18.03.96 IDB APPROVES $8.7 MILLION FOR JUDICIAL MODERNIZATION IN HONDURAS

The Inter-American Development Bank today announced the approval of $8.7 million in soft financing to support the modernization of the justice system in Honduras.
The resources will help strengthen the planning, human resources, and information capacity of the justice system, enhance human rights, provide greater access to justice for those with limited resources, and improve the investment climate.
The program includes the drafting of new legislation that will make the legal system more reliable and strengthen the rule of law. Legislation will also be drafted and enacted for the prevention and punishment of domestic violence, and the new Code of the Child will be disseminated and enforced.
The IDB financing will enable the construction of hearing rooms for oral proceedings and courthouses for justices of the peace in municipalities throughout the country. The Judicial School and the training unit of the Public Ministry will be improved.
The program will strengthen the Public Defender's office and finance pilot projects in conciliation and mediation in the legal aid offices of the National Autonomous University of Honduras and the Ministry of Labor.
The total cost of the program, to be carried out by the Supreme Court,* is $9.5 million.
The IDB resources, from the Fund for Special Operations, include a $7.2 million loan and a $1.5 million grant. The loan is for a 40-year term, with a 10-year grace period, with interest at 1 percent during the grace period and 2 percent thereafter.
Local counterpart funds total $800,000.
*Lic. José E. Figueroa Déaz Palacio de la Justicia Colonia Miraflores Tegucigalpa, Honduras Tel. (504) 34-1150, Ext. 2206