Haiti's judiciary overwhelmed by strikes, violence

(27 Jan 2021) Haiti's justice system has long been dysfunctional, but delayed judicial appointments, a spike in violence and protests by judges and court clerks demanding higher salaries and better working conditions have overwhelmed and all but paralysed the system.
Some 80% of inmates are being held with no trial amid a rise in what activists say are illegal and arbitrary preventive detentions.
"These conditions are so unacceptable that they constitute a violation of the prohibition of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment", the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti said in a statement this week.
Overall, some 11,000 inmates are being held in prisons across Haiti, including the National Penitentiary in the capital of Port-au-Prince that was built for 800, but holds an estimated 3,800 inmates.
On a recent afternoon, more than a dozen people stood outside the National Penitentiary, colorful plastic bags at their feet holding food for their loved ones inside.
Charlene Paul–Emile, whose brother is a prisoner, said he had "never been called in front of a judge to be tried", and that he had been in jail a long time.
Haiti is among the top 10 countries in the world most affected by prolonged pretrial detention, with people often imprisoned for more than a decade as they await a judicial hearing, according to the UN.
The surge in pre-trial detainees has worsened another longtime problem: prison overcrowding rose more than 300% this month, the UN said.
Activists expect the situation to worsen given the increase in violence and protests and a decree that President Jovenel Moïse recently approved that classifies certain crimes as terrorism, including robbery, arson and blocking public roads, common events during protests.
During a hearing last month held by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, authorities said Haiti's Court of First Instance and Court of Appeals have not functioned properly for the past two years because a powerful armed gang that operates in the area interrupts proceedings.
It's not uncommon to hear shootings in the area that force government employees to go home early, said Magistrate Yvenne Tibeau, a deputy government prosecutor who said there has been no security at the courts for a year.
Tibeau joined a group of judges who went on strike last year after Monferrier Dorval, a well-respected lawyer and head of the bar association in Port-au-Prince, was fatally shot at his home.  
While the case remains unsolved and Tibeau has since returned to work, he still worries about his safety and said the government has not responded to his repeated requests for a police escort.
"Sometimes the judges cannot render their decision or order in a timely manner so the prisoners take a long time and they suffer", he told the Associated Press as to the real life consequences the delays are having.
Court proceedings also have been interrupted by strikes as court clerks demand better conditions and higher salaries than the roughly 270 US dollars a month the majority of them earn.  
The strikes are consequential, said Judge Bernard Saint-Vil: "The minute a clerk is absent, the whole system fails."
The lack of judges also contributes to a backlog in cases, he said, noting that some 40 judges once worked at Haiti's main courthouse, compared with the 25 there now.

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