Bank loan for $26 million will increase coverage and quality of judicial services in vulnerable areas
Peru’s Judicial Administration System will increase the coverage and quality of its services in the Andean and Amazon regions with the help of a $26 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
These target regions are currently characterized by low service coverage, dispersed populations, and extreme poverty. With the IDB financing, the Judicial Administration System expects increase access and quality of judicial services, with the result that 100 percent of criminal proceedings will be conducted with legal support by 2017.
The program will also reduce the rate of repeat offenses for youths and help lower the currently high levels of preventive custody. The initiative will foster the provision of services in native languages to promote and respect indigenous cultures.
The initiatives will focus on the following areas:
- Greater coverage. Judicial service coverage, productivity, and quality will be increased in disadvantaged areas through the adoption of cross-cultural, ethnic, disability, and gender perspectives. Six integrated judicial administration centers will be constructed and equipped, and 18 service centers will enable the Ministry of Justice to reach out to the most remote communities. Training will be provided for 448 professionals, and a pilot website will conduct information campaigns on the new procedural rules with the goal of ensuring that people know their rights, promote gender equality, prevent domestic violence, and foster respect for indigenous cultures.
- More efficient services. The project will promote the systematization, integration, and automation of processes and services through technology architecture and videoconferencing in 10 prisons and 80 courtrooms. These measures will facilitate court hearings and distance education.
- Planning. The project will increase the efficiency of expenditures in the judicial system through better coordination and improved planning tools. It will include the creation, implementation, and consolidation of a Justice Observatory and a portfolio management system.
- Support for young offenders. Infrastructure for six centers for juvenile offenders will be improved to support the social reintegration of these youths.
The IDB loan is for a term of 25 years with a grace period of 5 years and an interest rate based on LIBOR. The executing agency is the Ministry of Justice and the local contribution for the project will be $10 million.