Nicaragua: paper provides details on Programa de Facilitadores Judiciales Rurales

Margot Kokke and Pedro Vuskovic have recently published a paper entitled “Legal Empowerment of the Poor in Nicaragua”. The study analyzes the historical development and current trends of the Programa de Facilitadores Judiciales Rurales in Nicaragua. In a nutshell the program’s objectives are to: “…improve access to justice and to contribute to the legal empowerment of the poor, but also to strengthen prevention mechanisms, to introduc ealternative dispute resolution methods and to improve social stability and harmony.”

As of 2007 there were 1 260 active judicial facilitators in 120 Nicaraguan municipios. Facilitators are lay people who “should serve as an example within his community; he must abide to principles of honesty, impartiality, dignity and competence”.  Furthermore, the paper outlines that the facilitators should be leaders in their communities, not belong to political parties and do the job voluntarily. Most importantly the facilitators provide legal assistance and counselling to people from the served communities, mediate in civil and criminal disputes and refer cases to the official and unofficial dispute resolution institutions.

Download the paper from here