost 10 million.
The delegation later met with Lawrence J. Gumbiner, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy, and representatives from INL and the U.S. Agency for International Development. At the Peruvian Supreme Court, the delegation discussed outstanding issues in the implementation of the CPC.
On the second day, the ABA ROLI team met with the Minister of Justice and Human Rights Gustavo Adrianzen and spoke about the Peruvian government’s priorities in the implementation of the CPC. The team then met with representatives from the Criminal Investigation Police to express ABA ROLI’s appreciation for the agency’s continued collaboration. Working with the agency, ABA ROLI has trained 735 police officers in investigation techniques.
The ABA ROLI delegation also visited to the Attorney General’s Office for a meeting with Attorney General Pablo Sánchez Velarde, discussing ongoing ABA ROLI support for the office, including the training of prosecutors on litigation skills.
“The visit by the council members was very helpful to our program activities. It allowed us to discuss a wide range of issues with counterparts and the [U.S.] Embassy, and their insight on various technical issues was very helpful,” said Callirgos. “Perhaps most importantly, although we are the only implementer conducting these activities throughout Peru, their visit helped to raise our profile at a critical time for the ongoing reform process.”
To learn more about our work in Peru, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at [email protected].