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1 International Judicial Observer 1 (1995)

handle is hein.congcourts/ijudiob0001 and id is 1 raw text is: International uicial bserve
NEWS AND COMMENTARY OF INTEREST TO JUDGES AROUND THE WOR
Ajointpublication of the Federal Judicial Center and the American Society ofInternational Law • Number I September 1
Organization of Supreme Courts of the Americas Plann

by James G. Apple
Representatives of supreme courts in
the Western Hemisphere met in June in
Washington, D.C., to plan a second confer-
ence of chiefjustices of the Americas and
to make recommendations for a permanent
organization of supreme courts ofthe hemi-
sphere.
The first conference of chief justices of
the Americas, attended by representatives
of 17 countries, was held in Santiago, Chile,
last November. The Chief Justice of the
United States was represented at that con-
ference by Chief Judge Juan R. Torruella
(U.S. 1st Cir.). The second conference will
be held October 23-29, 1995, at the U.S.
Supreme Court and the Thurgood Marshall
Federal Judiciary Building in Washington.
The conference planning committee in-
cluded Judge Torruella, representing the
United States, Canada, and Mexico; Asso-
ciate Justice Josefina Calcafto de Temeltas
of the Supreme Court of Venezuela, repre-
senting the Andean countries; Chief Justice
Arturo Hoyos of the Supreme Court of
Panama, representing CentralAmerican and
Caribbean countries; and Chief Justice Ral
Alonso de Marco of Uruguay, representing
southern cone countries.
Also participating in planning commit-
tee sessions for the United States was Chief
Judge Michael M. Mihm (U.S. C.D. Ill.),
chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference Com-
mittee on International Judicial Relations.
The planning committee met to recom-

mend the agenda of the October conference
and to draft a proposed structure for the
organization of supreme courts.
Following the planning committee meet-
ing, Judge Torruella noted the underlying
importance that this area ofthe world [Latin
American and the Caribbean] has to the
judicial systems of the United States, both
federal and state.
He said that sound policy calls for the
improvement of the judicial systems in all
countries of the hemisphere because of
increases in crime, immigration problems,
and the expansion of economic integra-
tion affecting all of them.
The new organization, he said, can serve
as a forum for the discussion and promotion
of practical solutions to common judicial
problems.
Topics to be addressed at the conference
through formal presentations and discus-
sion sessions, as recommended by the plan-
ning committee, include the following:
* judicial independence;
* due process;
* organization ofjustice in theAmericas
in the twenty-first century;
judicial ethics; and
* impact of supra-national law on deci-
sions of national courts.
Associate JusticesAnthony M. Kennedy
and Stephen G. Breyer (U.S. Sup. Ct.) will
speak at the conference on judicial ethics
and judicial independence, respectively.
A simulated criminal trial under U.S.
procedural rules will also be conducted.
The planning committee recommended

ChiefJudge Michael M Mihm (U.S. C.D. Ill.) (center), chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference
Committee on International Judicial Relations, and ChiefJudge Juan R. Torruella (U.S. 1st
Cir.) (secondfrom right) review documents regarding the proposed organization ofsupreme
courts of the Americas at a planning meeting in Washington in June. Chief Justice Arturo
Hoyos of Panama sits with back to camera (conference interpreters are at left).

that the permanent organization be named
the Organization of Supreme Courts ofthe
Americas. It also recommended that the
fundamental objectives of the organization
should be to promotejudicial independence
and the rule of law in the hemisphere.
Specific objectives mentioned by the plan-
ning committee include the following:
D serving as a permanent link between
the judicial systems of the Americas, and
promoting international judicial coopera-
tion in the hemisphere;

D providing leadership for judicial edu-
cation programs throughout the hemisphere;
* sharing information;
* promoting the development ofregional
technical assistance for the administration
of justice;
D studying judicial administration and
developing model procedures and/or ad-
ministrative structures;
D promoting efficiency in judicial case
management;
See CONFERENCE, page 4

Justices, Judges from Common Law Countries
Meet in Williamsburg and Washington

Supreme court justices and judges from
seven common law countries met from
May 28-June 2, 1995, in Williamsburg,
Va., and Washington, D.C., for the First
Worldwide Common Law Judiciary Con-
ference.
Delegates included the chief justices of
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and India.
Thirty supreme court justices and judges
from those countries and the United States,
Great Britain, and Canada also participated.
The purpose of the conference, accord-
ing to Judge A. Paul Cotter of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and pri-
mary organizer of the conference, was to
bring together judges from the principal
common law countries to discuss issues of
mutual interest, common problems, and
recent developments in common law juris-
prudence.
Judge Cotter stated that the idea for the
conference was based on two premises: (1)

