Diario Aruba

e. Denial of Fair Public TrialThe Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, attempts by public and private entities, including the executive branch, to undermine judicial independence persisted. Civil society groups encouraged judicial independence. The judiciary received training funded by foreign donors in order to improve its ability to resist outside interference, but such influence remained a problem. Court officials also began to implement new selection criteria for judges. The judiciary includes a 16-member Supreme Court, appeals courts, courts of first instance, and justices of the peace. There are also specialized courts that handle administrative, labor, land, and juvenile matters. Under the 1994 constitutional amendments, the Supreme Court is responsible for naming all lower court judges in accordance with a judicial career law. The Supreme Court has been complete since 2001, when the ... [Read More]

Dominican Republic

According to the Attorney General's office, the police and the military held more than 14,500 prisoners and detainees in 34 prisons with a total intended capacity of approximately 9,000 persons. The military operated 21 prisons with a total of 5,084 prisoners, and the National Police operated 13 prisons, with a total of 9,557 inmates. A warden was responsible for running each prison and reported to the Attorney General through the General Directorate of Prisons. A police or military colonel (or lieutenant colonel), generally appointed for a period of only 3 to 6 months, was responsible for providing security and notionally reported to the warden. In practice, the colonel was in charge of the prison, and neither the Directorate of Prisons nor the individual wardens had much power. Some prisons were totally out of the authorities' control and were in effect operated by armed inmates. Individual inmates could secure a tolerable level of existence only by paying for food, sleeping space, a ... [Read More]