Chief Justice Michael E.J. Black (left) of Australia
and Justice MM Punchhi of the Supreme Court of
India at the First Worldwide Common Law Judiciary
Conference in Alay.

the seven countries' legal systems derive
from the same common law roots; and (2)
despite obvious difference in the evolution
ofthose systems, the courts of common law
countries are faced with similar procedural
and substantive issues and problems.
He said that a pragmatic judge-to-judge
exchange of information on, and analyses
of, particular elements of their respective
courts, law, and procedures will enable the
participants to take home immediate, prac-
tical benefits both for themselves individu-
ally and for their respective courts.
Throughout the meeting, representatives
of the participating nations presented pa-
pers on the state of the courts in their
countries so that delegates would have com-
prehensive information about major devel-
opments and issues in the countries repre-
sented.
The first two days of the meeting, held in
Williamsburg, focused on court technol-
ogy and evidentiary issues. The first day's
session included a visit to Courtroom 21-
The Courtroom of the Future, at the
Marshall Wythe School of Law of the Col-
lege of William and Mary. The futuristic
courtroom is a joint project of the Law
School and the National Center for State
Courts, also located in Williamsburg.
Senior Judge Jack B. Weinstein (U.S.
E.D. N.Y.) and Justice Ellen I. Picard (Ct.
Q.B. Alberta, Canada) discussed issues and
the status of scientific evidence in the court-
rooms of the federal courts of the United
States and Canada respectively during the
Williamsburg session.
Issues addressed in the final three days of
the conference, held in the Education Cen-
ter of the Federal Judicial Center in Wash-
ington, included:
 fair trial and free press;
 status of jury trials in court systems;
 managing criminal dockets;
 crime and the family; and
 managing complex litigation.
See COMMON LAW, page 3

International Judicial Relations Committee
Promotes Communication, Coordination

by Chief Judge Michael M. Mihm
(U.S. C.D. Ill.), Chair, International Judicial
Relations Committee
The Committee on International Judi-
cial Relations was created in late 1993 by
U.S. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
and the Judicial Conference of the United
States. Its purpose is to coordinate the fed-
eral judiciary's relationship with foreign
judiciaries and with official and unofficial
agencies and organizations interested in
international judicial relations and the es-
tablishment and expansion of the rule of
law and administration of justice, and to
make appropriate recommendations con-
cerning such coordination to the Chief Jus-
tice and the Judicial Conference.
The Committee serves as a conduit for
communication among the U.S. and for-
eign court systems and coordinates and
responds to requests from foreign judges
for information and training. It also cooper-
ates with U.S. executive branch (e.g., the
State Department) and private agencies to
facilitate the development and administra-
tion of rule of law programs in the United
States and in other countries for foreign
judicial and legal officers.
Judges from the United States regularly
participate in rule of law programs in other
countries. Such involvement typically in-
volves travel of one to two weeks for a
series of seminars or workshops on specific
topics, such as separation of powers, the
independence of the judiciary, or the rela-
tionship between judge and prosecutor. For
example, federaljudges have been involved
in recent months in several legal seminars
conducted in the Russian Federation, Po-
land and other eastern and central European
countries, and the New Independent States
(former states of the Soviet Union).

The funding for these seminars and con-
ferences is usually provided by a govern-
ment agency, such as the U.S. Information
Agency (USIA) or the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID). Other
programs are funded by private organiza-
tions or foundations. The judicial branch
does not provide funds for such activities.
On the domestic front, many judges and
legal officials from other countries travel to
the United States to receive orientation
about the U.S. legal system and exposure to
U.S. judges at their workplaces around the
country. Orientation sessions are often con-
ducted for these visitors at the Federal Judi-
cial Center or the Administrative Office of
the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C.
The new committee helps coordinate
these activities among the federal judges
and agencies in the judicial branch and
provides advice and assistance for such
programs.
To assist judges traveling abroad to pro-
vide technical assistance, the committee
has begun collecting trip reports fromjudges
and others who have traveled abroad
See COMMITTEE, page 4
Inside...
Serving Process and Taking Discovery
Abroad 2
New Publication for Judges 2
Judge's Travel Experiences 3
Conference on Impact of International
Tribunals 3
Uruguay Round Trade Agreements 4
India-U.S. Legal Exchange 4

LD
r995

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